Portugal recommendations

[Carrie76]

Morning, my mum (72) wants to go to Portugal next month. Her mobility has deteriorated a lot over the last year and she now walks with a stick. I’m not too familiar with Portugal can anyone recommend an area for me that’s not too hilly and a short walk to the beach. Many thanks!

Many years ago we stayed at Casablanca Inn in Monte Gordo. It’s very flat there, about a 10 minute walk to the beach.

Be aware though that most pavements are made of small cobblestones, making them difficult to walk in heels, and often really slippery. I kept tripping on them too.

Example here: www.dreamstime.com/portuguese-pavement-sidewalk-porto-region-northern-portugal-traditional-style-known-as-calçada-portuguesa-language-image122672895

Ah the link didn't work!

When we went to Cascais, everywhere had this nice flat swirly black and white paving.

Ricekrispie22 ah but those nice swirly flat cobbled pavements ('calcadas') are a bliddy nightmare if it rains! Slippy slippy. I've always presumed that orthopedic surgeons are very in demand in the winter months, in Portugal!

Cascais has a town beach, not entirely sure how clean it is as it's basically the mouth of the Tagus and there's a lot of shipping and traffic. Some of the small resorts up along the Silver Coast (like São Martinho de Porto ) are level (no steep climbs to the beach) but the sea can be very rough and freezing along that coast. The Algarve is your best bet, maybe try finding a rental villa in somewhere like Praia de Luz where again, it's quite flat and you can walk (on the slippery cobbles!) to the beach and there are plenty of amenities. Or try the warmer end of the Algarve, Tavira is beautiful and the lower town at least is on the flat. The beaches there aren't accessed via cliff steps so you'd be ok. Much of the middle part of the Algarve (and a fair bit of the west end) is quite cliff-y and beaches are pretty but reached via steps. I know my own mum wouldn't be able to manage them any more, she's on a stick/rollator.