Praia de Bombas

Bombas is the first beach you see as you arrive in town, and one of the longest on the peninsula: about 2 kilometres of sand. That's why it used to be called Praia Grande, the big beach. Unlike the small coves tucked between headlands, here there's room to spare: you can walk a good distance, play football, run along the shoreline and still find a quiet corner.

Its current name comes from the sea — from the sound of the breaking waves, according to the town council. Most of the time the water is crystal clear and calm, with waves small enough for the kids to have fun without the punch of the open-ocean beaches. The exception is the left-hand headland: on some days the waves build up enough to surf there, and that's the stretch where swimmers need to take more care.

The whole length of the beach has a promenade, signposted and lit — you can walk, run or cycle in comfort, even after dark. Bombas is also one of the most accessible beaches in town: there are accessible walkways all along the shore, and on Rua Tico-tico, near the lifeguard post, you'll find the accessible toilet and parking bays reserved for older and disabled visitors.

Behind the summer bustle, Bombas is still a stronghold of artisanal fishing. The fishing sheds dotted along the sand house century-old dugout canoes, carved from a single trunk, which go back to sea from May to July for the traditional mullet-fishing season. It's a reminder that, long before it was a beach destination, this was a fishing village.

The promenade is also where the Passarela do Ribeiro begins: an 800-metre boardwalk along the edge of the forest, with lighting and benches along the way. It passes the small Praia do Ribeiro and ends at Praia de Bombinhas, in Centro — a route that used to be a trail you could only take at the right tide. It's the nicest way to get from one neighbourhood to the other on foot.

Around the beach is the Bombas neighbourhood, the first one you reach coming into town and one of those with the most shops and services. It isn't just seasonal infrastructure: the town's 24-hour urgent care unit (UPA 24h) is in the neighbourhood itself, and the council has opened a new primary health clinic there. If you're thinking about property, it's the mix of a long, calm beach and real neighbourhood life — the kind of place where you can live all year, not just spend the summer.