Comporta Beach

Comporta Beach, an hour's drive south of Lisbon, has a charming beach-shack ambiance. This simple hideaway, perched on the Tróia Peninsula – a sliver of sand jutting out from Portugal's Alentejo province's northern shore – is delightfully devoid of mass tourists.

The ocean conditions at Praia do Comporta are ideal for kite surfing. The beach, which is near to Comporta village, is bustling and a fantastic location for the thrilling water activity of kite surfing, whether you want to try it yourself or simply watch riders glide over the air and sea. The beach that bears the region's name is also one of its most popular. The beach is a vast stretch of white sand with colorful umbrellas strewn about. It attracts a large number of beachgoers due to its simple access and enough parking.

The pristine Praia da Comporta is the preserve of a chic, more discerning crowd, as well as in-the-know surfers, and is named after the charming little whitewashed village of Comporta, a gem of a place straddled over rice paddies and salt pans and where every chimneystack, it seems, has been commandeered by white storks. The bleached-wood eateries that punctuate the boardwalks surprise with their colorful and eccentric interiors, while thatched cabanas cling to shifting sand dunes.

Location: south of the Troia peninsula