Praia da Marinha

37°05′24.3″N 8°24′45.0″W / 37.090083°N 8.412500°W / 37.090083; -8.412500

Marinha Beach located in Caramujeira, near the city of Lagoa, in Algarve region, Portugal.
Panoramic view of the blue sea of Marinha Beach in Caramujeira, Lagoa, Algarve.

Praia da Marinha (in English: Navy Beach or Marinha Beach[1]) is one of the most emblematic beaches of Portugal with a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, located on the Atlantic coast in Caramujeira, part of the Lagoa Municipality, Algarve, and considered by the Michelin Guide as one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in Europe and as one of the 100 most beautiful beaches in the world.[2] In 1998, it was also awarded with the distinguished "Golden Beach" award by the Portuguese Ministry of the Environment because of its outstanding natural qualities. Furthermore, many pictures of this beach have often been used in promotional material and "Guides of Portugal" distributed around the world. The beach itself is fairly small and sandy, and orange limestone cliffs border this famous beach. The beach also has some difficulty to get there, it is a little off the main road and the foot path takes a sharp descent downward.[3]

This beach is not only famous for its cliffs, but also for the quality of the water. Marinha Beach has often been used by international advertising agencies and by television producers in advertising campaigns.

In 2018, the US television network CNN chose Marinha Beach in the Algarve as one of the 20 most beautiful in the world in the category of beaches with cliffs.[4]

In 2019, CNN re-elected Marinha Beach as the Portuguese beach with the award for best spot to visit in September and also as one of the best destinations in the world.[5]

  1. ^ Travel in Portugal: Marinha Beach (Praia da Marinha)
  2. ^ Público Newspaper, Beach of the Navy, a postcard from the South, Andreia Marques Pereira, 2011.
  3. ^ Guide of Portugal, DK Eyewitness Travel Guides, Dorling Kindersley, 2003; ISBN 978-0-7894-9423-8.
  4. ^ Best Beaches: Portugal's wild coastline beyond the Algarve resorts in CNN Travel, 12 September 2018.
  5. ^ Map of the Best Beaches: Praia da Marinha (Marinha Beach), Algarve, Portugal in CNN Travel, 2019.