surf/beach towns in Portugal

Hi all,

My boyfriend and I are traveling to Portugal from 21st July to 6th August. We are starting in Lisbon and making our way up to Porto. To protect ourselves from yet another over-active holiday :), we are looking for a place where we can stay and relax for 4-5 days. We're looking for somewhere that has a combination of nice beaches, opportunities for surfing (beginners), a relaxed yet not-sleepy vibe, some sights and authentic markets/shops/etc (ie: not a massive drunken tourist hub). Oh! And accessible by public transport.
Basically just an awesome place on the coast to spend a few days :)

Can anyone advise on their favourites? Thanks so much in advance!

Regards,
Claire

Well, one option is to stick around Lisbon, maybe stay in Cascais. Nearby Guincho beach is good for beginners and very accessible.

Going north, next up is Ericeira.

After that further north another good option is Nazare. If you look it up on the internet, you'll see "huge waves" there, those only happen during storm surges, not in July/August.

Also, on the beach side of Aveiro you get this town of striped houses. Never been there to the beach, but I've heard good things.

I heard good things of Peniche.

Peniche and Foz do Arelha are good for surfing and not large cities. Plenty of restaurants etc.

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