Praia da Marinha

Overview

Praia da Marinha is the beach on every poster of the Algarve, a small strip of sand under orange limestone cliffs at Caramujeira between Carvoeiro and Armação de Pêra, framed by a double arch and stacks standing in clear water; the Michelin Guide put it among the ten most beautiful beaches in Europe and the hundred in the world, the environment ministry gave it a Golden Beach award in 1998 and CNN listed it twice.

It is reached by a steep path from a cliff-top car park, has a café and lifeguards in summer, and is the eastern end of the cliff walk from Benagil, which is the best way to see the arches from above.

Visiting

From the car park the path drops sharply to the sand; the beach is small, filling by late morning in July and August, with rock platforms either side for snorkelling round the stacks. At low tide it is possible to walk east under the cliffs to further coves; at high tide the sand shrinks to a strip.

The cliff path west to Benagil, about 20 minutes, passes over the arches, the skylight of the Benagil cave and a series of sinkholes, with viewpoints down on to the beach and the stacks; it is the walk the photographs come from, and the reason to come even when the beach is full.

History

The beach’s fame is recent and photographic: its pictures have been used by advertising agencies and television producers worldwide, and the water quality as much as the rock is the reason. The cliffs are the same karst as the rest of the Lagoa coast, eroded into the arches, blowholes and stacks that line the walk to Benagil, and the M-shaped double arch off the beach is the formation that gave it its image.

Tips

• Arrive before 10:00 in summer; the car park is small and the sand smaller.
• The path down is steep and the return climb is in full sun; water and shoes, not flip-flops.
• Snorkel round the stacks in the morning when the sea is calm; the afternoon wind chops it.
• Lagoa’s cataplana and its wine are the lunch; the beach café is for coffee.

Nearby

• Benagil and its cave: 20 minutes west on the cliff path.
• Carvoeiro: 7 km west.
• Armação de Pêra: 7 km east.
• Castle of Silves: 20 km inland.