Like any Australian I am a sucker for a good beach. Having spent three months travelling around Portugal and Spain I spent a lot of time at the beach. Whether it is to relax and soak in the rays, cure a hang over, go for a swim or bond with new friends over a game of volleyball some of my best memories of this trip has been at beaches. Two of my favourites were Nazaré Portugal and Formentura Spain for very different reasons.
Taken at Formentura Island Spain
Nazaré is a small Portuguese beach town between Lisbon and Porto. I had never heard of it before travelling there, the only reason I did was that I wanted to spend over a month in Portugal and this was a quick bus ride before getting to Porto. I was more than pleasantly surprised when I arrived to a chilled out surfer town with amazing beaches, bars and seafood. Water sports are a dime a dozen here from surfing, jet skis and tubing, swimming and fishing there is something for everyone.
View of Nazaré beachfront from lookout
I chose to do a dolphin safari whilst there, being out on the water with the dolphins swimming up beside the boat was a very special moment. As with a lot of Portuguese tourist attractions ecotourism is at the forefront of the companies minds here, which makes the experience all the more special.
On the other side of the hedland is the surfing beach. Where the largest wave recorded was 25meters. This is where pro surfers from around the world come to conquer these super waves. There is a very informative museum at the old fort which can be reached by ascending trolley from the main town.
Surfer Deer Statue relating to the legend of Nazaré guarding the cliffs to the surf beach
Formentura is a small island in the Balearic islands next to Ibiza. A 2 hour boat ride from San Antonio the best beach on Forumentura is a Platja De S’llleta. The bus from the ferry terminal drops you on a dirt road seemingly in the middle of nowhere with a small pool of water in front of you. The group I was with were slightly concerned when we got off the bus but after walking around the corner came to what can only be described as paradise.
The view walking down to the beach from the bus stop
White sand and vibrant crystal clear blue water we were happy to have woken up early after a late night of bar hopping to get there. By mid morning the beach was quite full but the was still plenty of room that you didn’t feel like you were invading other groups space. I went the closing week of Ibiza superclubs so can only imagine how busy it would be during peak season. My advice would be to make sure you are there bright and early to get a good spot.
As with Ibiza and most islands in general drinks from the bar at the end of the beach are very expensive so pack your own from the supermarket. If you run out and don’t want to walk all the way to the bar there are also people walking around with eskies selling drinks but cans are the same price as the bar. As the beach is in a cove it is a short walk to the water that is cool and blue, it is also very shallow for a good 100mtrs perfect for a cool off and a paddle.
Thanks for reading!