Portugal. Carrapateira – my favorite village on the west coast.

In about one month we’ll head to Portugal – it’s my favorite time of the year! Unfortunately we probably won’t make it to Carrapateira this time, but last year we stayed in Carrapateira for three nights.

I keep coming back to Carrapateira since 17 years. And in all those years not much has changed: there are a handful cafès/restaurants in the town center, a market, one small grocery store, a surf and a souvenir shop and that’s about it! It’s a portuguese small town dream come true!

I took these photos while wandering around town in the early morning. Before 9 a.m. you have the whole village to yourself, it’s just the perfect time to look at the houses, flowers and take in the views. In the narrow streets of the village you’ll see nothing but white houses with their blue-framed doors, laundry hanging outside the windows and a few dogs lying in the shade.

Every morning at 9 am the delivery for the market arrives, the grocery store and the cafés open and residents come out of their houses, run errands and chat with neighbors and the first visitors arrive. It gets really hot in summer, so after a breakfast on the towns main square it’s time to visit Carrapateiras gorgeous beaches: Praia do Amado which is very popular for surfing (there are surf schools and also surf rentals available) and Praia do Bordeira which has a beautiful lagoon full of kite-surfers. The winds and currents a strong on the west coast. I shared a few photos from a foggy day at Praia do Amado here.

We found our room on AirBnB – there are quite a few options for Carrapateira.

It’s easiest to get to Carrapateira and to the beaches by car. If you don’t have one: there’s a bus going to and from Lisbon once a day from June to September, if you’re at the Algarve you can take a bus to Vila do Bispo and a taxi from there.