We are going to Portugal on a 8 day trip in May and do not have time to go to Algarve (we are flying in and out of Lisbon and are doing Lisbon to Porto and things in between). Which beach would you suggest to visit up to an hour drive of Lisbon in any direction to get our beach fix since we can't visit Algarve on this trip? One we should not miss.
It really depends on what you want from the beach. Guincho beach outside of Cascais is beautiful, with cliffs and strong waves popular with surfers. Foz - which is further north,is a lovely beach and Cascais has a couple of small beaches. You could take the train to Cascais very easily and not hassle with driving, if you wanted. In May, the water will be quite cold, so swimming any place would not be very enjoyable, IMO. If you research beaches, you will likely see Peniche mentioned a lot. I was pretty underwhelmed with it.
Thank you so much for the response. This is great information. I rather hear this from someone that has actually experienced it.