Praia da Batata is the closest beach to the center of Lagos Old Town, the beach stretches from the fortress of Ponta da Bandeira to Praia dos Estudantes. Praia da Batata in English means Potato beach. The story goes that a ship full of potatoes sunk near the coast and a lot of potatoes washed ashore on this beach, people started calling it ‘Praia da Batata’.
A cozy, protected beach with soft golden sand and crystal clear, flat water on most days. This makes Batata Beach very popular for swimming and sunbathing. Walking from the Lagos Marina past the Old Town on the lovely promenade next to the Bensafrim river, it is the first of several stunning beaches to the west of Lagos, forming the famous Costa d’Oiro Algarvia (Algarve’s Gold Coast). Batata beach is located between the southern jetty on the Bensafrim river and Praia da Estudantes.
Next to the beach is the river mouth of the river Ribeira de Bensafrim and a little jetty. Many boats pass through here coming from the Marina de Lagos to the open ocean.
Due to its proximity to Lagos’ historic center, it is quick and easy to walk to Praia da Batata from town making this a very popular and busy beach in summer.
Traveling to Lagos by air? see our detailed posts on how to get from Lisbon to Lagos? and how to get from Faro to Lagos?
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Praia da Batata All About the Beach
Batata beach is a medium sized beach with a length of about 160 meters. The sand is nice, fine and soft, but there are some shells scattered around so I will recommend wearing flip flops if you have sensitive feet.
Located in a cove between between the town of Lagos and the famous Ponta da Piedade, Batata beach is one of the best beaches in Lagos. The location causes Praia da Batata to be sheltered from the wind but it still gets a lot of sun. Ponta da Piedade also protect Batata beach from waves from the southwest and the sea here is very calm on most days.
Praia da Batata is connected to Praia da Estudantes by a tunnel, so you can walk between these two beaches.
If you are visiting the Algarve do not miss the Benagil Sea Cave, some of the most spectacular scenery in Portugal!
Batata Beach Facilities
Since Batata beach is located so close to the city center there are plenty of facilities nearby.
- Restaurants – Mar restaurant on the cliffs overlooking Batata Beach, Batata Beach Bar on the beach, Naufragio café overlooking the beach.
- Lifeguards – yes in season
- Toilets – At Mar Restaurant
- Kayak / SUP rental – rent a kayak or a SUP at the jetty and Lagos Sailing Club from several stands, in season you can rent right on the beach.
- Kayak tours – tours to Ponta Piedade depart right here from the jetty
- Parking – yes paid public parking at Mar restaurant (Google Maps Pin Mar Restaurant) or a free parking about 10 minutes walk away
Things to do at Batata Beach
Swimming at Batata Beach
The beach is protected and has calm conditions that is good for swimming. The Atlantic ocean is quite cold most of the year with water temperatures between 15 and 20C, good for a dip on hot days a bit cold for long swims a lot of the time.
Kayaking from Praia da Batata
Exploring Ponta Piedade by kayak is one of the highlights of visiting Lagos. Book a kayak trip with one of the companies at Praia do Cais da Solaria between the fortress of Ponta da Bandeira and Praia da Batata. Depart right from the beach, follow your guide in a double kayak explore caves, beaches and the spectacular Ponta Piedade.
Sunbathing
Batata Beach is excellent for spending a couple of hours on the beach. This is the closest beach to the Lagos Old Town, so you can buy an ice cream in town and walk this way! The sand is nice and soft, the beach can get busy but has enough space to handle fairly big crowds. It is a nice spot for swimming. Facilities are OK, with toilets, and a beach bar available. No sunbeds or umbrellas for rent, so bring your own umbrella. On the southern end of the beach the cliffs offer some shade and there are some little nooks to give some privacy and shelter.
Snorkeling
Since Batata Beach is calm and easy to access it is a nice beach to go snorkeling from. In summer the warm and flat water is often crystal clear and we often go spearfishing from here. If you want to go spearfishing from Praia da Batata in Lagos, a permit obtainable from Multibanco ATMs, is required. I will recommend that you wait until after six pm when boat traffic quiets down and you pull a big surface marker with a flag.
Beach Walk
Since Praia da Batata is connected to Praia de Estudantes and Praia do Pinhão it is possible to do a real nice beach walk all the way from Batata Beach next to the jetty to Praia do Pinhão all the way on the beach. The first two tunnels, first coming from Praia da Batata followed by the tunnel between the two parts of Estudantes beach can be accessed anytime. To keep on walking through the tunnel from Estudantes to Pinhão, the tunnel located right next to the roman style bridge is only accessible at low tide.
Getting to Praia da Batata
Walking
Praia da Batata is located next to the main road of Lagos, Avenida dos Descobrimentos.
Close to the old town and Lagos Marina, Batata Beach can easily be reached on foot. Walk on the promenade along the main road coming from the Marina. This is a nice walk next to the Bensafrim river, past the old town and the harbor. Walk past the harbor (Avenida dos Descobrimentos). Access Praia da Batata with steps from the promenade.
Driving
Use the paid parking next to Avenida dos Descobrimentos (main road), or park in the small parking area close to Praia do Estudantes, just click on Mar Restaurant in you GPS/phone. Lagos has plenty of Ubers, since Lagos is a small town this is a quick, cheap and easy way to get to the beach.
Top Activities in Lagos
- Go on a kayak trip from Lagos and explore the sea caves and beaches of Ponta da Piedade
- Ponta Piedade Boat Trip – expore Ponte Piadade, Dona Ana Beach and Camilo Beach from the ocean.
- Benagil Caves Trip– Explore these famous sea caves from Lagos.
- Dolphin watching tour – see dolphins on this boat trip guided by a marine biologist.
- All about Surfing in Lagos.
More Amazing Beaches in Lagos
- Detailed guides on Praia da Dona Ana and Praia do Camilo nice sandy beaches, surrounded by spectacular overhanging cliffs.
- Meia Praia the longest beach in Lagos is great for walk, runs, surfing and swimming.
- Praia Porto de Mos a good beach for surfing inside Lagos with good facilities.
Accommodation around Batatas Beach
See our detailed guide to choosing the best hotel in Lagos.
Budget
Mid Range
Fabulous