For beach holidays in Portugal, the Algarve is hard to beat. Located on Portugal's southern coast, the Algarve is a hotbed of pristine Blue Flag beaches. The region is home to many of Portugal's best beach resorts and is known for its rich cultural diversity. Albufeira and Lagos are perhaps the Algarve's best destinations for beach holidays in Portugal.
The city of Albufeira includes the Praia da Falési beach that encompasses about 6km of coastline. Praia da Falési is a large beach with shallow waters where visitors can engage in scuba diving, water skiing and scuba diving. The beach runs alongside dramatic, almost orange, sandstone cliffs that travellers can hike across for spectacular coastal views.
The city of Lagos has an intriguing historic centre and glorious beaches. Meia Praia is the largest beach in Lagos and provides beach loungers and parasols. That beach is ideal for kite surfing, wind surfing and sailing. The Praia don Ana is a scenic Lagos beach with golden sands and cliffs and crystal clear sea.
The Lisbon coastline is a notable alternative to the Algarve which features some great beaches. Guincho Beach is for water sports such as surfing. Carcavelos is the largest beach of the Lisbon-Estoril-Cascais coastline served by the Lisbon-Cascais railway. Carcavelos is also the location of the 16th century Sao Julião fort, which is among Portugal's largest coastal fortifications.