Taste of Portugal
Beaches and Surfing
There are 2 beautiful beaches 500 meters from our guest house. Praia de São Bernardino on the left is a wild long sandy beach. Praia dos Frades on the right is more popular for tourists and offers a lovely beach bar with local drinks and snacks.
There are many other beaches all around within a 10 minutes drive. The Area Branca on the south offers restaurants and cafes. There are lovely beaches in Peniche and Baleal world famous for water sports of surfing, kite surfing, windsurfing, etc. There are a variety of spots and conditions for complete beginners as well as pros. Do not miss the chance to surf in Praia dos Supertubos where the best surfers in the world compete in the World Surf League in October.
Contact us if you would like to take lessons or need to rent equipment for surfing. We work with professional multilingual and fully certified instructors.
Nature and Architecture
We live here for quite a while so we are happy to help you make an itinerary for your holidays.
There are a variety of trips you can make from a little afternoon sneak peak to mediaeval town of Obidos (20 mins drive) or the famous gigantic wave beaches of Nazare (40 mins drive) to a full day trip to the beautiful national park of Sintra (1 hour drive).
The islands you can see from our guesthouse are called the Berlengas. There is a nature reserve with wildlife, sea birds and beautiful scenery. You can enjoy passing through the caves on the small boat with see through bottom or perhaps enjoy a little snorkelling. The ferry leaves the Peniche harbour every morning at 9am.
Peniche itself is a great place to visit for the afternoon with the coastal views, beaches, the old part with a fortress or perhaps Cabo de corveiro view point. There are many restaurants and bars around the beach or within the centre of the town.
If you would like to visit the capital, Lisabon is only 1 hour drive from us and as you can imagine there are tons of attractions to enjoy.
We have to mention also the original Buddha park, the Dino park in Lourinhã (great for children) or perhaps one of the golf courses - all within 10-20 minutes driving from Casa Jardim Peniche.
We are happy to help you organise everything you need (car rental, purchasing tickets for bus or boat, making reservations for guided tours or to the restaurants).
Where to eat, drink & party
For lunch there are several local restaurants offering typical portuguese food. In nearby cities of Peniche and Lourinha you will find restaurants of all kinds including Mediterranean, asian, grill, vegan or seafood oriented.
For dinner we must recommend our local restaurant Elemento. This gourmet restaurant focuses on locally sourced ingredients. They buy fish directly from fishermen in Peniche harbour, meat only from local butcher and vegetables from local farmers or from their own organic garden. The ala carte menu includes fresh filleted fish, seafood, meats and vegan dishes. The place has a nice ocean view for sunset and a lovely selection of Portuguese premium wines to go with it.
There are few local bars, cafes and pastelerias. Some are good for cold draft beer and football matches, others for quick coffee and cake treats. Over the summer months there is the bigger beach bar open on daily bases every day till late. The place has live music on Saturdays.
For those of you who like to PARTY all night long there are Baleal beach bars with a variety of djs, cocktails and themes you will enjoy (10 mins drive).
Lastly we cannot miss to mention Portuguese festas! Those are little village festivals which take place all over Portugal mainly in summer months. Every week there is a little party in the village nearby and of course one is in our little place too in August. There is always a live music band, dancers, local food and wine.
Portugal is home to many wonders, both natural and cultural. Let us help you enjoy them all! Do not hesitate to ask us for recommendations.