Porto Covo is within an hour's drive of a river-mouth town, Roman ruins, one of Portugal's most dramatic beaches, and the cliffs where white storks nest on sea stacks. Here are the day trips worth making from Porto Covo, with drive times and what to see.
Within an hour
Porto Covo sits at the heart of the southern Alentejo coast, so a short drive opens up river towns, Roman ruins, storks nesting on sea cliffs, and some of Portugal's wildest beaches. These are the trips worth making.
Photo: Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsA handsome town where the River Mira meets the sea, with a small fort, calm river beaches for swimming, and more restaurants and nightlife than Porto Covo. The obvious first day trip.
Photo: Sqjaques, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe best-preserved Roman site in this part of Portugal: a forum, baths, and the only known Roman hippodrome in the country, set on a quiet hillside above Santiago do Cacém.
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe birthplace of explorer Vasco da Gama, with a clifftop castle and museum, a working port, and the nearest full supermarkets, pharmacy and health centre. Practical and historic.
Photo: Brigitte from Österreich, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsA dramatic clifftop village on the Fishermen's Trail to the south, with some of the most spectacular beaches on the entire Portuguese coast. Worth the drive for the views alone.
Photo: Alvesgaspar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsA wild lighthouse cape where white storks famously nest on the sea cliffs, one of the only places in the world they do. Astonishing at sunset.
Photo: Epinheiro, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsNorth along the coast, rice paddies give way to long, pine-backed white-sand beaches and the fashionable, low-key villages of the Comporta area. A different, softer landscape.
Common questions
What we have learned here
We live with this village for part of every year, and some of what that teaches you is not written down anywhere. This is the useful half.
Two places, one number that matters, and a Sunday problem. What the price symbols on a listing site will not tell you.
Five places shut on a Tuesday, including two of the best-known tables. Both of the cheap options shut on a Sunday. And for nine of them nobody publishes a closing day at all.
A Portuguese family, a long time away, and a village that keeps pulling us home. What we tried to fix, and the one thing we will not take credit for.
Your base in Porto Covo
A 3-bedroom apartment with 3 bathrooms and a private heated pool, sleeping 6, 500 m from Praia Grande and 15 minutes from the Rota Vicentina trailhead. Booked directly with Ivy, who confirms every reservation herself.
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Staying in Porto Covo
Blue Cove is a 3-bedroom apartment sleeping 6, with a private heated pool and a terrace over the village, a short walk from Praia Grande and the Rota Vicentina. Let directly by the family who owns it.
You deal with the owner, and the apartment is held for you the moment the dates are agreed.
