Originally Posted by
linglingfool
Ian, what are your thoughts on the beaches south of Porto? We were considering a few lazy beach days in the Algarve, but decided that our time could be better spent exploring instead of riding trains to and fro, so were considering a day in Miramar or Espinho as an alternative.
I regret to say that the coast between Peniche, about 40 miles N of Lisbon, and Porto, is to me an unknown. Not by design!
But, in general, the west coast beaches can be quite "bracing" in terms of their exposure to the Altantic - that's compared with the softer offering of the Algarve coastline.
If you want to stay central, just south of Lisbon is the rather busy resort of Caparica. It's a bit honky-tonk in the main section, but with a beach running kilometres there are more peaceful sections easily reached by car - and i think the beach train is still running. Not much further south is Sesimbra, a well established resort town and fading fishing port. A bit further is the city city of Setubal, with ferry access to the sandy Troia peninsula where there are many accommodation options.
North from Lisbon there are many beaches, some secluded, others resort style, within reach of the city. The beaches between Estoril and Cascais, and Caparica are the high volume destinations for sun-seeking day-trippers from Lisbon.