Southern Portugal’s Algarve is home to the country’s most beautiful beaches. The coastline from Sagres to the Spanish border is photogenic almost everywhere you look, with golden sand set in the middle of nature. From a lagoon full of flamingos to rock arches and sea caves in golden cliffs!
We’ve travelled the Algarve twice in our campervan: the first time for a good month with our baby daughter, the second time with our toddler daughter and baby son. Both trips were in winter, at a nice slow pace from one beach to the next and from one town to another. To help you find the very best spots, we put together this list of the 10 best beaches in the Algarve.
→ Discover all our tips for the Algarve
About the Algarve coast: orange cliffs and a lagoon
The Algarve coast runs from the western tip at Sagres all the way to the Spanish border. North of Sagres lies a stretch of wild Atlantic coastline, with big waves and dark cliffs: a paradise for surfers. It’s part of the Costa Vicentina natural park, where gorgeous beaches come with great hikes too.
The most famous stretch of the Algarve lies between Sagres and Faro. This is where the coast is dominated by the orange cliffs you’ve no doubt seen in photos of Portugal, and it’s where you’ll find the most popular and most beautiful beaches. From coves tucked away between the rocks to beaches where the cliffs rise up like walls as tall as houses.
East of Faro, the cliffs give way to a lagoon full of islands, salt marshes and birds: the Ria Formosa. A wonderful place to go walking, spot birds and relax on the beaches of its five large islands.
The best beaches in the Algarve on a map
Practical tips for the Algarve’s beaches
When is the best time to visit the beaches of the Algarve?
If you want to swim and sunbathe, June to September is your best bet. It’s busy then, though, especially at famous beaches like Praia da Marinha. Get there early in summer, because the car park fills up fast. We visited both times in winter. You practically have the beaches to yourself and it’s still lovely weather for walking. The sea is chilly, mind you. There were plenty of surfers in the water and Sebastiaan braved a dip, but the rest of us happily stayed dry.
Are the Algarve’s beaches good for kids?
Definitely. We didn’t really take the kids into the sea, but we spent hours playing in the sand, and between those golden cliffs that’s an outing in itself. Bear in mind that many of the cliff beaches, like Praia da Marinha and Praia de Dona Ana, are reached by a steep staircase. A baby carrier is much handier than a pushchair there. The Atlantic west coast has big waves and strong currents, so with little ones it’s strictly paddling only.
Where to stay for the best beaches?
Most of the beaches on this list lie between Lagos and Albufeira. With a rental car, Carvoeiro or Lagos make a perfect base: within half an hour’s drive you can reach almost every beach in this top 10.
→ Discover the 9 best hotels and resorts in Carvoeiro
→ Discover where to stay in Albufeira
The 10 best beaches in the Algarve
#1 Praia da Marinha: the Algarve’s most famous beach
Praia da Marinha is widely seen as the most beautiful beach in the Algarve. CNN named it one of the most beautiful cliffside beaches in the world, and Lonely Planet ranks it number one in the Algarve too. We’ve seen a lot of the Algarve’s beaches and we agree with the title: you get a wide sandy beach, surrounded by the dramatic rocky coastline the Algarve is famous for.
The best of Praia da Marinha is seen from above. The Algarve has no shortage of sandy beaches, but the cliffs make this one unique, and they look their best from the viewpoints along the clifftop. Still want more? Then walk the Seven Hanging Valleys Trail. We did the whole route with our baby and finished at Praia da Marinha. The trail was wonderfully quiet, but it got busier here, because lots of visitors come just for this beach.
→ Discover everything about Praia da Marinha, including the best viewpoints
#2 Praia da Falésia: the best beach near Albufeira
At Praia da Falésia the coast looks a little different. You’re halfway between the orange cliffs in the west and the Ria Formosa lagoon in the east, and you can see it in the rock: white and orange layers in the wildest shapes, almost like a moonscape. No small cove like Marinha, but miles of sandy beach. There are car parks and paths down to the sand in several places.
It’s a great spot for walkers too. You can walk for miles along the endless beach, and up on the cliffs runs the Falésia Beach Trail, one of our favourite hikes in the Algarve. It follows the edge of the cliffs towards Vilamoura, with the beach on your right the whole way. So getting lost is pretty much impossible.
→ Discover the 15 best hiking trails in the Algarve
#3 Praia do Carvalho: a secret cove between the cliffs
At Praia do Carvalho we took a glorious dip in a pretty rough sea. It’s a picture-perfect crescent-shaped cove, and you reach it through a tunnel with steps carved into the rock. That alone makes it worth a visit. In winter it was wonderfully quiet, but as small as it is, we can imagine it gets packed in summer. The beach lies on the Seven Hanging Valleys Trail, so it makes a great rest stop on your hike. You can also drive here: from the car park it’s a short walk.
→ Discover the Seven Hanging Valleys Trail with route map
#4 Praia de Carvoeiro: the village beach by the Algar Seco Caves
Carvoeiro’s village beach is one of the most popular in the Algarve. It sits between the rocks, with places to eat around the edge, plus toilets and showers to rinse off the sand. The village is tiny, and the beach is little more than a postage stamp.
One of the highlights of Carvoeiro is right next door: the Carvoeiro Boardwalk, a 600-metre wooden walkway along the cliffs. In two places you can climb down to the Algar Seco caves, along paths, tunnels and steps cut into the orange rock. It feels like a little expedition between the cliffs. Hot day? There’s a natural rock pool in the caves where you can cool off with a swim.
→ Discover the Algar Seco Caves on the Carvoeiro Boardwalk
→ Discover the 9 best hotels and resorts in Carvoeiro
#5 Praia do Castelejo: dark cliffs on the west coast
Praia do Castelejo is more off the beaten track, on the west coast close to Sagres. It’s part of the Costa Vicentina natural park, which draws surfers for the waves and beach lovers for the wild, rugged beaches. Castelejo is one of our favourites there.
The beach lies between the rocks and has unusual black rock formations made of slate. Those sharp, dark points stick straight out of the yellow sand and look nothing like anything else in the Algarve. We came here several times on our trips to Portugal, and one morning the beach was wrapped in thick sea fog. With those rocks all around, it made for a magical beach walk.
There’s a car park and a restaurant that’s only open in high season. Close to the beach you can also walk the Castelejo Environmental Trail, a lovely hike through the natural park.
#6 Praia do Barril: an island beach in the Ria Formosa
A castle town like Tavira might not make you think of sunbathing and island life straight away. Yet it’s the perfect place for both. Tavira lies in the east of the Algarve, on the Ria Formosa, and just off the coast is Ilha de Tavira. On that island you’ll find one of the most beautiful beaches in the Algarve: Praia do Barril.
From Tavira you can take the ferry to the island, but at Praia do Barril you can also cross on a little bridge. From the bridge, a 1.5-kilometre path leads to the beach, or you can hop on the tourist train. You pass salt marshes and dunes, and along the way you’ll see the Cemitério das Âncoras, a graveyard of old anchors along the shore. Praia do Barril is one of the widest beaches on the island, and good to know: there’s also a naturist section.
→ Discover the 3 best walks in the Ria Formosa
#7 Praia de Benagil: the beach by the famous Benagil Caves
We wouldn’t call Praia de Benagil itself one of the best beaches in the Algarve, although its setting between the cliffs and on the Seven Hanging Valleys Trail is stunning. The beach is mostly famous for what lies around the corner: the Benagil Caves.
The sea has carved this cave out of the cliffs, and the hole in its roof is what makes it so photogenic. We looked at it from above: from the Seven Hanging Valleys Trail you can peer straight down through the hole in the roof, the oculus. You can only get inside from the water, and strict rules have applied since August 2024. Swimming to the cave is banned, you can’t paddle in by kayak or SUP without a guide, and nobody is allowed to land on the little beach inside. Want to see the Benagil Caves from the inside? Then book a boat trip or a guided kayak tour. Pick a small boat, though, because the big catamarans can’t fit inside.
The beach itself is a nice stretch of sand with a few restaurants and a beach bar. The boats to the caves leave from here too, so in high season it gets very busy. Come early if you want a spot on the sand.
#8 Praia Grande: rock arches at Ferragudo
Ferragudo has those wonderful sandy beaches the Algarve is known for too. In the village itself you’ll find Praia da Angrinha and Praia Grande, separated by Ferragudo’s fort. At low tide you can walk past the fort from one beach to the other. We found Praia da Angrinha less idyllic: it’s on the river and there are a few run-down fishermen’s huts. Praia Grande is much bigger, faces the sea and has some lovely rock arches. You’ll also find a few nice beach bars here.
→ Discover the charming fishing village of Ferragudo
#9 Praia de Dona Ana: the best beach near Lagos
Praia de Dona Ana is the most popular beach near Lagos, our favourite town in the Algarve. Lagos has several town beaches: Meia Praia is the biggest, and Praia da Batata is closest to the old centre. Still, we’d recommend heading a little further south to Dona Ana, often named one of the most beautiful beaches in the Algarve.
The beach is completely surrounded by the orange cliffs Lagos is so famous for. You get down via a steep staircase. The beach itself is great with kids, but you won’t get a pushchair down those stairs, so bring a baby carrier. At the bottom waits a beach of around 150 metres with a calm sea. In 2015 the beach was replenished with extra sand and made much bigger, so older photos online show a far smaller beach.
Legend has it that the beach is named after a nun called Dona Ana. She was supposedly the only one to escape death during a war by fleeing to this beach through a tunnel. We couldn’t find that tunnel, but then again, there’s a reason it’s called a legend.
→ Discover the 10 best things to do in Lagos
#10 Praia da Oura: Albufeira’s most popular beach
Albufeira is one of the most popular places in the Algarve, partly thanks to the big sandy beaches along its coast. In front of the old town lie the long Praia dos Alemães and Praia dos Pescadores, but the most popular beach is in the newer part of town: Praia da Oura. It’s split in two by rocks, through which the sea has carved an arch. At the eastern end the beach is covered in stones and pebbles, which holidaymakers stack into little towers. A lovely sight, especially at sunset.
→ Discover why we wouldn’t recommend Albufeira
