Silver Coast, Portugal

Travel & Area Guide

Everything you need to know about getting here, getting around, and making the most of a part of Portugal most people fly straight over.

Step One

Getting Here

Fly into Lisbon Airport (LIS). From there, you drive north, straight up the A8 motorway along the coast. In roughly an hour, you're here.

There is apparently a bus service from the airport up to Caldas da Rainha. We have never taken it. We don't know the schedule, whether it's reliable, or how it connects onwards. It exists, but that's about all we can tell you.

Our honest advice: rent a car at the airport. It's straightforward, cheap, and you'll use it every single day. Lisbon airport has all the major rental companies right in arrivals.

If you have some extra time, Lisbon is a beautiful city with a lot to see and well worth a visit. Just keep in mind that July is peak tourist season in Portugal, so expect crowds and higher prices in the city. If you're planning to stay a few extra days, we'd also recommend driving south to the Algarve, the most popular coastal region in Portugal and absolutely stunning.
— Caryn

Your Arrival Airport

LIS

Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport

Drive north~1 hour
MotorwayA8
Nearest cityCaldas da Rainha
RegionSilver Coast (Costa de Prata)
Car hire at airportYes, all major companies

You Need a Car

This isn't a suggestion. There is no public transport in this area. No buses between villages. No coastal trains. No rideshare. If you arrive without a car, you will be stuck.

Rent one at Lisbon airport. It's easy, it's inexpensive, and it will transform your trip. Every beach, every castle, every restaurant we'd point you towards requires one. Don't skip this step.

where you're coming to

The Silver Coast

You're coming to central Portugal's Silver Coast, Costa de Prata, one of those corners of Europe that most tourists fly straight over on their way to the Algarve, and have absolutely no idea what they're missing.

The coastline here is dramatic and unspoiled. Medieval castle towns sit in the hills. The countryside is green and unhurried. The food is honest and very, very good. And because it hasn't been fully discovered yet, it still feels like a real place rather than a tourist set.

The best part: everything is close. In half an hour's drive in almost any direction, you can be at a stunning beach, a UNESCO-listed town, a surf break, a sculpture park, a wine estate. The density of good things to do is genuinely surprising.

One more thing worth knowing: this isn't the Algarve. Even in July, the towns and villages here are calm, mostly full of actual Portuguese people going about their day. The popular spots (Óbidos castle, Foz do Arelho beach, Nazaré) do get busier in peak season, but nothing a slightly earlier start won't solve.

~30 min
To Most Attractions
1 hr
From Lisbon Airport
July
Sunshine & Warm Weather

Explore the Area

Things to Do

Everything below we have done ourselves, most of them several times over. These are the most popular spots in the area and every single one is genuinely worth visiting. We think you'll love them as much as we do.

Óbidos walled town

Castle Town

Óbidos

A perfectly preserved medieval walled town with cobbled streets, whitewashed houses, and bougainvillea everywhere. Enter through the Porta da Vila, the main gate, where you'll pass through a charming Portuguese market selling handmade ceramics, lace, local honey, ginjinha bottles, cork products, and traditional crafts. Walk the castle walls, wander without a plan, and have a ginjinha (cherry liqueur in a chocolate cup) at one of the bars inside the gate. Unmissable.

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Foz do Arelho lagoon and beach

Beach

Foz do Arelho

A beautiful spot where a sheltered lagoon meets the open Atlantic, with calm water on one side and waves on the other. Great for families or anyone who wants a beach day without fighting the swell. Head to Praia da Foz do Arelho for the main beach area with some great food spots right on the sand.

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Nazaré beach and cliffs

Beach Town

Nazaré

Famous in winter for the world's biggest rideable waves, but in July it transforms into a proper old-school Portuguese beach town. Dried fish hanging in the sun, women in traditional dress, and a long beautiful beach. While you're there, take a short hike up to the Farol da Nazaré for incredible views over the coastline. Genuine and worth the visit.

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Baleal peninsula near Peniche

Surf & Sea

Baleal

A small rocky peninsula near Peniche with a great surf scene, excellent seafood restaurants, and views in every direction. Even if you don't surf, it's a stunning place to spend a few hours or a full day. Take a walk around the Baleal area for some beautiful coastal views.

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Buddha Eden sculpture park

Sculpture Park

Buddha Eden

An unexpected delight: a vast private sculpture park in the countryside, filled with giant Buddhas, Easter Island heads, terracotta warriors, and more. Strange, beautiful, and very photogenic. Perfect for an afternoon.

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Lourinhã Dino Park

For Families

Lourinhã Dino Park

The area around Lourinhã is one of the most significant dinosaur fossil sites in the world, a fact that surprises most people. The local museum and park are genuinely excellent. Kids love it, and honestly, so do adults.

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Peniche and Berlengas

Islands & Fishing Port

Peniche & Berlengas

Peniche is a proper working fishing port and worth an hour just to walk around. From the harbour, a 45-minute boat takes you out to the Berlengas archipelago: a protected nature reserve with crystal-clear water, great snorkelling, and a 17th-century fort perched on the rocks. While you're there, make sure to visit Ilhéu da Papôa, a beautiful rocky islet just off the coast with dramatic cliffs and stunning views, and the Cabo Carvoeiro Lighthouse, perched right on the edge of the cliffs with incredible ocean panoramas.

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Batalha Monastery

Architecture

Batalha Monastery

Portugal's greatest Gothic building, full stop. The Unfinished Chapels alone are worth the trip, an open-roofed octagonal space that was never completed and somehow ended up more beautiful for it. If you go, pair it with Alcobaça 20 minutes away.

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São Martinho do Porto bay

Beach & Dunes

São Martinho do Porto

Unlike the exposed Atlantic beaches, São Martinho sits inside a sheltered horseshoe bay with calm water, almost no waves, and a completely different feel. Walk the sand dunes behind the beach before you settle in. For a sunset or early morning walk, don't miss the Passadiços da Baía de São Martinho do Porto, a beautiful boardwalk along the cliffs with stunning views over the bay. Great if you want a gentler day by the sea.

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A Gentle Heads Up

The Atlantic Ocean

The beaches here are beautiful. The ocean is the Atlantic, and it is cold, even in late July. The sun will be warm, the sky will be blue, and the water will take your breath away for a slightly different reason than you might expect.

Swimming is absolutely possible, and locals do it happily. But if you've spent your beach holidays in the Mediterranean or somewhere warmer, prepare yourself. It's bracing. Refreshing, even. Some love it. Others decide they prefer to sit on the sand with a cold beer and admire it from a distance.

Day to Day

Good to Know

Shopping & Groceries

Caldas da Rainha is your main base for anything practical. It's a real, working Portuguese city with supermarkets, pharmacies, cafes, restaurants, a daily market, and banks. Everything you need, without a tourist surcharge. About 15 minutes from the venue.

Weather in July

July on the Silver Coast is reliably excellent: warm, sunny, and almost zero rain. Expect temperatures in the mid-to-high twenties. Some afternoons can be hot. Evenings are pleasant. You can safely plan around good weather.

Food & Restaurants

Portuguese food in this region is excellent and very affordable. Fresh seafood, grilled fish, pastel de nata, exceptional bread. Avoid anywhere with a picture menu outside and walk five minutes further. You'll eat better and pay less.

Language

English is fine everywhere you're likely to go, including Óbidos, Nazaré, the beaches, and Caldas da Rainha. Venture into the smaller villages and things get more creative: pointing, smiling, and a confident uma cerveja, por favor will get you surprisingly far.

Accommodation

Where to Stay

You're very welcome to stay at the Marriott Praia D'El Rey, which is also our wedding venue. It makes things wonderfully easy: no taxis, no logistics, just walk back to your room after the party. The rooms are lovely, with ocean views and private balconies.

Just a heads-up: July is peak season, so rates at the resort will be on the higher side. If you'd prefer something more budget-friendly, staying outside the resort is absolutely fine too. There are plenty of great hotels, guesthouses, and rental apartments in the area.

Óbidos has beautiful guesthouses inside the old walls. Baleal and Peniche have a good selection of surf hotels and coastal rentals. Caldas da Rainha is practical and central. Anywhere within 30 minutes puts you close to everything.

Our one recommendation: book early. July is peak season, and the good places fill up.

Lars, unfiltered

Lisbon in July? Really?

Look, Caryn is being polite. Here's the real talk.

Lisbon in July is hot, packed, and expensive. You'll queue for a pastel de nata behind fifty other people doing exactly the same thing, pay triple for a mediocre lunch, and then — I promise you — post yet another photo of a yellow tram. Seriously. Another one. As if the internet doesn't already have ten million of them.

And the Algarve? It's beautiful. It's also where every British tour operator sends every British tourist for six months a year. In July it is rammed. You go to “discover” Portugal and end up at a resort that could be anywhere from Benidorm to Bali.

Come north instead. Come to the actual Portugal. The Silver Coast, where we live, is dramatic, unspoiled, has world-class beaches no one's heard of, medieval castle towns with nobody in them, food that's better than anything you'll eat in a tourist trap, and — crucially — the prices of a country, not a theme park. You're already flying all this way. Spend the extra days here with us, not stuck in a Lisbon tram queue.

End of rant. Caryn's version is also valid. Sort of.