The Gorgeous Beaches of Lagos, Portugal

The beaches of Lagos, Portugal are some of the most unique and striking beaches out there. It isn’t because they are filled with green, black or pink sand, but because they’re surrounded by incredible rock formations and sea arches. There are several beaches in and around Lagos. These beaches are great for swimming, sunbathing, kayaking and simply enjoying nature.

QUICK INFO FOR VISITING THE BEACHES OF LAGOS

WHEN TO VISIT: I think the answer to this depends what your idea of beach fun is. We visited the beaches of Lagos in early spring, which was a great time if you’re simply wanting to take in the beauty. At this time, it was chilly, but on many of the beaches we were all alone However, if you want to lay out and swim, I would recommend waiting until late spring to early summer. That being said, I’ve seen loads of photos of these beaches in the summer and they’re packed.

HOW TO GET AROUND THE BEACHES: It’s decently walkable, although there is a stretch between Pria Dona Ana and Camilo Beach that is just along a road and not exceptionally scenic. It’s was about a 10-mile walk total for us to explore from Forte da Ponta da Bandeira to Farol da Ponta da Piedade and back into town. We went down to basically any beach we could get to. You can also call an Uber to help you get to and from the different beaches.

THE PERFECT PLACE FOR SEASHELL COLLECTING: I love collecting seashells while I’m on the beach. They make beautiful souvenirs. Plus, it’s fun to see what all you can find even if you don’t take anything home. Some of the beaches had bigger shells and shell fragments and others had huge stripes of nothing but shells along the beach. It was amazing!

BATATA BEACH

This is the first of the beaches of Lagos that sits right outside of old town and there’s a fort on the edge of this beach that shares the same name. Entering the fort is possible for a small fee, but I personally found it more impressive from the outside than the inside. Batata beach has a couple of formations and sea arches, but is a great jumping off point for kayaking tours and paddle boarding as well.  

PRAIA DOS ESTUDANTES

This is a relatively small beach, but is sort-of made up of two little beaches. This was Matt’s favorite beach for sunrise. He loved the clear shot of the sun popping up. I loved this beach because it has a little something-something that makes it seem a bit more adventurous.

There’s a cutout in the cliff of this beach that creates a tunnel, connecting the two beaches. This is where the adventure comes in. So, it’s a big step to get up into the tunnel, which means you’ll likely need to make use of the rope to climb up it. In the photos on the left, you can see the tunnel to the right side of the photo. Then, check out Matt looking all cute and adventurous.

 

There are multiple formations all along this beach, including a pretty notable manmade one. See the bridge that connects the two cliffs in the photo on the left? I have no idea how to get up there, but I bet it’s a stellar view! Then there are cutouts in the cliffs and I love seeing the other formations through them and the water rushing up against them. Here’s a better view of the sandy part of the second half of the Praia dos Estudantes.

PRAIA DO PINHÃO

This was probably my favorite of the beaches, even though we really only saw it from above. I just really fell in love with the formations. This isn’t one that you can really access along paths or beach fronts. You have to walk up the street a little way, but then it’s easy to find, just plug the name into Google Maps.

I loved watching the waves crash up against all the different formations. The beach seems so intimate and is just so full of natural beauty! There are different cacti and succulents growing along the top, which helps take it to the top of the list.

 

Plus, this starts a section of beaches that are connected by windy paths along coastlines and over cliffs. This was also my favorite beach to visit for sunrise. Not because of the placement of the sun, but just because of the gorgeous colors and reflections surrounding these dramatic cliffs.

 

These are the views from on top of this little ledge that stretches out into the beach. Just feeling on top of the world exploring the beaches of Lagos.

PRAIA DONA ANA

There is a beautiful trail that leads along the cliffside down to Praia Done Ana. This is where the coastline starts to really have all of the separated formations. Here we saw a couple of surfers and found some bigger seashells.

I loved seeing the striations in the formations. Plus, the color is a really great contrast to the teals and blues of the water here.          

PRAIA DO CAMILO

After a bit of a walk down the road, instead of the walking paths, we found a turnout that led to the top of what looked like an insanely massive flight of stairs. Probably because it was indeed and insanely massive flight of stairs. They lead down to a really tiny beach, sometimes referred to as doll beach, with a beautiful sea arch at the bottom.

You can also follow a path to the right (when you’re going down the stairs) that will offer different views of the beach and these red-colored cliffs that are quite striking as well!   

The paths continue on along the rugged coastline, constantly tempting you to peek over the edge to see if you’ll find a tiny hidden beach or a massive sea arch.  This starts the area known as Farol da Ponta da Piedade where the cliffs start to really take on crazy shapes.

PRAIA DA BONECA

This tiny beach didn’t have a path that I could see leading to it, which reminds me that this area is a hotspot for kayaking tours and little boating adventures. These tours take you up close and personal with these massive cliffs and sea arches.

FAROL DA PONTA DA PIEDADE

A lot of this area could be considered Ponta da Piedade (the two sites above along with the gorgeous cliffs and formations seen below). There’s a lighthouse up here, but the cliffs are what steal the show. There are several small trails continuing through the cliffs.

 

One of the craziest things I saw in this area was a fisherman who climbed out onto the tiniest ledge of these cliffs with a massive fishing pole. If you look really closely, you can see his blue shirt standing out on cliff in the photo in the above left. Another thing that’s good to know about Ponta da Piedade is that it’s an ideal spot for sunset. The cliffs make great places to sit and watch the day in. It’s a very romantic spot.

 

ACANTILADOS DE LAGOS

This translates literally to ‘Cliffs of Lagos’ and you can see why. It’s a massive set of steps that lead all the way down the gorgeous cliffs of Lagos. This doesn’t end at a beach, instead it ends at a platform at the bottom that overlooks some incredible sea arches.

 

Be very careful when walking these stairs because they’re super slippery when wet, and the bottom couple of sections were pretty wet from mist from the waves.

 

WHY THE BEACHES OF LAGOS ARE PERFECT FOR ANY TRAVELER

It’s easy to see why the Beaches Lagos are a huge draw to travelers and locals alike. The water is beautifully blue. The cliffs and formations are seemingly countless and absolutely intriguing. The hikes can be long and adventurous or short and easy. You can lay out on a long sandy beach or on a tiny beach surrounded by huge cliffs. These are some of my favorite beaches in the world and I’m already looking forward to a return visit.

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