Aljezur guide
The municipality of Aljezur is located on the western coast of the Algarve, and features a total population of a bit over five thousand inhabitants. It gets its name from the Arabic word “Aljuzur” which is the plural for island, and is composed of four parishes. Being part of the larger Faro District it is quite possible that you may have contact with the region on your trip to the Algarve.
The aforementioned parishes, are more like very small towns, with very small populations, the parishes are Aljezur, Bordeira, Odoceixe and Rogil.
Due to the size of Aljezur city Portugal, this nice hillside town has not been tremendously affected by the mass tourism developments specific to most of the western coast of the Algarve.
The main economic activity of the town has been agriculture, for hundreds of years this has been, and still is, the main activity of the town, however Aljezur has started to benefit from the social and economic renewal that the region has seen in recent years.
The town was damaged in the 1755 earthquake and this meant that a new settlement was built across from old Aljezur, called Igreja Nova.
This short Aljezur city guide is meant to offer you a quick idea of what you can find in Aljezur and the surrounding areas, and let’ start with the main beach in the area, the Praia da Arrifana. This is a long and white sandy beach sheltered by a cove on the west coast of the Parque Natural da Costa Vicentina.
Praia do Amado on the other hand is popular both with tourists as well as surfers. The almost clockwork consistency of the NW waves make Amado beach the ideal spot for surfing enthusiasts. Fans of ocean fishing can get a kick out of the place as well, seeing how the middle of the beach is dominated by the Pedra do Cavaleiro, or Knight’s Rock, which is great to fish from when conditions are right. The ‘amado’ part of the name, means ‘beloved’ in Portuguese, so it’s easy to understand why the place is popular since it says it pretty much in its name.
The Praia do Amado is located at about a thirty-five minute drive west of Lagos, when heading along the N125 towards the town of Villa do Bispo and then north on the N268 toward the village of Carrapateira. Of course these directions only make any sense if you’ve employed some Aljezur car hire services while on your trip to the Algarve. If you do have a car at your disposal and like to drive around the wonderful scenery of the Algarve, you may also want to know about the alternative and quicker route which implies taking the N120 north of Lagos and taking a left turn to pass through the village of Monte Ruivo.
Obviously for those who are not interested in that sort of adventure, they can always employ some Aljezur transfers from Faro Airport to take them straight there and back again when they require it.
The Praia da Amoreira is locate at the mouth of the Riveira de Aljezur, a natural estuary that is a true beauty of nature. The beach isn’t far off, featuring beautiful white sand. This beach is a great place to visit if you have children in your group, because the river offers a safer bathing environment for children as well as being a great location for exploring and kayaking.
This beach is located at about an hour drive northwest of Lagos, on the N120, but it’s just past Aljezur itself, so if you’re there already, it should be considerably easier to get there. If you are coming here from Lagos however, you can also take the N268, pass through Carrapateira and Bordeira and then turn left onto the N120 heading towards Aljezur.
While the town of Aljezur is a really small one indeed, you can easily see that its surroundings offer plenty of attractions and distractions, especially targeted towards those who are looking for a more quiet and traditional type of holiday, the type of holiday when you just lounge on the beach and splash in the ocean for hours upon hours after which you head to a local taverna and have a nice traditional meal.
