Francisco Tales

Nazaré Beach

February 14, 2016

I don't see any good way to start bloggin rather than bringing to you Nazaré. Nazaré Beach is an amazing sunny and worth visiting crystal water beach on the west coast of Portugal, where the biggest wave was ever surfed (100ft.) by Garrett McNamarra in 2013.

View near the lighthouse in a winter morning

When to visit?

If you're planning to enjoy this sunny and crystal water beach you might want to visit it throughout summer time, between June and September. The air hits 30ºC (86ºF) or above easily and the water ranges between 16ºC (61ºF) and 18.5ºC (65ºF).

However this western beach can as well be very pleasant during winter time.

How to get there and how much does it cost?

By road

Nazaré is 1 hour away from Lisbon and 2 from Porto. From Lisbon you go on the A8 a coastal highway that connects Lisbon and Leiria to the exit signposted for Nazaré.

By coach

The bus station is in the town centre, you can find information on www.rede-expressos.pt and www.rodoviariadooeste.pt. Both options are good, the first one is quicker, the second one is more of a regional coach.

By train

If you want to go to Nazaré you will have to stop at Valado dos Frades station, which is located 6 km away from Nazaré beach. Tranfers are done by bus or taxi. Timetables for trains are available on www.cp.pt.

Lisbon - Nazaré itinerary

If you're flying to the Lisbon Aiport you can follow this itenerary: in Lisbon International Airport get to the Subway Station (called Aeroporto in the pink line) > then change to the yellow line in Entre Campos Subway Station > then get to Campo Grande Subway Station (called Cidade Universitária in the yellow line) > then get to the outside and look for the coach Rápida Verde towards Nazaré. (Rápida Verde is a coach of www.rodoviariadooeste.pt. Lisbon to Nazaré via Rápida Verde costs about 10€ (11$;7.5£).

Accomodation and costs

On a budget

Some travelers may want to keep contact with the locals and prefer low cost options. If you're one of those travelers, like I am, you might want to visit this websites:

Couchsurfing - locals that have a private or shared room, it can be a bed or even a couch, as the name suggests.
Airbnb - if you still want to stay as a local is a good and reliable alternative.
Orbitur Nazaré Camping - camping is also a cheap alternative and the campsite is relatively close to the beach.

Alternatives

You can also book a hotel, the most known hotel in Nazaré is the Miramar Hotel, with a great view over the beach. The Cubata Hotel is a good hotel and is located right by the beach.

Cubata Hotel and old houses

Where to eat?

Nazaré is known to be a fishing town and you can see old women wearing the traditional 7 skirts selling dried fish by the beach, which for some is a delight and a try before you die thing. Since it's a figshing town you have plenty of fish dishes, including shelfish, but also meat dishes.

Drying fish and crepes in Sousa Oliveira Square

Sousa Oliveira Square three buildings ahead of Cubata Hotel has a diversity of restaurants and cafés where you can have a pancakes or crêpes for breakfast and codfish at dinner.

Prices range from very cheap options to expensive, specially for fresh fish, but even so you won't be disapointed as you can find a big range of options. The crepes in the image cost about 3.50€ (4$;2.75£).

Sightseeing

Apart from going to take a walk by the beach and take a swim, there are other places worth seeing. You can take the Nazaré Funicular (called Ascensor) and appreciate the view over the half-moon shaped beach. When you get to the top you can also see the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Nazaré and an old coreto (bandstand). There are many other churches for you to discover.

Ascensor, Sanctuary of Nazaré and the lighthouse on the top

If you want to have a greater view over the ocean you can go to the lightouse, also you can go inside for 1€.