Sintra: Praia das Maçãs to Praia Magoito - Cliffs and Beach walk

A great walk that is quite unique if you time it right and are able to walk on the beach due to low tide. Read below for details.

The walk starts at a big parking next to Praia Maçãs and goes straight north along the coast. The scenery out to sea is dramatic and the buildings and dwellings on land are picturesque. You can often find fishermen high on top of the cliffs. The vegetation is low and fairly uninteresting, however.

The gorgeous hamlet of Azenhas do Mar is in the middle, and if you are there at an appropriate time, you can try a first class sea food restaurant there. You continue walking on top of the cliffs and eventually get to the beach of Praia do Magoito where this walk is turning back along the beach below the cliffs you just were on top of.

Before you start walking back on the beach: MAKE SURE YOU HAVE TIMED IT RIGHT and that the tide has exposed the beach. You can check the tides with multiple information sources but I use the app "Beachcam", that tells you the low and high tide times of various beaches in Portugal. I would only recommend walking on the exposed beach WITHIN TWO HOURS of low tide. You don't want to get stuck in the middle where there is no exit point if the tide suddenly rushes in.

The exposed rock that is under sea in high tide can be treacherous. What seems like a rock with decent traction can be extremely slippery a centimetre away. I would recommend having low shoes boots here, as rigid high boots makes it a bit trickier to walk on this surface and increases the risk of slipping.

Eventually you reach a staircase on the cliff face where the route takes you up. The walk is rated Moderate just because of this staircase that can be a little arduous. If you have time, I recommend a rest close to the bottom of the staircase under some overhanging rocks. Perfect place for a meditative rest/lunch next to the waves.

After conquering the staircase, it is a fairly sedate walk back the same way you came.