Beach City/Town Suggestions ("Mykonos-like")
 

Greetings.

I am in the beginning stages of planning an early Sept trip to Spain and Portugal. A couple years ago we visited Greece and stayed in Mykonos. Normally I am not much a "sit around on the beach" sorta guy but for 3 straight days we took a 15 min bus ride to Paradise Beach and absolutely loved it. I'm looking for suggestions on similar towns or smaller cities in Spain or Portugal that have an excellent beach (with Paradise-like amenities) and an intriguing town area to explore.

What we loved about Paradise was that while it wasn't huge, there was lots of wonderful people-watching to be had, great service/chairs/umbrellas with little stores to buy food/drink, the water was great for swimming and it was accessible. Suggestions on similar places in these two countries would be greatly appreciated.

Some details: 2 week vacation, visiting Barcelona for sure (maybe fly into this city), possibly visiting Lisbon (and flying home from here). We are looking for a great beach town that would be easy to get to from Barcelona (if in Spain), or perhaps Lisbon. We don't rent cars, so bus/trains/planes only. I've heard south Portugal is a pretty happening beach area. We are thinking 2 big cities (Barc, Lisbon) and 1 beach town/city that fits the Mykonos bill.

If you have recommendations, personal travel stories and/or advice, I'd love to hear it. Thanks much.

From Barcelona, go to Ibiza and Formentera or Mallorca. Fly or take a ferry. Make reservations now.

Thank you Bedar. I will look into those places.

I was hoping for more charming, quiet mid-sized cities/towns located along the coast of Spain, back towards Portugal, or perhaps towns south of Lisbon. These

Any other suggestions?

Thanks again.

Mykonos like: Ibiza town. White houses and tons of tourists and discoes.

You might also look at Salema and Comporta in Portugal.

Spain--Sitges?

Portugal--Cascais? The beach here is tiny but the town is pretty. You can train to/from Lisbon.

I hate Ibiza. It is great if you are 22 and won't go into cardiac arrest from all the drugs and sex, but it isn't for the mature.

There is a nice gay beach south of Lisbon, but I can't remember the name of it. My ex-husband was born in Lisbon and he took me there.


Thin

Excellent, thank you all! I will research Comporta, Salema, Sitges and Cascais.

Definitely not looking for a crazy party location (or bars/discos), such as Ibiza has the reputation for. We are much more interested in mid-sized towns or smaller cities that are large enough to have restaurants and service to the beaches (and we are willing to pay for chairs/umbrellas).

I am still deciding if we want to fly into Lisbon and out of Barcelona, or vice versa. It would be nice to end the trip with a beach city/town that is somewhat near one of those cities.

Would love to hear other suggestions, thanks!

We liked Ericeira and Nazare in Portugal. Ericeira is about 1 hour north of Lisbon, with good restaurants and a good variety of places to stay. There are three beaches but only have chairs & umbrellas during the high season. A great spot for surfing.

Nazare is a bit more rough and ready - it's a bigger town than Ericeira - about 90 minutes north of Lisbon. Fantastic seafood. Beautiful beaches but the tide can be treacherous. No chairs & umbrellas - you rent little tents on the beach instead.

For Barcelona - Calella de Palafrugel and Llafranc have great beaches and good eating & drinking. Very pretty villages too.

Thank you ter2000, I will look into those locations. It seems as if there are tons of ideal spots both in Spain and Portugal...can't wait to visit/explore!

From BRcelona, drive north to Collioure, France.

In 2010, after visiting Barcelona, we went on a 3-night roadtrip along the Costa Brava. We made a quick stop in Calella de Palafrugel to take some photos and walk around a bit. We thought it was lovely and commented it would be nice to spend more time here. It's a pretty fishing village with a beach. It was a quick visit, and in October, so we didn't do any swimming.

After stopping in Calella, we drove to our destination for the night, Cadaques, which I recommend. It's beautiful, white buildings, on the Mediterranean. It's also close to Dali's house in Port Lligat, which was a highlight of our trip.

So, Calella de Palafrugel and Cadaques could be possibilities. Research other places, too, on the Costa Brava.

Awesome, thank you all for the suggestions! The more I research, the more it is becoming apparent that the coasts of both countries are lined with beautiful towns and fantastic beaches.

Nearly everyone I talk to that has been to Barcelona says it is one of their favorite cities on earth, if not the outright favorite. I'm starting to think that a 5-7 day visit to Lisbon followed with a 7-8 day stay in Barecelona is the way to go (or vice versa, pending flight cost differences). From Barcelona and/or Lisbon, we could take day trips to some of these smaller towns along the coast, even staying a night or three in one of them.

I'm getting far too excited already, thanks again everyone!