Discover the best beaches in Lagos, Portugal
We’ve been living in Lagos for almost 18 years now. Living in Lagos is great and the beaches in Lagos continue to surprise us every single day. Lagos is worldwide known for its stunning beaches.
In fact, there are beaches for all tastes. Around Lagos you’ll find very long white sanded and super cozy secluded beaches. The beaches in Lagos are all stunning and all different.
Our favorite 6 are probably Porto de Mós, Praia da Batata, Meia Praia, Praia do Pinhão, Praia D. Ana and Praia do Camilo. But is was hard to choose and we also like the beaches that are a bit further away from town.
One of the best ways to spend a warm day in Lagos is on one of the many beaches along the town’s coastline.
During the high season, some of the most popular ones can become quite crowded. To find a more non-touristic quiet beach, we recommend you to hire a car and drive a few kilometers.
Please don’t forget to protect yourself against the heat and sun and bring a sunshade, hat, sunscreen and water.
Here is a selection of our favourite beaches in Lagos:
Praia Porto de Mós, Lagos
Porto de Mós is one of the bigger beaches in Lagos. Its long stretch makes Porto do Mós ideal for a long beach walk.
Also, given its dimension, you’ll always find a nice quiet spot to spread out your towel, read a book or just relax. Praia de Porto de Mós is a sandy beach. Only on its far right there are some rocks.
Porto de Mós has got two beach restaurants. Campimar on the left, is an ideal beach side restaurant-bar, for a meal or snack at any time of day. António beach bar is excellent to quickly grab a smoothy, beer, water or icecreams. António Restaurant also serves nice dinners.
Also among the locals, Praia Porto de Mós, is a popular spot on a Sunday afternoon on the beach and to grab some beers to end the weekend. There are plenty of parking places (free).
You can also reach the beach by foot from the city town, but it’s quite a walk, about half an hour. You can also go by bus.
Praia da Batata, Lagos
Praia da Batata (or Potato Beach in English) is one of the most popular beaches in Lagos for the young generation. During the summer months, this beach is packed with young guys.
After going out at night in Lagos, this is where the youngsters go for an after party or to enjoy their hang-over in the sun.
This beach is also searched for by active travelers. From this beach you can go on a stand up paddle boarding tour or kayak tour to Ponta da Piedade.
If you like sports and want to explore the coastline of Lagos in an active way, kayak and SUP are definitely a must thing to do while staying in Lagos.
Meia Praia, Lagos
Meia Praia is the biggest beach in Lagos. Meia Praia’s wide-opened 4 km stretch of beach makes it ideal for a long walk or run.
Also to enjoy the sun, this is one of the favorites of the locals with many regular visitors to Lagos. If you like a spacious beach and water sports, then this beach is for you!
Lagos Beach bars
Along the beach, you can find beach bars for all tastes. Some fancier ones with fine seafood and other surf bars with live music.
You must stop in at Bar Linda, at the beginning of Meia Praia, by passing the Marina of Lagos. Here, you can enjoy nice juices and delicious honey chicken wings.
We usually go here after a long beach day to drink a beer with some wedges and fried onions.
Bahia Beach bar is great if you like Brazilian or African live music. Every Sunday afternoon around 18:00/19:00 the party begins.
Here you will find a bice atmosphere and great music to dance to and have fun are guaranteed. We recommend delicious tapas, shrimp pasta, and cocktails.
A bit further away from Lagos, but still on Meia Praia, you’ll find a few more beach bars. Eat a nice freshly caught grilled fish at Gaivota’s beach bar.
This beach bar is definitely a great spot to eat fresh fish and enjoy a Portuguese “Vinho Verde” (Green Wine).
Bar Quim, is THE place to eat shrimp. The best-fried garlic shrimps in Portugal are these ones.
While enjoying your meal with a nice local white wine, don’t forget to appreciate the amazing views while your kids play in the sand in front of the terrace.
If you are up for some watersports, you definitely need to check out some of the activities on Meia Praia, Lagos.
From Parasailing to Jet ski rental or windsurf lessons, there’s a wide range of things to do at Meia Praia beach in Lagos.
Praia do Pinhão, Lagos
Praia do Pinhão is a really nice alternative to the larger busier beaches in Lagos, near the city center. Just like Dona Ana and Camilo, Pinhão is stunning.
The rock towers around the beach create shaded areas as the sun makes its way through the day. That’s also why this beach is ideal on the windiest days.
The long staircase from the road and parking place to the beach provides you with a good daily workout.
Praia D. Ana, Lagos
Praia D. Ana is one of our favorite beaches in Lagos. The award winning Praia D. Ana (or Dona Ana Beach in English) is considered the best beach by many references in tourism. In fact, it is one of the most popular beaches in Lagos.
Despite the fact that this beach has suffered some modifications to increase it sandy area, it is still stunning as always. Similar beaches to Praia da Dona Ana, are Praia dos Pinheiros and Praia dos Estudantes.
Please bear in mind that this beach is not recommended for people with physical disabilities as it is known for the many stairs to the beach. Parking might be difficult during busy summer months but the effort will surely be worth it.
For people with physical disabilities, we recommend going to Praia da Luz.
Praia do Camilo, Lagos
Praia do Camilo is a sheltered little beach cove on the road from Lagos to Ponta da Piedade.
The beauty of this beach is apparent when you look at it from top, where you can park your car. Its crystal clear waters and impressive cliff formations create this little jewel.
As a result, Praia do Camilo is one of the best beaches in Lagos for snorkeling because the shallow rocky ocean floor attracts plenty of marine life.
Above all, the beach of Camilo is nicely sheltered from the winds on most days, which also provides for calmer waters.
Just minutes walking, you can have an amazing walk over the top of the cliffs of Ponta da Piedade.
To access this beach, good physical condition is required as there are extremely long staggered stairs. You can park on top of the beach, next to the restaurant.
The restaurant, “Camilo”, is a must for fresh fish lovers or seafood, even though its prices are a bit above the local average. You can also grab a light meal, a beer, or an ice cream there.
Bonus: Sagres
From Lagos, the Southwest point of Europe, Sagres, is only a 30-minute drive away. There are also busses that connect Lagos to Sagres. In Sagres, you have amazing places with fewer people. Most of the beaches are known for their spectacular surfing conditions.
Therefore, you can feel the surf vibe in the village of Sagres with its surf shops, surf bars and surf camps. Consequently, we recommend Sagres for travelers who look for nature, more quiet beaches of for a surfing experience.
Sagres is definitely worth seeing if you are staying longer than a week in Lagos.
We hope this list of our favorite spots and the reminder that Sagres is worth a visit too helped you to plan your holidays. Let us know if you happen to discover some other beaches that are worth sharing here and enjoy!
