Slowlife Glamping

The white sands and inviting blue seas of Bicas and Meco are 10 and 15 minutes’ drive away for swims, beach walks, sunbathing and sundowners, but if you’re up for more active stuff on the water, make for Casa do Infantado, 20 minutes away for surfing, paddleboarding, kayaking and coasteering on the sea and the Albufeira lagoon. To get in touch with your wild side (or just go for long walks), it’s a 10-minute drive to the Arrábida Natural Park, a protected wilderness of coast and hills full of hiking trails, deserted coves and wildlife. A must-see spot within the park boundaries is Cabo Espichel, quarter of an hour away: a clifftop pilgrimage site, windswept and enigmatic, with traces of dinosaurs adding a timeless touch. If you’re more into town tours it’s half an hour to Sesimbra, a pretty old fishing village with a lively fish market, a handsome spread of fish restaurants and a less fishy but still worth-visiting fort and castle. A similar distance away, Palmela is the centre of the wine-growing region of the same name and peppered with places to try and buy the local product. Also very doable in a day is the capital, Lisbon (an hour): an increasingly hip but still friendly city of cobbled hills, Moorish castles, tram rides, flea markets and custard tarts.