Praia de Sao Rafael
Cliff beach
Praia de Sao Rafael is an attractive cove beach roughly three kilometres west of Albufeira, set between sculpted limestone cliffs and rock formations that give the beach a visual distinction lacking in many of the more developed resort beaches nearby. The beach takes its name from a small chapel, now vanished, that once stood on the cliff above and was dedicated to the archangel Raphael.
The beach is roughly 150 metres wide, with fine golden sand and a gentle slope into the water. Several large rock formations stand on the sand and in the shallows, breaking up the beach into semi-separate sections and providing natural shade, visual interest and a sense of privacy. The rocks are heavily eroded, their surfaces carved into ridges, holes, overhangs and small arches by centuries of wave action, and they display the warm ochre and cream tones of the Miocene limestone that characterises this stretch of the coast. Children enjoy climbing on the lower formations, and the shallow pools that form at their base are full of small crabs and anemones.
The water is clear and generally calm, sheltered by the headlands on either side and suitable for swimming at most states of the tide. The seabed is mixed sand and rock, and the snorkelling around the formations is good, particularly on the eastern side where the rock extends further into deeper water. Damselfish, wrasse, sea bream and the occasional cuttlefish are regularly seen, and the rocky overhangs provide shelter for more reclusive species. At the western end of the beach a cluster of larger rocks extends into the water, and swimming around them reveals more underwater rock scenery, including small cavities and channels.
The beach has full facilities: a restaurant and bar at the top of the access path with a terrace overlooking the sand, lifeguard cover from June to September, toilets and showers. There is a car park above the beach, reached by a short road from the main Albufeira to Lagos EN125 road. The beach is popular but not overcrowded outside the peak weeks, its slight distance from central Albufeira filtering out the casual visitors who gravitate to the town beaches of Peneco and Pescadores.
The coast on either side of Sao Rafael is worth exploring on foot. To the east, a series of small coves and rocky inlets extends towards Gale, accessible at low tide or by clifftop paths that wind through the scrub. To the west, the next significant beach is Coelha, another sheltered cove with similar rock formations and a quieter atmosphere. The walking between these beaches is one of the understated pleasures of this stretch of coast, offering constantly changing perspectives on the rock scenery, the sea colours and the small hidden coves that reveal themselves from certain angles but are invisible from others. In the late afternoon the rock formations cast long shadows across the sand, and the warm tones of the limestone deepen to a rich amber that is particularly photogenic against the blue of the water.