Walks in Portugal: Praia da Aguda to Praia da Madalena
One of my favorite walks in Portugal (so far) was along the beautiful coastal boardwalk system south of Porto.
I woke up one morning in Porto with a scratchy throat and feeling like I was coming down with a cold. I could tell it was going to be another hot day, and decided I needed lots of sunshine and fresh ocean air to nip whatever it was in the bud.
I did some research online while having my morning coffee and came across Praia da Aguda. It sounded nice, and you could take the train there from Porto. I finished up my coffee and walked over to the Sao Bento station (of tile fame), and took a train towards Ovar. It’s the same line that goes to Aveiro but I took the train with Ovar as the end station because the departure time worked better for me, and I figured it might be less crowded since Aveiro is a pretty popular tourist destination (they call it the “Venice of Portugal” – it was on my list of places to see while I was in Porto, but I never made it there. Next time!).
The train was almost empty, and after a quick and pleasant trip I arrived in Praia da Aguda early in the afternoon. I walked through the cute and quiet little town towards the oceanfront, and ended up on a stone promenade lined with small houses that overlooked a huge, beautiful beach. This was exactly what I needed!
I saw a pier and a couple of fishing boats in the distance and walked over to take a closer look.
The boats were beautiful and it was fun watching the waves crash over the pier, so I stayed there for a while and enjoyed the sunshine and ocean air. After taking a few pictures, I started walking along the beach. It was amazingly uncrowded, and there was a nice, cool breeze.
I got to the end of the stone path and saw a raised wooden boardwalk. I followed it, and within a few minutes found myself on another huge, beautiful, nearly empty beach.
From here, I could see that the wooden boardwalk just kept going, and decided to follow it for as long as I could. That ended up being a 4 hour walk with absolutely beautiful scenery. Google says it’s a 1.5-hour walk, but I stopped all the time to explore and take pictures.
The boardwalks have the dunes on one side and the ocean on the other, and the walk can be as long or short as you want it to be – you pass several train stations only a short walk inland, and there are plenty of beach bars, cafés, and restaurants along the way if you need a break.
One of the highlights on the walk was the Capela do Senhor da Pedra in Miramar, a small 17th-century chapel sitting on a rocky outcrop on the Praia do Senhor da Pedra. I had bookmarked it months earlier as a place I wanted to see while I was in Porto, so I was thrilled when I spotted it in the distance.
It really is a spectacular sight and I spent quite a bit of time exploring there before moving on.
The boardwalk keeps going all the way up to Lavadores in Vila Nova de Gaia, but when I got to Madalena, it was getting late in the afternoon, and I started feeling like I’d had a bit too much sun, so I decided to call it a day.
I took the 906 bus back to town from Madalena, and while it was fun to get to see other parts of the area from the bus, it took around 45 minutes to get back to São Bento. The train is a better (or at least quicker) choice.
I had such a fantastic day and loved this walk so much that I decided to do another one the next day, this time starting out a bit further south, at Espinho (blog post in the works!).
A few travel tips
- The train from Porto to Praia da Aguda takes around 30 minutes and tickets are €1.75 each way (at least they were when I went). Here is the Porto – Aveiro train timetable.
- The lines at the Sao Bento station ticket office can be really long – make sure to arrive way ahead of time, or even stop by the day before to get your ticket.
- If you buy a roundtrip train ticket, remember to validate it on the little machine at the train station before getting on the train back to Porto. https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/en/how-to-travel/Useful-information/rules-and-regulations
Do you have any favorite walks in Portugal? I’d love to hear about them!
More Portugal on the blog
Looking for a great pair of walking shoes? My favorites are from Xero – the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn!
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something. While clicking these links won’t cost you anything, they will help me keep this site up and running!
