Luxury, Spacious Villa - Gorgeous Sea and LakeViews. Warm Pool. Water sports on the spot!
Great for families, extended families, or smaller groups who like plenty of space and privacy. This holiday villa is a private, 200 m2 Guest Wing of a huge, shoreline property on the banks of the Lagoa de Obidos, by Foz do Arelho on the Western coast of Portugal.
A light, contemporary feel, with all you need for a great holiday! Two minutes’ walk to water-sports at the Escola de Vela de Lagoa and also the beach. Free Bike use, WiFi, Smart TV.
The solar heated pool is a big attraction, so be ready for the family to jump in within minutes of arriving! It even has a shallow round pool at one end, for little ones to enjoy.
Drive into the half acre, walled gardens by way of the video controlled gates. Four bedrooms to choose from - they all have their own bathroom. Two are on the lower ground and one is enormous with its own fridge and kettle, so extra privacy there - handy if you are a group with two families or Granny and Granddad helping out.
The kitchen area is modern with an induction hob, full size cooker, big microwave, American fridge-freezer with ice-maker, plenty of crockery, cutlery, tea towels etc. There's a large dining table inside, and the same again in the garden for pool-side dining, a gas barbecue and lighting for outdoor evenings. Just ask if there's anything missing!
There’s a fantastic view of lagoon and Atlantic from the lounge sliding patio doors, which also provides access to the pool.
After a lovely refreshing swim, how about a stroll down to the waterside, 2 minutes’ walk away? Its low key, we call it the fisherman's beach. Nice for children to potter around. Several boats are moored here and you can watch the fishermen and shell-fish pickers go out every morning, from your living room window. Their catch will soon be on the daily menus of nearby restaurants.
Next to the fisherman's beach is the Escola de Vela - the sailing school. They have some fancier catamarans and ribs tied up. Take a look at their website www.escoladeveladalagoa.com - if you fancy taking yourself or your children out on the water. They do tuition on sailing, windsurfing, paddleboards etc. Or if you prefer, don't do much at all. Just sit on the Escola's veranda, gazing out over the lagoon, with a glass of something, maybe eat some of their delicious garlic mussels in wine ...
There's a path from the house, which goes right along the lagoon to the ocean. It’s a beautiful flat walk (or cycle with one of our free bikes). Fish are jumping when the tide is right and shore wading birds are grazing the beach, looking for a meal.
Nearing the Atlantic beach, we come across some outdoor food vendors with their tables and chairs set up by the lagoon. Try the wagon with the pizza-oven spitting flames and the tempting smell of spicy sausage-bread cooking. Spit roast chickens are on the next barbecue along - all to be washed down with a tumbler full of red wine - and for so few euros, you'll think they added the bill up wrong!
A bit further along the beach, there’s a number of cafés and small restaurants. Take an outside seat and watch the beach life and the waves rolling in through the Foz do Arelho estuary. Sublime.
The beaches are perfect for family holidays: not commercialized, just friendly places, with lots of available sand, refreshments, and lagoon or ocean bathing. In season there is always a life-guard on duty at the main beach and you can rent little tents to change in, or rest from the sun for a while.
Venturing further afield, we have so many places of interest for days out. Just up the coast, the massive sand dunes of Salir, the “blue shell beach” of São Martinho and picturesque Sitio at Nazaré. It's here that the world record “biggest wave surfed”, occurred last year.
Drive south to the fishing town of Peniche and find dozens of fish restaurants, with freshly caught sea bream, bass and octopus. We love walking across the sand causeway to Baleal island, with safe bathing and surfing on beaches on both sides of the causeway, it was declared by a poet to be "the most beautiful view in Portugal".
Then around the corner is Super-Tubes beach: big rolling waves, in long tubes, make this the ideal venue for world championship surfing competitions. Beginners can also get lessons at one of the many surf shacks along the quieter beaches between Baleal and Peniche.
Golf players do not have to go far for world standard courses at Royal Obidos and Praia d’el Rei.
Fishermen can cast from the rocks or take one of the many fishing excursions available by boat.
The wonderful medieval village of Obidos is close by. Truly worth a day out for all the family. Intriguing streets and ancient castle walls to explore and beautiful little shops with handmade local arts, many cafés and restaurants. They hold all sorts of events, so its always worth checking on their website, to see what’s coming up.
Our nearest town is Caldas da Rainha, seven kilometres away – a pretty little town with a daily farmer’s market and a mix of old and new buildings. You will find a small shopping mall, cinemas and several supermarkets. The “old” part of the town is delightful and you can have a nice walk to include the splendid park and boating lake, the thermal waters hospital, through the sculpture park, then returning via the outdoor farmer’s market or the indoor fish market.
Buddha Eden Garden near Bombarral is another good day out – beautiful gardens belonging to the famous winery, Quinta de Bacalhoa - with surprising art around every corner and a little train to take you around if you can’t manage the walk. You can arrange wine tastings or browse their wine shop and come away with a bottle or two. They have a very reasonably priced restaurant in the Gardens, but if you want to go more upmarket, Mae d'Agua Restaurant is close by.
We have information about all the local restaurants and sights to see. Some attractions in the vicinity are:
Alcobaça - a majestic monastery at the heart of the town.
Tomar - imposing castle and atmospheric home to the Knights Templar.
Fatima - place of catholic pilgrimage
Sintra - full of history and fairy tale castles on hills
Mafra – palace and monastery – along the lines of Versailles
And Coastline - miles of it!!!
Lisbon the capital of Portugal is only an hour away. It’s fantastically popular for culture, fashion, style & history all at once. A lively and beautiful city! So many places and routes you could take once you get there. We can give you some pointers, or just go and explore!
(Please note that for POINTS EXCHANGES, we charge €100 for cleaning and sundries.)
