Portugal’s Costa Vicentina Travel Guide

The Algarve, Portugal’s southernmost region, is known for its crowded beaches, golf courses, and the type of family-friendly resorts where you’re more likely to find a burger than grilled sardines. But head north, up the Atlantic coast. There you’ll find one of Europe’s last wild coastlines—a rugged landscape of pristine shores and dramatic cliffs called the Costa Vicentina. 

Spanning nearly 70 miles, the area is part of the greater Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park, a sprawling reserve created by the Portuguese government in 1988 to safeguard the area’s natural landscape and biodiversity. Thanks to strict zoning rules, the vast, beautiful area remains largely undeveloped, apart from the odd farmhouse and old cottage. And until recently, it attracted few visitors—mostly vacationers from Lisbon and surfers who came for its challenging breaks and chill vibe. 

As a resident of Lisbon, I’d been hearing about the Costa Vicentina for years, most recently about the handful of upscale new hotels that have opened there. To see it for myself, I drove south for three hours to Odeceixe Beach, a thumb of sand at the area’s northernmost point. After walking about 20 minutes along the Fishermen’s Trail—part of a hiking network considered to be among the most scenic routes in Europe—I found myself at the edge of a cliff with the Atlantic on one side and the Seixe River on the other. It was a gloriously clear day, and looking south, it felt like I was at the edge of the continent. 

At sunset, I sipped a gin and tonic from Kiosk Agapito, a hilltop bar with epic views of Odeceixe Beach, before checking in to Amaria, a boutique hotel that opened in a former farmhouse in 2023. “When I started to come here I thought, What is this? There was nothing here,” said Nuno Avillez, a former mechanical engineer from Lisbon who bought the property in 2016 and decided to move to the area during the pandemic—a story I would encounter frequently on this trip.

To get his hotel approved by local officials, Avillez retained the existing footprint and carved out 12 minimalist rooms with whitewashed walls, rustic furniture, and woodstoves. The 25-acre property, which also includes a saltwater pool and a wood sauna, regularly attracts wild boar, rabbits, foxes, and partridges. 

For dinner, I drove a few minutes to Näperõn, a modern Portuguese restaurant that has turned the small hillside village of Odeceixe into something of a culinary destination. Hugo Nascimento, the chef and owner, moved there from Lisbon in 2019 and offers daily tasting menus based on what’s in season. “I’m one of those guys who came here on holiday and never left,” Nascimento told me. My meal started with a rissole (a type of deep-fried pastry) stuffed with pork ribs and anchovies and ended with a sorbet of melon and lemon verbena paired with a glass of Muscat wine. It was a homey yet innovative spin on Portuguese cuisine.

The next morning, I continued south to Aljezur, the area’s largest town, about six miles inland. For perspective, I scaled the town’s namesake castle, a 10th-century structure that towers over medieval streets peppered with surfer-friendly cafés and vegetarian restaurants. 

For lunch, I popped into A Tasquinha dos Borralhos, a mom-and-pop snack bar near the town market, and ordered caldeirada, a hearty seafood stew made with salt cod, mussels, and potatoes.

Apart from stunning views, the Costa Vicentina is increasingly becoming known for its wines—vibrant bottles that pack acidity, minerality, and salinity. A short, bumpy ride on a dirt track took me to Atlas Land, a small winery started by Filippo Pozzi, an Italian winemaker who seeks out abandoned vines—such as Bastardo, Boal Roxo, Castelão, and Boal Branco—to create new blends. “I like wines that come from the coast, from old vines,” Pozzi said. I was lucky to arrive on the last day of grape pressing, and was invited to share a communal bowl of penne in tomato sauce and limited-edition wines with Pozzi and a team of expats from Switzerland, France, and Czechia.

That night, I checked in to Praia do Canal Nature Retreat, arguably the area’s most talked-about new resort. Opened in 2022, the 540-acre property has a spacious wellness center, indoor and outdoor pools, and 56 rooms that unfold in a row of modern, adobe-hued structures. After tossing my bag on the four-poster bed, I stepped onto the balcony and took in the expansive landscape of rolling hills and scrubby pines that extended all the way to the Atlantic, with not another building in sight.

The next day, I headed south to what is probably the most dramatic section of the Costa Vicentina: Pontal da Carrapateira, a small, windswept peninsula of cliffs and bluffs that towers over crashing waves, swirling waters, and ocean spray. Besides a few fishermen and a couple of German hikers, the elevated boardwalk was empty. Looking through the spray, it struck me that this landscape hadn’t changed in centuries, or perhaps millennia.

I pushed south past more cliffside vistas, dozens of camper vans topped with surfboards, and quiet beaches accessible only by dirt roads. Along much of the coastline, the water is shallow, the waves are strong, and the water is on the colder side (even in August), making its beaches better for surfing (or contemplative gazing) than swimming. 

I didn’t go to the Costa Vicentina to surf. But because it’s a draw for so many, I felt like I had to give it a try. So on my last day, I headed back north to the Aljezur area for a two-hour lesson at the cliff-backed Arrifana Beach. After some stretching and instruction, I was let loose in the Atlantic. Attempt after attempt, I was battered by the waves, my body flung in all directions, water entering my ears, nose, mouth, and eyes. It was humbling and humiliating. Was surfing for me? Probably not. Was I feeling inspired to ditch everything and move to the Costa Vicentina? Let’s revisit that once my head dries out. 

A version of this story first appeared in the April 2026 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline “The Coast Is Clear.”