Costa do Vizir Camping

Praia Grande is the village’s main beach and a popular spot among visitors and locals: in high season a lifeguard keeps watch over the waters, and you can hire surfboards and have surf lessons here if your technique needs a little boost. Several little coves around the village provide alternative sandy beaches, or you could drive for 20 minutes or so to get to the wild dunes of Praia do Malhão or the sheltered Praia da Franquia, to rent motorboats or windsurfing kit. For a spot of history, make the 20-minute drive to the coastal town of Sines, where you can visit the birthplace of 15th-century globetrotter Vasco da Gama and walk on the old castle walls. Drive a little further north (half an hour from the site) to reach the Roman ruins at Miróbriga and wander around the well-preserved forum, houses and bathhouses. Also around half an hour from the site is the Badoca Safari Park, for guided tours on a tractor-pulled train among various inhabitants including zebras, giraffes, buffalo and ostriches. Bird of prey displays, a rafting ride and the chance to feed lemurs are among the park’s other attractions.