The beautiful Luz beach (Praia da Luz) is situated in a cosmopolitan summer holiday village with the same name. Praia da Luz used to be an important fishing town many years ago, but the town nowadays revolve around tourism focused on the amazing seaside. A lovely, sandy beach with beautiful views and impressive cliffs! Luz is a great place to stay or to do a daytrip if you are staying elsewhere in the Algarve as there are plenty of shops, bars, cafes and restaurants to make a great day out.
The beach has an incredible palm lined promenade with awesome open-air cafés and restaurants on a walkway with typical Portuguese paving. In season the beach and surroundings are alive with a festive atmosphere, loads of traffic and activities. The beautiful sandy beach stretches from Rocha Negra to Fortaleza de Luz. The popular holiday town Lagos, with a beautiful marina and some spectacular beaches is only 7 km away. If you’re planning to stay in Luz make sure to visit Lagos there are many great things to do there.
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Luz Beach
Luz beach is an medium size Blue Flag beach with fine golden sand and plenty of facilities, refreshments and watersports available. The soft sand without rocks and broken shells is great for sunbathing and beach games. Luz Beach has two distinct zones, the white sand beach and the rocky cliff zone. The water is below 20C most of the time, not Thailand, but good for a cool, refreshing dip. The location of the beach in the middle of the town Praia da Luz is very convenient and you can walk here from almost anywhere in town. There are watersports available on the beach including motorized watercraft like jetskis which are kept well away from swimmers. The fact that Praia da Luz is a blue flag beach means that it meets certain international criteria for excellent standards of quality, safety, environmental education, facilities, and information.
There is one more beach in the town Praia da Luz, Praia Prainha is a beautiful, small beach on the western side of the rocks, next to the fort. This beach is usually a lot less busy than the main beach.
Dogs on Praia da Luz – this is a Blue Flag beach so only guide dogs are allowed on the beach, there are signs showing this at the entrance to the beach. Many people do however take their dogs to the beach out of season and like most other beaches in the Algarve it looks like this is OK.
Luz Beach Facilities
- Parking – There is a parking area on the beach next to the Paraiso bar/restaurant. Google Maps Pin for Parking there are a couple of parking spots close to the beach, but in high season parking can be a problem, so you may have to park a little further away from the beach and walk down the streets to the seafront.
- Facilities – public toilets on west end of the beach next to the Paraiso bar/restaurant, open in season, neat and clean. Toilets available at many bars and cafes on the beach.
- Accessibility – wheelchair accessible, large ramp at parking area marked above.
- Shade – In season sunbeds and umbrellas available; 15 euro for two beds and umbrella for the day.
- Lifeguards – on duty in season.
- Restaurants – many restaurants and bars lining the promenade on the beach.
Things to do at Praia da Luz
Sunbathing
It is a great beach for sunbathing, relaxing and playing beach-games. The sand is soft and it is a relatively large beach, it still gets very busy in summer. In season you can rent a beach chair and an umbrella for shade.
Swimming at Praia da Luz
This picturesque beach is fantastic for swimming, the main beach area has nice, fine sand without rocks. Located in the Atlantic Ocean the water is relatively clear, but quite cold most of the time with water temperatures between 15 and 20C, nice for a dip in summer, cold for a long swim! The ocean is relatively calm and flat most of the time in summer which is great for swimming with safe conditions. In winter swell comes through more frequently resulting in days with some waves at the beach. At high tide the sand has quite a sharp slope becoming relatively deep quickly, so be careful when swimming with small children, at low tide the beach has less of a sharp slope, getting deeper gradually. Tide Chart Luz Beach In season there are lifeguards on duty.
Surfing at Praia da Luz
Praia da Luz is not really known for its surfing, but it has nice waves from time to time with north swell and offshore wind. Luz is mostly surfed as a beach break with peaks all over the main beach. There is however a reef in front of Rocha Negra that does produce awesome waves when conditions are right. Winter months in general produce better conditions, in summer the water is flat on most days. Surfing at Porto de Mos Beach in Lagos just around the corner tends to be more consistent. This beach is close by and it is even possible to walk here on the beach from Luz beach! This walk takes around an hour and a half. Check out our review on surfing in Lagos.
Want to learn? Check out these Algarve Surf Camps
- 4 Day Thrilling Surf Camp in Lagos
- 5 Day Refreshing Surf Camp in Lagos
- 5-day escape surf camp in Algarve, Portugal
- 7-day hiking, surfing, and yoga holiday in Algarve, Portugal
Water Sports
The water at Luz Beach is calm and flat most of the time in summer creating great conditions for a variety of watersports that are available on the beach such as windsurfing (lessons available), padalos, jetskis and sports behind a boat such as waterskiing, wakeboarding, banana boats and tubing. Stand up paddle and kayak tours exploring the small coves and bays, from Luz to Burgau are also available.
Hiking
Praia da Luz is located on the 230 km multi day hiking trail, the Fishermen’s Trail, hugging the amazing Algarve coastline with breathtaking scenery; rugged cliffs and pristine beaches. The day hike from Praia da Luz to Lagos is 7-10 km. It takes between 1,5 – 2,5 hours to complete the trail (depending on where you want to finish). You can walk in the opposite direction as well from Praia da Luz to Salema past Burgau, it’s a 12-kilometers route. Both trails are relatively easy hikes with spectacular scenery.
Walk the Promenade
Next to the beach is a lovely promenade. Good place for a nice stroll and go for a coffee or something to eat at one of the many restaurants, bars or shops lining the path. The promenade stretches from Rocha Negra to Fortaleza de Luz.
Restaurants at Luz Beach
There are a variety of nice restaurants and bars on the promenade offering nice breakfast, coffee and a range of dishes from pizza to seafood. Value for money you can not beat a ‘tosta mista’ and a ‘bica’, a toasted ham and cheese and an espresso. Toastie and espresso are both just different in Portugal from anywhere else. For this go to a place where locals hangout, try Bar Habana Cafe, many locals, large tosta mista’s.
Getting to Praia da Luz
To get to Luz Beach by car just follow this GPS pin. By public transport get to Lagos by train or bus and from the Lagos bus station take the Linha 4 bus to Luz it takes about 25 minutes. From the closest bus stop (use the previous GPS pin) it is a 300m (5 minute) walk to the beach.
Accommodation at Praia da Luz
On the Beach
Budget
Luxury
More Amazing Places in the Algarve Not Too Miss!
- Ponta da Piedade is a beautiful rocky cape near Lagos Old Town. See the jaw dropping rock structures by boat or kayak from the water or do a walk from the lighthouse.
- Praia Dona Ana is an iconic beach in the Algarve, a short walk from the Lagos old town
- The Benagil cave is one of the most famous sites in Portugal, visit by boat, SUP or kayak.