Praia da Ribeira Brava

Most of this shore is large rounded pebbles. The soft black sand covers only about 30 metres of it, and a wooden boardwalk carries you over the stones. Wooden platforms stand along the beach, each big enough for two or three people, and some of them have parasols. Getting one makes the afternoon far easier. The bay is man-made, so the sea stays calm and there are no big waves. The water is easy to walk into. Beside the beach there is a swimming pool, cold but good for a dip, and that is where families with small children tend to settle. There is some shade.

• Underfoot: beyond the sand strip of about 30 metres, the beach is large rounded pebbles. Beach shoes help.
• Platforms: the wooden platforms hold two or three people, there are few of them, and only some have parasols.
• Pool: the swimming pool beside the beach is cold.
• Toilets and changing rooms: both stand near the beach, and one toilet block about 160 metres away is free.
• Food: a few restaurants sit by the beach, and the town centre is a short walk away.

The car parks and the bus stops all sit within a few hundred metres of the water, so the last stretch is done on foot. The nearest car park is about 66 metres from the beach, the nearest bus stop about 150 metres. Forte de São Bento stands roughly 200 metres away. Once you are on the beach, the wooden boardwalk takes you across the pebbles to the sand and the sea.

Best: late afternoon into sunset, at high tide if you have come to swim. Avoid: driving across the island for this beach alone.

The sun goes down over the water in front of the beach, and that is the hour people stay for. The man-made bay keeps the sea calm through the day, so timing matters more for the light than for the swimming.