A Vote For Praia da Rocha

by Per Erik
(Drobak, Norway)

The cliffs at Praia da Rocha

Thank you for an excellent site, which I frequently visit.

We have spent most of our holidays in Portugal, mostly Algarve, for the last 12 years.

We have visited most beaches on your top ten list, and I do not disagree in that. I have not visited Barril, but I definitely agree with number two. We lived in Fuzeta a summer, and took the boat to Armona nearly every day. A walk from the Fuzeta side to the Olhao side of the Island is a fantastic experience.

I believe I also understand why Praia da Rocha is not on the list even though two years ago it became our favorite.

Before that, we had kept away from Praia da Rocha, as we believed that it was too noisy and crowdy. However, two years ago, I saw an apartment for sale in Marina de Portimao on the internet , and the location, the maritime atmosphere and the descriptions of the surroundings made us take a closer look. We went there for a week, and checked everything, and we found Praia da Rocha much more attractive than we had thought before.

Yes it has its noisy places, but it was much more than that. And we learned that there is a reason that this is the most famous Algarve beach. A walk from Marina de Portimao to Praia do Vau is a scenic delight, with all the qualities you could want from a beach.

The result was that we, who intended to be free to see new places each holiday, took a quick decision to buy the apartment. After that , we have seen Praia da Rocha developed a lot. A new wooden promenade has been built along the beach, with lights in the evenings, excellent sanitary conditions and places to stop for a drink or a meal. The Marina, with the Restaurant area in front, is also a part of nice developing the area.

So please, before you reconsider your list again, visit Marina de Portimao, take a walk to the end of the wooden promenade, continue through the tunnel, along the beach to Praia do Vau. Maybe you will find a place for Praia da Rocha on your list, or at least, find place for a description of the area as it is now.