For our final days in Portugal we have situated ourselves in a town not far from Lisbon: Santa Cruz. As a town on the coast, we decided to stay here at a comfortable resort to enjoy a few beach days before heading home. While reflecting our time here, I decided to also share a few of the other small towns we saw while in Portugal including Aveiro and Mertola.

 

Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz is a town built along an extensive stretch of sand, which creates some of the nicest beaches in Portugal. We came to stay at Noah Surf House, a beachfront resort which is a dream for active kids: offering surfing, swimming, skateboarding, and more. The weather ended up being too cold to spend in the water, but we had a great time watching Elia get on a skateboard for the first time and the girls jumping on a trampoline together.

Our accommodations were in a bungalow which appears to protrude directly out of the sand with floor-to-ceiling windows of the beach. These distinctive homes, plus the overall vibe of the resort, were what made our stay here the most unique.

 

Costa Nova do Prado

Costa Nova do Prado used to be a fisherman’s village, but has now evolved into a coastal resort town. Colorfully striped houses decorate the main palm tree-lined promenade; these were once fisherman houses that stored equipment. It is said the bright stripes were intended to aid the men in finding their home on a foggy day.

Similar to the beaches of Santa Cruz, the sandy beaches at Costa Nova are expansive with rough waves – a draw for regional surfers. There is a raised wooden walking path that spans from one end of the beach to another (with a few restaurants and cafes along the way), which makes it a pleasant place to go for a stroll for those who may not want to brave the waves. Both Costa Nova and Santa Cruz beaches are lovely as they seem to be untouched by the mass tourism that has infiltrated much of the rest of Portugal.

 

Aveiro

Not far from Costa Nova is Aveiro: another fisherman’s town, though larger. Aveiro is commonly referred to as “Portugal’s Venice”, due to its system of canals and boats. I warn that this is an overstatement, and the canals in Aveiro may be underwhelming if this is your expectation.

Moliceiros, traditional boats which are brightly colored with sometimes quirky art, line the canals. In the past, these used to transport salt and “molico“, a type of seaweed used as a fertilizer. Since chemical fertilizers have long since taken over the market, these boats felt out of service and are now used to cart tourists around instead.

 

Mertola: A Medieval Castle on the Hill

Our time in Mertola was short: we stopped for lunch on our way to Evora from the Algarve. But the town, in what feels like the middle of no where, made a perfect stopping point along our drive. We found a little church atop the hill with lovely views of the Mertola Castle, the Guadiana river and the strikingly white Mertola bridge.

No one else was here but us, making this a perfect peaceful little break as the sun started going down.