Zambujeira do Mar

Zambujeira sits on the edge of a cliff on the Alentejo section of the Costa Vicentina, a small whitewashed village with a church at the cliff edge, a handful of streets, and steps down to a beach enclosed by rock. The coast here is inside the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park, which has kept development off it - the contrast with the Algarve an hour south is the point of coming - and the beaches either side, Carvalhal, Alteirinhos, Nossa Senhora, are reached by tracks and steps and are largely empty outside August. The Rota Vicentina's Fishermen's Trail runs along the clifftops through the village, walking on sandy paths above the sea. Each August the Festival do Sudoeste, one of the largest music festivals in Portugal, is held just outside, and for that week the whole area is transformed and full.

What you actually see

• The clifftop village - whitewashed streets and a church at the edge.
• The Vicentine coast - protected cliffs and empty beaches either side.
• The Fishermen's Trail - the Rota Vicentina path running along the clifftops.
• The Sudoeste festival - a major music festival held outside the village each August.

When to go

May to September. Two to four days. Avoid the Sudoeste week in August unless that is why you came - the village is overwhelmed.

Honest expectations

Atlantic water is cold and currents on these beaches are strong; several have no lifeguard. Wind is constant. During the festival accommodation is impossible and prices multiply. Out of season much of the village closes.

Nearby

Odeceixe is south on the regional border; Vila Nova de Milfontes is north.