ACTION-PACKED APPEAL
Despite its size, Portugal offers a great variety of terrain, with a wide range of sports and leisure activities to match.
Golf and tennis facilities have been well established for many years, and in the south the mild climate means that both sports can be enjoyed all year round. Other activities such as walking, cycling, riding and water sports are also widely enjoyed and easily arranged.
Tennis courts are found almost everywhere in Portugal and certainly alongside most tourist facilities. In the Algarve, most of the courts in tourist complexes are hard-surfaced, although elsewhere many are clay. The larger resorts in the Algarve, Madeira and the Estoril Coast & Sintra region offer tennis coaching holidays.
Portugal’s resorts are also famous for their golf courses, which include some of Europe’s finest. The majority offer coaching for golfers of all abilities and specialist holidays are now easy to arrange. Although most of Portugal's best courses exist in the Algarve and the Estoril Coast, although more are being built in Portugal’s lesser-known regions such as on the west coast and in the north of the country.
Surfing, windsurfing and sailing are extremely popular along Portugal’s 800 kilometres of coastline and around the Atlantic islands of Madeira and the Azores. The best beach for surfing is the world-famous Guincho, just outside Cascais in the Estoril Coast, where international championships are often held. More moderate conditions can be found in the Algarve resorts, where windsurfing boards and small sailing boats can be rented and lessons easily arranged. Also in the Algarve, the modern marinas at Lagos and Vilamoura are important yachting centres.
Canoeing and kayaking are popular pursuits on many of the country’s rivers, especially on the Mondego, the Zêzere and the Cávado. Portugal’s coasts and rivers also provide plenty of opportunities for the fisherman, from deep-sea fishing off the shores of the Algarve, Madeira and the Azores, to angling in the mainland rivers for trout and salmon.
Walkers will find excellent conditions in both the Montesinho Natural Park and the Peneda-Gerês National Park, but some of Portugal’s best walks are on Madeira and the islands of São Miguel and São Jorge in the Azores. In Madeira, visitors can walk alongside the levada irrigation channels, some of which date back to the 15th century. Following the levadas allows access to parts of the island where no roads can penetrate. Other areas are well suited to mountain biking, particularly in the Peneda-Gerês National Park which has many scenic routes. Portugal also enjoys a famous riding tradition as a result of the country’s fine Lusitano horses.
In the Serra da Estrela mountains near Penhas da Saúde, ski tows and lifts serve Portugal’s only organised ski resort. Conditions are best between January and March, but the resort is sometimes closed due to too much or too little snow.