With a car you have a lots of other options for including a beach in your day trip.
For inspiration we have added our own favourites in this map.
Lisbon Is Europe’s best beach destination
In Lisbon the beach season last 12 month!
We’re so privileged not only to be surrounded by beaches – but some of them are among the best beaches in the world.
And because of the Golf Stream Lisbon is the city in Europe with the most sunny hours pr year, the highest average temperature and lowest rainfall. So as long as it doesn’t rain, we can always find a beach that matches the season: On a sunny but cold and windy December day, we just find a beach with sandy dunes or coves that shelter from the wind.
Praia da Carcavelos: If I leave Tings Lisbon after breakfast it will take me 1h to reach this crowded Hell by public transportation, and cost me 4 €. (or 16 € if you are 4).
When time allows us we try to go to the beach for a couple of hours in the afternoon. And when we need a day off we usually go for a day trip that includes a couple of hours with a book on one of the beaches within maximum one hour by car or public transportation.
With beaches for all occasions we enjoy beach life almost all year around.
We ‘collect’ beaches and don’t mind sharing them. So if you want to combine your Lisbon City trip with a few hours on a beach – or maybe even a day trip – why not try the beaches we go to when we want to avoid the crowds along the cost from Lisbon to Cascais?,
Our favorite 'City Beaches' beaches
Most guide books highlights the beaches between the Cais do Sodres train station and Cascais in their Lisbon Beach Chapters. These beaches are OK – but during the season they get very crowded. Carcavellos is the biggest and most popular one – we don’t like it and never go there. And if we, on very rare occasions, go we never go by train. The station is 30 minutes walk from the beach, which most guides never mention.
Instead we go to one the beaches form our ‘own collection’ – the one we have ‘created’ and maintained since our first visit to Lisbon 30 years ago. ,
When we go for an afternoon swim (30 minutes from Tings)
UBER & BOLT usually have a fixed Beach Rate so 3 persons can reach these beaches for the same prices as public transport to the crowded Tejo beaches
When we have a day off (60 min from Tings)
When we spoil ourselves with a day off or have friends in town who have visited Lisbon before we have at least a handful of stunning beaches that easily competes with the bounty beaches in Asia or The Caribbean.
Like these two picks:
Both beaches can be reached by car from Lisbon in 1 hr – 1:30 hr which makes it possible to combine the trip with visits to Sesimbra and Setubal on the way back.
If you leave early you get a chance to see the Dolphins. You can either take the highway and go via Alcáçer do Sal or take the car ferry from Setubal.
Troia beach is easy to reach by public transportation. From Lisbon there are frequent Busses and Trains to Setubal where you can take a pedestrian boat directly to the beach on the other side of the laguna – combine it with a Setubal sightseeing you have a perfect day trip – the market is one of the best around us and you get the best fish here.
De gustibus non est disputandum
This beach is NOT Praia do Monte Branco 1 hr from Tings Lisbon. It is one of our favorit beaches 10.000 km (or 24 hrs travel) from Lisbon – in Myanmar.
… or Every man to his taste as the proverb says.
That’s also the case when it comes to beaches.
We love the so called Bounty Beaches – the ones you see in advertising and movies: White powder sand, crystal clear & clean water, dunes where you can seek shelter from the wind and preferably a beach bar with cold drinks, unpretentious food and good music to set the settings (not too loud).
Most Portuguese prefer beaches with car parking, wooden paths to avoid the sand, selections of beach bars and loud Bluetooth speakers and beach bars with menus that need to be updated. Complete opposite our taste so we only rarely go to the popular beaches between Lisbon and Cascais.
As we don’t mind travelling to good beaches we have a a small ‘collection’ of beaches from all over the world. Our favourites are in Myanmar. We have a few in Africa AND a few in Europe – here in Portugal, outside Lisbon to be more specific.
Besides being the perfect city destination Lisbon can also easily compete with Ibiza, Mallorca, Malaga, Gran Canaria, Croatia and similar popular tourist spots which do not have the same selection of quality restaurants, culture, shopping and leissure services of all kinds that we have.
During the years we have stayed here we have managed to convince our friends and regular guests about this quality of Lisbon. So now we have a regular group af Beach Lovers who have changed their holiday traditions and come to Lisbon for a combined beach/city trip … and we have added beach towels on our small list of amenities.
If you want to have more information, do not hesitate to get in touch.
See you at the beach,
Annette & Thomas