Yes, it is this time of the year again. It is hot, nearly to hot (lucky nearly all our airbnbs have aircon or else are very well insulated and hence stay cool during hot weather regardless!) to only spend time exploring Lisbon (as much as we love it!).
Instead how about exploring all amazing beaches close by Lisbon, too? You do not have to drive to the Algarve to pass by some of Portugal's best beaches! The water may be colder as it is the Atlantic, though truth be told it also takes a whole summer for the water in the Algarve to heat up! And who does not like a splash in refreshing cold water at premium temperatures! If you do not, you get used to it quickly. Trust us on this :)
Guincho beach just outside of Joao's hometown Cascais (yes we are biased). Cascais itself is a great day trip from Lisbon - you can take the train (it is very busy yet scenic along the river/coast) from Cais do Sodre train station. Visit the old parts of town, have lunch at Baia do Peixe (one of our favourites) and then head to Guincho beach (by bus, taxi or rent a bike the cycle path goes all along the coast!). It can be windy, though is a really nice beach and has dunes (with walkways) as well as some good restaurants around if you prefer a view of the ocean to a bay view for lunch. Guincho itself has a snack bar you can visit during the day if you want to chill there for the whole day. Though be aware it is a windy beach typically. It is good for kite surfing / surfing.
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It is a bit of a track to get there and you must be willing to spend at least 90 min in the car one way to get there! So best is you book a rental car to be independent for the day. We do have preferential rateswith holiday autos if you follow the link on our offering page with all the discounts we have negotiated for you :) You can either drive there all the way and go South to go around the peninsula or you go to Setubal and take the ferry. If you head there reserve your lunch table in advance. You can find recommended restaurants on my local map, that I share with each guest :) Else you end up having really late lunch potentially as it can get busy and booked till 3 or 4pm in the afternoon before you get a table (been there done that, do not recommend it!).
We also love Portinho da Arrabida which is about 50 min away driving from Lisbon. For this town and beach you have to park at the top and take a tuk tuk down or walk. If you take the tuk tuk tell them you have a lunch reservation at D'uportinho and they should take you on the tuk tuk free of charge. On the way back you need to keep your invoice from the restaurant to get a free lift back up. At least this was the process last summer (2021). The restaurant itself is also the better one of the three-four that are there. It has a roof terrace or you can sit just next to the fish and watch them swimming. The beach has some rocks, it is nevertheless super picturesque. The water is more shallow.All beaches are unique in their own kind. Gunicho and Costa da Caparica are also great and so much closer. As our kids are younger we would opt mainly for the closer beaches, though I do really appreciate if we make our way to the other beaches. As someone that comes from the middle of the country, it took me some time to understand why to drive 90 min one way for a beach, it is totally worth it!
The choice is really yours! Now which beach should it be or all of them ;-)
If you have not made up your mind on where to stay with us our LD Apartments Chiado Ferragial and Chiado Corpo Santo apartments are a mere 2 min away from the train station to go to Cascais. They are also best located to rent a car and park it in the parking garage. The other apartments also all have parking garages nearby, however they are all more expensive or further away to park.
This post is for David and his family who stayed at our LD Apartments Alfama flat in July 2022, making the most out of exploring Lisbon and surrounding areas for 8 nights!
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