Praia da Coelha
Cliff beach
Praia da Coelha is a small, somewhat hidden cove between Sao Rafael and Castelo on the coast west of Albufeira. The beach is reached by a path through pine woodland from a small car park, and the approach gives little hint of the attractive cove that lies below. The path descends through the trees, their resinous scent strong in the summer heat, crosses a section of open cliff top with views along the coast, and then drops via steps to the sand. The slight effort involved in reaching the beach, together with the poor signposting from the main road, helps to keep visitor numbers manageable even in high season.
The cove is compact, perhaps eighty metres across, enclosed by low cliffs of pale limestone on three sides. The sand is fine and golden, clean and well maintained, and the water is remarkably clear, sheltered from the prevailing winds by the headlands on either side. The seabed is sandy close to shore, becoming rockier towards the margins of the cove, and the snorkelling is good, particularly along the base of the eastern cliff where small caves and overhangs provide habitat for a variety of fish including wrasse, damselfish and small groupers.
At the western end of the beach, a series of flat rock platforms extends into the water. These are popular for sunbathing, offering a harder but more spacious alternative to the sand, and serve as launching points for snorkellers heading out to explore the underwater rock formations. At low tide, rock pools form in the hollows and depressions of the platforms and contain the usual Algarve rock pool inhabitants: anemones, hermit crabs, small blennies, shore crabs, various molluscs and, occasionally, a starfish clinging to the underside of a ledge. The eastern end of the beach is sandier and has a gentler, unobstructed entry into the water, making it the preferred spot for families with young children.
Coelha has a small beach bar set back from the sand that serves drinks, ice creams and basic food, and lifeguard cover in the summer months between June and September. There are no other facilities on the beach itself. The car park above is small and reached by a minor road that is not always well signposted from the main EN125, which contributes to the beach's relatively low profile compared to its neighbours. Visitors staying in central Albufeira can reach the beach by a pleasant clifftop walk of about thirty minutes from Sao Rafael, passing several viewpoints along the way.
The beach has a quiet, intimate character that distinguishes it from the larger and busier beaches on either side. It feels like a place that rewards those who seek it out rather than one that advertises itself to passing traffic. In the early morning, before the beach bar opens and before the day visitors arrive from the resort hotels, Coelha is a particularly peaceful spot, the only sounds the lapping of the water on the sand and the calls of yellow-legged gulls circling the cliff top above.