The 26 beaches in the municipality of Albufeira will open their bathing season on the 15th of May, while the remaining 60 seaside bathing areas in the Algarve will only officially open on the 1st of June.
Albufeira is also the Algarve municipality where the bathing season will end later, on the 15th of October. All the others conclude on the 30th of September.
The list was published in the Decree published on 5 May and signed by the ministers of National Defense and Environment and Climate Action, Helena Carreiras and Duarte Cordeiro, respectively.
The ordinance also indicates which beaches are «of limited use» in the Algarve. In this case, Lagoa is the municipality with the most beaches classified as such (Benagil, Caneiros, Cova Redonda, Tremoços, Marinha, Praia Nova da Senhora da Rocha and Vale Centeanes). In Vila do Bispo there are three (Beliche, Careanos and Tonel), in Lagos there are two (Camilo and D. Ana), followed by Albufeira (Coelha), Aljezur (Arrifana) and Careanos (Portimão).
The «limited use beaches» are «beaches supported by cliffs», where «in a situation of average high tide in the bathing season, most of the available sand is occupied by the risk strips of the cliffs, which correspond to the area liable to be occupied by debris from landslides or falling blocks'. In practice, this classification has no effect, because the beaches so designated are always crowded.
In the Algarve, there are also two river beaches also classified as bathing areas – Pego Fundo, in Alcoutim, and the Odeleite Dam, in Odeleite (Castro Marim). In the first case, the season opens on the 1st of June and ends on the 11th of September, in the second, it opens on the 1st of July and closes on the 30th of September.
Nationally, the 2022 bathing season will include 594 bathing beaches, 20 more than last year. These are places where surveillance and assistance to bathers are ensured by lifeguards.
654 bathing waters will also be available to users, a number that includes 11 more places, compared to last year.
In terms of awards, 393 beaches were awarded the Blue Flag (21 more than in 2021).
The opening of the bathing season will be progressive. On the 7th of May it will start on several beaches in the municipalities of Cascais, Porto Santo and Porto Moniz. On the 15th of May, the beaches of Albufeira will join. On June 1, most beaches in the center and south of the country.
In inland waters, the beginning of the bathing season takes place between June and July.
As with the opening, the end of the bathing season will also be progressive from the end of August, extending until October 31 with the closing of the last beaches, located in Funchal and Porto Santo.
The Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) will carry out, throughout the bathing season, analyzes to assess whether the waters are suitable for bathing, thus ensuring greater safety for users.
The Info Praia application is active again to facilitate, anywhere and quickly, access to updated information about beaches and bathing water quality.
In this application you can define favorite beaches, awarded awards, existing equipment, as well as being notified of updated information on the quality of bathing water.
The “Info Praia” will continue to include the level of occupation of the beaches, now for information purposes, allowing users, before traveling, to select their options.
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