For holidaymakers or long term residents looking for a beach to go to with their four legged friends, here are some beaches that can help to make your sunny time more pleasant.

It's tempting to go to a beach with dogs. Seeing them running freely on the sand and jumping in the sea is the perfect picture for all dog lovers in Portugal. However, there are some rules we have to follow, especially in the summer, when the regulations are strict.

Not all beaches are open to dogs. Most are not, especially in the Algarve where there is a ban where no one can take dogs to the beach from June to September on the coast between Vilamoura and Vila Real de Santo António, regardless of whether they are supervised or not. There are reports of people being fined by the Maritime Police for having their dogs on the beach and these fines can be up to 2500€.

Supervised beaches

As a rule, on beaches with lifeguards and facilities, the presence of dogs is forbidden during the bathing season. On unsupervised beaches, unless there are municipal signs prohibiting dogs, the presence and circulation of dogs is allowed.

As for the rest of the country, since 2016, there have been beaches that began allowing pets to be taken to supervised beaches. Therefore, the first pet-friendly beach was Praia da Areia Norte, in Peniche. The beach has bag dispensers to collect dogs’ waste.

The following year, it was the turn of Coral Beach, in Viana do Castelo, to allow animals to freely move on the beach. A few kilometres down the road, in Esposende, in the Braga district, Suave Mar Beach and Ramalha Beach became pet-friendly in 2018, as part of the Esposende Municipal Strategic Plan for Animal Welfare.

In addition to drinking troughs, these beaches in Esposende have a cleaning circuit with devices for dog waste and signage with rules of circulation of pets. In partnership with the Voluntary Firemen of Fão, the municipality also provides an ambulance exclusively for rescuing dogs and cats.

If you are in the Metropolitan Area of Porto, Brito Beach in S. Félix da Marinha in Vila Nova de Gaia can be a good option to go with your animal. Also, in the pipeline of the chamber is the opening of a beach to pets, but the exact location is still not known. Stay tuned!

Further south, dogs are also very welcome at Praia dos Pescadores, in the municipality of Oeiras, Praia das Amoreiras, in the municipality of Torres Vedras and at Furnas-Rio beach, in Odemira.

Rules

On supervised beaches, there are specific rules to be followed. As an example, pets must always be kept on a leash (if they are considered dangerous, a muzzle must be used and the leash must be up to 1 metre long). In addition, owners must have the pet's identification document with them and are responsible for the collection of waste. Don’t forget that injured or sick animals, animals in heat, pregnant or nursing females and puppies are not allowed on the beach.

Assistance dogs

In this respect, there is an exemption for guide dogs (which help people with visual impairments, but also assistance dogs that help people with hearing, mental or motor impairments). These dogs are allowed to go to any beach without any restriction.

Non-supervised beaches

The beaches we have been listing are the supervised beaches with lifeguards and facilities. However, if you prefer to go to an unsupervised beach, you will have no problem as long as you make sure there is no "no dogs allowed" sign at the entrance to the beach.

Author

Paula Martins is a fully qualified journalist, who finds writing a means of self-expression. She studied Journalism and Communication at University of Coimbra and recently Law in the Algarve. Press card: 8252

Paula Martins