January 03, 2023

The 9 Best Algarve Beaches for Families

The Algarve is known for its spectacular coastline and is home to many beautiful beaches that are frequently voted as some of the best in Portugal. For families visiting this region, finding out where the best beaches for kids are is often a priority before a holiday, as you want to make sure that you’re going to visit places that are suitable for everyone.

The good news is that many of the best Algarve resorts for families have their own beaches, so if you’re staying in one of these you won’t have to look far to find the perfect place to spend time by the sea. But if you’re staying in a family villa in the Algarve or want to travel around the region during your trip, there are plenty of other family-friendly beaches that are perfect for days when the weather is hot and sunny.

In this article, we share our top recommendations for the nine best Algarve beaches for families.

Praia da Marinha

Praia da Marinha is one of the most beautiful beaches in Algarve, which also makes it one of the most popular spots for visitors. Located in Carvoeiro between Portimão and Carvoeiro, you need a car in order to reach this gorgeous part of the coastline, but the journey will undoubtedly be worth it.

Surrounded by orange limestone cliffs, this Algarve beach is relatively small, so we recommend arriving early and planning on spending the whole day here. You can enjoy beautiful clear blue water, soft golden sand and even take a boat ride out to some of the rock formations that make up the coastline nearby.

You’ll see plenty of photos of Praia da Marinha when you search for beaches in Portugal thanks to these spectacular limestone cliffs, arches and caves. This is a beach better suited to families with older children, as the path down to the sand can sometimes be tricky to navigate, but once you arrive you can enjoy a spot on the coast with scenery unlike anywhere else.

Praia de Odeceixe

You’ll find Praia de Odeceixe on the border between Algarve and Alentejo, divided by the Seixe River as it joins the sea. This makes it a great choice for families that want to visit a beach to swim, as you have the option to enjoy the ocean or the river that winds down to meet it.

Praia de Odeceixe is known as one of the best beaches in the Algarve for surfing, so if you have children that are eager to try their hand at this watersport, this is a great spot. Younger kids can safely paddle in the shallows of the Seixe or make the most of the small bathing pools that are formed when the tide is low.

After you’ve enjoyed an afternoon on this Blue Flag-rated beach, the seaside town of Odeceixe is about a 30-minute walk away from the beach. In the summer there’s a 'road train' that runs between the beach and the town, but if you and your family would like a walk then you’ll be treated to lovely coastal scenery the whole way.

Praia do Anção

Praia do Anção is a large beach near Loulé that is a great spot for families thanks to the space and facilities on offer. It’s one of the best beaches in Faro that lies within the area of luxury Algarve resorts known as ‘the golden triangle’, with several areas of the beach devoted to exclusive use.

If you aren’t staying in one of the nearby resorts, there’s still plenty of space on Praia do Anção to spend a day in the sunshine. The beach is part of the western edge of the Ria Formosa Natural Park, so many of the surrounding sand dunes are protected and offer lots of space for children to play.

Praia do Anção is a Blue Flag award beach with great washing and toilet facilities, plenty of excellent restaurants and lifeguards on duty to supervise people in the water. It’s also a great beach for different types of watersports, which is another bonus for families looking for ways to keep their children entertained.

Praia do Barril

One of the best beaches in Algarve for families is Praia do Barril, located on the Ilha de Tavira about 5 km from Tavira town. Access to the island and its beaches is easy as there’s a pedestrian bridge connecting it to the mainland, or if you’re visiting with young children you can catch a 'road train' during the high season for tourists.

Praia do Barril is huge and therefore pretty quiet, making it a great place to visit even in the summer months. The sand is soft, white and flat, gently lapped at by clear blue water that is ideal for swimming when the local lifeguards are on duty.

This is another of the Algarve’s Blue Flag-awarded beaches with great facilities; another reason why families at the beach love this spot so much. It’s also part of the Ria Formosa Natural Park, so there’s a range of other coastal landscapes to explore nearby.

Praia da Rocha

You’ll find Praia da Rocha in the centre of the Algarve, close to the city of Portimão in Faro. Its popular location means that this is a beach with plenty of facilities and activities nearby which is one of the key reasons why it’s considered one of the best Algarve beaches for families.

Praia da Rocha is very long, consisting of golden sand backed by red-coloured cliffs. There’s a wooden boardwalk that runs almost the whole length of the beach which is great for finding a restaurant or a cafe, or if you want to take a walk along the coast on a smooth, hard surface with a pushchair.

This spot is known as one of the best Algarve beaches because it’s backed by a popular resort town and therefore well-equipped for tourists. Despite this popularity, the huge size of the beach means that you’ll be able to find a spot even at the height of summer when the town is busy.

Praia da Ingrina

If you and your family are looking for a beach in the Algarve that is quiet and secluded, Praia da Ingrina is a spot that comes highly recommended. Its proximity to the popular Praia do Zavial means that it’s often overlooked in favour of its neighbour, which is great if you’d rather visit a beach that isn’t very touristy.

Praia da Ingrina is only about 100m wide and is sheltered by a cove with soft white sand leading out to the clear blue water. The cliffs and rocks on either side of the beach protect the water from becoming too choppy, making this a fantastic place to come with younger children that want to swim in the sea.

It’s easiest to reach Praia da Ingrina if you have a car, which you can leave in the car park above the beach. There’s also a family-run restaurant very close by that is a great place to take your family for a spot of lunch during a leisurely day spent relaxing and playing on the sand.

Praia da Bordeira

Praia da Bordeira is known as one of the nicest beaches in Portugal, so it’s a very popular spot for families to visit when they’re here on holiday. Located along the coast from the busy Praia do Castelejo, the nearby village of Carrapateira offers a couple of cafes and surfing shops but really lets the beach steal the show with its huge expanse of sand dunes.

The sand dunes at Praia da Bordeira are one of the key attractions, as are the waves. Surfers flock to this part of the Algarve to make the most of the waves, which do make the water quite choppy in parts. However, the soft sand and relatively quiet atmosphere make this a family favourite in many of the Algarve beaches guides.

There’s not a huge range of facilities at this beach, so it’s better suited to families with older children or those that are just looking for a quick visit to the coast. It’s still a gorgeous part of the Algarve that benefits from too much tourist infrastructure, with much more of a laid-back vibe that you can enjoy amongst the dunes.

Praia do Burgau

If you’re looking for the best Algarve beaches for families then Praia do Burgau is somewhere that will get recommended almost every time. Situated beside the small fishing village of Burgau, this is a wonderfully unspoiled spot that takes a little bit of effort to reach, but is well worth it for the quiet atmosphere and stunning landscape.

Praia do Burgau is a small and sandy beach that is often considered one of the Algarve's best-kept secrets. The stretch of sand backed by cliffs and picturesque houses isn’t particularly large, but its quiet status means that this spot rarely feels overcrowded.

Despite the small size, the facilities at Praia do Burgau are really good, with several great places to eat and lifeguards in the summer months. The village itself is also worth a visit for its quaint architecture, with clifftop paths on either side offering lovely views of the coast.

Praia da Dona Ana

Praia da Dona Ana often makes the list as one of the best beaches in the Algarve, so it is a beach that can get quite busy at times. However, it’s also a great spot for families to visit, so if you’re there early in the morning or during the shoulder season for tourism, you’ll be able to enjoy it relatively undisturbed.

The beach belongs to a section of the Algarve that is sometimes called ‘Costa d'Ouro’ or ‘golden coast’ due to the colour of the cliffs that surround many of the beaches here. These rock formations are one of the key things that make Praia da Dona Ana such a special place, as the unique golden stone provides a stunning backdrop to the soft sand and clear water.

This is another Blue Flag-awarded beach with a lot of great facilities, so it’s easy to spend a whole day here with your family. Its location close to Lagos makes it an ideal place to visit for the day if you’re staying in or near the city, with plenty of parking available.

Summary

When it comes to holiday activities in Portugal, finding the best places for families at the beach is often a priority when you’re planning a trip. Luckily, many of the top 10 beaches in the Algarve are ideal for travellers with kids, along with countless other hidden coves, sandy stretches and beautiful areas of the region’s coastline.

If you’re planning a trip to Portugal with your family, The Villa Collection has a fantastic range of rental properties in regions like the Algarve which are perfect for groups of all sizes that want to spend time visiting the area’s beautiful beaches.