By PAULO SILVESTRE [email protected]
In this travel feature, Paulo Silvestre takes readers on a guided tour of the best places to visit in Portugal. Paulo provides inside information and useful tips to assist you in planning relaxing trips and enjoyable days out. You’ll discover the best of Portugal and enjoy celebrating its unique culture! Paulo holds a degree in Media Studies and his hobbies include playing in a band.
Sines is a municipality located in the centre of the southwest coast of Portugal and is the historical place of birth of the well known navigator, Vasco da Gama. A small coastal city where culture is a priority.
Along its 30 kilometres of seashore, Sines offers beaches for everybody, from families to adventurers.
There are no beaches like the ones of Porto Covo, one of the prettiest villages in Portugal located on one of the most stunning coastlines. The Praia Grande and Praia da Ilha beaches are large and easily accessible. The complete coastline is rich in small pleasant beaches of fine sand and clear water, split by large rocks that seem as if they have been purposely positioned there to create a feeling of intimacy and privacy. The beaches are for everybody, but it is tempting to say choose your own!
 Praia do Salto. |
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Salto is one of the smallest beaches in the Porto Covo area. Located between Cerro da Águia and Cerca Nova, it has an atmosphere of seclusion and calmness.
The beaches of Sines also offer history and soul. Vasco da Gama beach is part of the urban fabric of Sines and the eyewitness to the main events of its history. From pirate attacks to King Miguel’s departure to Brazil, this beach is part of the face of Sines and part of the heart of its residents.
São Torpes beach is the most well-liked beach in the district and is linked to the legend of St. Torpes, whose martyred body was washed up on the sands in the first century of the Christian era.
Pessegueiro Island beach is where the Carthaginians and the Romans used the Pessegueiro Island Canal as a port of asylum on the tricky northward trip along the Alentejo coast. At the end of the 16th century, plans were made to use the island as a great sea port; some of the blocks used to start the construction of the structure can still be seen.
 Ilha do Pessegueiro. |
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The Sines Cape split the Alentejo shoreline into two halves. In the south lie small beaches separated by rocks, and to the north kilometre after kilometre of unbroken sandy beaches, extending as far as the Tróia peninsula.
This area represents a totally different way of enjoying the beach. It is an area of wide spaces and vigorous seas. Because of the rough seas and deep waters, the coast to the north of Sines is not suitable for bathing, but it offers great delight to those who enjoy solitary walks and the enthusiasm of the elements that involve the area. Wealthy fishing grounds along the north coasts and underwater caves catch the fancy of divers and underwater hunters.
Besides of all these virtues, all these beaches are of the best quality in terms of standards of hygiene, so what are you waiting for?
Discover it!
Paulo can be contacted by emailing [email protected]
