10 of Portugal’s best secret beaches

Whether you're looking for towering rock formations, reliable wildlife sightings or just sun, sea and silence, there’s a stretch of Portuguese sand for you. Head south to the Algarve for a smuggler’s former haunt, or visit the west coast for Jurassic prints embedded into the cliffs – these are some of the best crowd-free beaches.

1. Praia de Galapinhos, Arrábida Natural Park

Best for: spotting eagles and dolphins
Lisbon isn’t far from Arrábida Natural Park, but you’d never guess. With secluded coves and turquoise bays strung between forested hills, this nature park is home to some of Europe’s most ravishing beaches. One of the loveliest is this crescent of creamy sand. The fact that you reach it via a steep, craggy path or by scrambling over rocks from neighbouring Praia de Galapos keeps things quiet, particularly if you avoid visiting in high season.

Local tip: Pack your binoculars and strike out on the clifftop trails, keeping an eye out for eagles and, out to sea and dolphins.

2. Praia do Carvalho, Algarve

Best for: smugglers and seabirds
Hidden from prying eyes, this deep thumbprint of a bay on the Algarve’s south coast once concealed the comings and goings of smugglers. Today, follow the rock-carved steps through a tunnel and you’ll emerge on honeyed sands by the turquoise sea. Deep water and lofty crags make this a popular cliff-jumping spot. At high tide, the sea swirls around sinkholes, grottoes and seabird-dotted stacks on the seven-mile Seven Hanging Valleys Trail just back from the beach. Sunset paints the rocks in gold and copper.

Local tip: Rent a kayak or SUP at Blue Xperiences to paddle over to the sky-lit, cathedral-like Benagil Cave.

3. Praia do Carreiro do Mosteiro, Berlenga Grande

Best for: desert island vibes
Off Peniche, Portugal’s Berlengas Islands fly under the radar. But, as the keeper of some of the country’s most entrancing coast, this UNESCO Biosphere Reserve deserves to be better feted. Remote and rocky, Berlenga Grande is the only island open to visitors, and entry limits mean it’s not crowded. Here, Praia do Carreiro do Mosteiro, named after an old monastery, is a sublime scoop of blonde sand wedged between cliffs.

Local tip: It’s a half-hour ferry ride to Berlenga Grande. Stay in fascinating surrounds at the São João Baptista Fort, built between 1651 and 1656, to ward off pirate attacks.

4. Praia do Camarido, Viana do Castelo

Best for: windsurfers
Just a step away from Galicia in Spain, Praia do Camarido is Portugal’s most northerly strand, where the Minho River empties into the startlingly blue Atlantic. The beach is a frost-white vision, with soft sands, invigorating breezes and big waves that draw kitesurfers and windsurfers. When you tire of flopping on the beach, walk among the shady pines in the protected Camarido Forest. For a quieter break, avoid coming in August.

Local tip: Take a taxi-boat to Forte da Ínsua. This 17th-century island fortress was a Franciscan convent built by King João I of Portugal.

5. Praia da Galé-Fontaínhas, Alentejo

Best for: fossil-rich sands
A forest of red-gold rock turrets and pinnacles eroded by wind and waves fringes this magnificent ripple of sand on the Alentejo coast. Giving way to dunes, these fossil-rich, sand-and-clay cliffs, some five million years in the making, are among Portugal’s oldest. Steps dive down to expansive sands, which still feel thrillingly wild, with barely a soul on them outside of peak season. Bring snacks, water and settle on the beach with binoculars to spot dolphins gliding close by.

Local tip: After the beach, enjoy wine-tasting and a night amid the vines at nearby A Serenada, a 20-minute drive away.

6. Praia da Arrifana, Algarve

Best for: hitting the surf
Reached via a steep, twisty track, Praia da Arrifana on the Algarve’s wild, wave-hammered west coast is a postcard-worthy stretch. Far away from the busy resorts of the south, this beach is breathtaking, with butterscotch sands curving between towering cliffs of dark schist and rock pinnacles like the needle-thin Pedra da Agulha jutting out of the blue sea. Arrifana Surf School’s hut on the beach rents out boards for hitting the surf, which is at its best in autumn and early winter. Or you can hike along the cliffs to a 12th-century ruined fortress for sweeping coastal views.

Local tip: Slip into a wetsuit outside of high season when the water is cold here. The beach also shrinks considerably at high tide, so check the timetables ahead.

7. Praia de São Jacinto, Aveiro

Best for: surf-washed dunes
All is sea and sky as you wander along a boardwalk to reach the undulating dunes here, the pounding surf and pale sands stretching as far as the eye can see. An hour south of Porto, Aveiro’s 4.3-mile Praia de São Jacinto has a dreamlike quality, with ample space and silence — especially in the morning. The beach forms part of a reserve known for lagoons, dunes, marshlands and pine forests that attract birdlife such as egrets.

Local tip: This unspoilt beach is a short ferry ride from the Forte da Barra neighbourhood. Pack a picnic, as you won’t find supplies once there.

8. Praia de Vale Furado, Leiria

Best for: dramatic sunsets
At sunset, the canyon-like, waterfall-splashed cliffs backing Praia de Vale Furado deepen in colour from ochre to rust red as the sun disappears into the Atlantic. Vast, untamed and thrashed by impressive waves, this beach is just a stone’s skim north of surf-magnet Nazaré, but far less visited. Unfurling for almost a mile, the sands are broad at low tide, with rock pools to explore, but then vanish almost entirely at high tide. Grippy shoes are needed for the steep path leading down to the beach.

Local tip: Book a table on the ocean-facing terrace of restaurant MAD for beautifully presented seafood including octopus and clams.

9. Praia da Adraga, Sintra

Best for: rock formations
Where the lushly wooded, boulder-strewn Serra de Sintra mountains collide with the sea, and just an hour from Lisbon, Praia da Adraga is wondrously wild. A river-woven gorge leads to this cliff-clasped swathe of smooth golden sand, with natural arches and razor-sharp volcanic rocks rising above the cobalt-blue, wave-ruffled Atlantic. Go for a paddle or book a table at beach-facing Restaurante Adraga, where the fifth-generation family dish up fresh seafood like goose barnacles or clams sizzling in garlic and coriander.

Local tip: If you have your own wheels, go one bay north to Praia Grande to glimpse fossil tracks in the cliffs, or veer south for a memorable sunset at lighthouse-topped Cabo da Roca, mainland Europe’s most westerly point.

10. Praia da Amália, Alentejo

Best for: cinematic drama
Praia da Amália is right up there with Portugal’s loveliest beaches, located in Odemira Municipality, about 5.5 miles south of Zambujeira do Mar — a charming coastal village in Alentejo. Forming part of the South West Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park (a protected coastal region in southwest Portugal), the praia is a curve of golden sand flanked by rugged, waterfall-wisped cliffs that are lapped by the azure Atlantic. Like many great beaches, it can only be reached on foot. From the car park, it’s a stiff 15-minute hike, ducking through a bamboo grove. Bring your own picnic and come at low tide for prime towel space.

Local tip: Portugal’s most legendary fado singer, Amália Rodrigues, learned to swim on this beach (hence the name) — and her former clifftop estate above it now operates as a guesthouse, where visitors can stay in style.