Sintra Beaches

Between the portuguese people you will meet in Lisbon the answer to this question will never be the same "Which is the best beach around here"? Some people prefer the huge sand beaches of Costa da Caparica, others prefer to sunbath in the fancy beaches of Cascais or Estoril and other ones will tell you that there is nothing better than go to the beach in Sintra. I'm belong to this last group!

The water may be cold (really really reaaaaally cold), there may be some wind somedays (majority of the days) but my summer days are always there!
You can choose from a wide range of beaches, depending on what you to do if you are more into surfing or bodyboarding you should go to Praia Grande, if you master the art of kitesurfing for sure you will choose Guincho, if you want to enjoy a nice afternoon with your friends playing football or volleyball you can go to Praia das Maças, if you want to discover a small secret beach, Praia da Ursa is the ideal for you.. and much more.

This is my top 3:

Praia Grande

For me, the best beach in the area! If you surf, you can catch amazing waves here, if you want to learn how to surf you can also get some classes here. If you just want to have fun with your friends with some nice music this is also a great place. It also has nice bars along the beach, so it has everything to be a great summer spot and the sunset here is spetacular! If you are not that into going for a swim in dangerous and wavy waters of Sintra but you love beach environment there is also a huge pool side to side to the beach, so you can have the best of both worlds.

Azenhas do Mar

On the bottom of one of the most beautiful villages in Portugal there is this tiny little beach with some rocks making some kind of a pool to enjoy a fun day. The village itself may ressemble  some greek villages with white houses along the hill. Here there is not that many space for a volleyball game, but you will definetly enjoy some drinks in the bach bar and have fun with your friends.

Praia da Ursa

Impossible to go by car, hard to reach and no internet or mobile connection, the exact definition of a secret beach. Maybe this is why it keeps being so secret, only the more corageous one witll try to get there. You should leave your car in the way to Cabo da Roca and then follow the patch until the end of the "hill" then in a rock climbing style you have to go down the hill until the beach where you can see a huge rock in the middle of the waters in a shape of a bear, that's why it has this name (Ursa = Female bear).

There are many more to discover in this area, look for hiking tracks along side the mountain close to the beaches and will find a lot of trails that pass by this beaches and some others like Praia da Adraga and Praia das Maças.