Wild, authentic and home to enticing beaches: why you should visit Comporta in Portugal

The smell of spicy chorizo ​​sautéed in olive oil and grilled fresh fish wafts through the sun-bleached streets of Comporta, where soft jazz plays from posh little wine bars and local farmers in football shirts sit on plastic chairs in shaded squares.

It’s Sunday afternoon and the white storks are popping their beaks off the terracotta roofs, the remains of their huge nests tumbling down from the chimneytops.

Just an hour’s drive south of Lisbon on Portugal’s west coast, Comporta has garnered praise from far and wide in recent years – and rightly so. It’s all about simple, whitewashed houses with deep blue trim; cafes decked out in wicker, cream linen and cacti; and boho boutiques selling woven rattan rugs and crochet bikinis for €100.

The aesthetic is sophisticated but rustic, expensive but weathered, relaxed but beautiful. I want to bottle it all up and take it home. And then there is Comporta beach; a dazzling stretch of custard-colored sand that stretches for miles. It’s vast, wild and wonderfully undeveloped, with only a few weathered wooden restaurants serving fish plucked from the breaking Atlantic.

It rivals any beach in the Caribbean or Indian Ocean. In fact, I can’t think of a more beautiful stretch of sand.

Comporta (1,100 inhabitants) lies at the bottom of the Troia peninsula, a narrow strip of land sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean and the mouth of the Sado River.

This strip of land – known as Herdade da Comporta and comprising Comporta itself and six other small villages – was owned by the super-rich Portuguese Espirito Santo family until their assets were frozen and sold in 2014.

For decades, the area has been a playground for Europe’s rich and famous and by special invitation only. Princess Caroline of Monaco and Mario Testino, come this way; tourists flying with easyJet or Ryanair — have fun in Lisbon.

The family fiercely protected the land, but the village is opening up to new hotels and developments. Christie’s and Fine & Country have settled downtown and sell four-bedroom villas for over €1 million, cranes reach high into the sky and huge billboards advertising real estate developments greet visitors.

The village has become so sought after that it is now regularly referred to as ‘the Lisbon equivalent of the Hamptons’, ‘Europe’s most fashionable resort’ and ‘St Tropez in its heyday’. Even the supermarket is glamorous, nicknamed ‘Little Harrods’ thanks to its warren of rooms bursting with local wine, Himalayan salt, creamy blocks of cheese and all sorts of canned fish.

But despite its reputation, there are no gaudy 4x4s clogging the tiny cobbled streets, no paparazzi, no 5-inch heels.

People don’t come here to be seen, but to enjoy an undisturbed holiday in the wild with their shoes off and hair loose. No wonder celebrities seeking privacy such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Jose Mourinho flock here, some choosing to stay for more than a week or two.

Madonna lived here part-time while her son played for Lisbon youth football club Benfica, calling the village ‘heaven’. Princess Eugenie spends half her time in Melides due to her husband’s role as UK sales manager for the US CostaTerra Golf & Ocean Club.

Take a dip: Pictured is the delightful pool at the AlmaLusa hotel, where guests (mainly British, Americans and Portuguese) spend afternoons lounging under palm-covered umbrellas

They are believed to spend most of their time on the beach, which is surrounded by forests of gnarled cork oaks and umbrella pines and patchwork of emerald rice paddies. There are only three access points, so you can park, walk about 100 meters and almost guaranteed to have your own little beach to yourself.

By law, Portuguese landowners must make at least one access point to the beach available to the public. The Espirito Santo family provided three and those three are still standing.

There is debate over whether a fourth should be opened closer to the village, but it is controversial and most suspect it will be rejected by locals.

Undeveloped: Comporta’s beautiful beach stretches for miles and “could rival any beach in the Caribbean or Indian Ocean,” says Harriet

Harriet’s days revolve around relaxing on the beach and dining at local seafood restaurants. Above is one of Comporta’s eateries, Cavalarica Comporta

My husband and I soon discover that there isn’t much to do in Comporta. But that’s the point.

Our days revolve around the beach, switching from the sea to the sand to the seafood restaurants and then back to our hotel, AlmaLusa, for sunset drinks on the rooftop.

The hotel opened last November. It’s the only one in the center of the village and by far the most reasonable in the whole area (most hotels and villas are outside the village and charge £500 per night).

Harriet reveals that the Portuguese village is regularly referred to as ‘the Lisbon set’s equivalent of the Hamptons’, ‘Europe’s most fashionable resort’ and ‘St Tropez in its heyday’ (file image)

Not that AlmaLusa feels cheap. In fact, it feels anything but, with 28 rooms and suites decorated in rattan and rich green velvet spread over two wings around a delightful swimming pool, where guests (mainly British, American and Portuguese) spend afternoons lounging under palm-covered umbrellas .

A car is a necessity in Comporta, if only to get to the beach. On our final morning we drive 15 minutes south to Carvalhal Beach where we lay our towels out amongst the wispy dunes, where a coastal breeze cools the 26c sun and brings with it aromas of pine forests.

The season has just started and the Atlantic Ocean is still a little chilly. But we can’t resist diving in, before drying off our salty hair and freckled faces as we lazily lunch at the nearby Sublime Comporta Beach Club, feet in sand, glass of local rosé in hand.

The epitome of Comporta, I think to myself.

“Can we come back soon?” my husband asks. Naturally.

But we can’t leave it too long. This village is changing, so be quick.