The alert was issued at 1.25pm on Sunday afternoon, with three of the people holding on to buoys located at the front of the beach, while a further two had been taken out by the strong current.
According to a statement by the National Maritime Authority, “two of the people were at imminent risk of drowning”, but were brought safely to shore.
All of the victims were taken to nearby Ferragudo and transported by the Lagoa Fire Department to Portimão’s Barlavento Hospital, the Authority added.
They all arrived fully conscious at the hospital, but exhibited symptoms of exhaustion and hypothermia.
Three of the victims were British nationals, aged 40, 13 and 10, while the other two were German nationals, aged 56 and 13.
The National Maritime Authority called on beachgoers to take care and said bathing or water-related activities should be avoided whenever there are rough seas and bad weather.