If you stand at the precipice staring down at Carvoeiro beach, you’ll see it’s an incredibly beautiful sight.
But when you look at the sands of Carvoeiro beach you see sunbeds, umbrellas, boats for day trips to the caves and a whole lot of people. Which, when you’re trying to relax, is less than ideal.
Now, I love relaxing, but I’m not a huge fan of sunbathing. It’s great when you need to rest, but if I sit still for too long, I get bored and restless. But having said that, I do adore being by the sea. The sound of crashing waves combined with the salty sea breeze completely relaxes me. So when I came back from my trip to Ferragudo, I set out to find a beach that was quieter than the main Carvoeiro Beach. Which is where I found Praia De Paraiso.
I had walked past Praia De Paraiso (otherwise known as Paradise Beach) before on a scenic walk back to the villa, but at the time I just couldn’t deal with the thought of climbing back up all of the stairs. I realise that sounds terrible but if you saw how much gelato I had consumed prior to that you’d understand. Anyway… This time there was a train ride and a walk between the now, and the last time I ate, so the thought of facing a kazillion stairs, didn’t phase me.
The further I descended down the stairs, the louder the crashing waves became. You could hear the break of each wave echo through the caves which water erosion had carved so beautifully into the cliff face. After descending the first kazillion stairs, the style of stairs changed from concrete, to a well-built wooden pathway, before transforming into a significantly less well made wooden walkway.
Standing between myself and the beach was a few steps down which, were so far from one another it was actually a struggle to carry everything and safely climb down them. So, rather than slipping and dropping my camera, I decided to jump. Luckily the sand was soft below which made for a nice landing.
The beach was almost empty, with the only people down there being two sets of couples who were sunbathing and having a picnic. It was totally and utterly quiet and as I looked up at the cliff edges which towered above us, I couldn’t help but think that if there was a landslide over the stairs I’d be stuck whilst somebody came to rescue us.
Fortunately, no such event occurred which was awesome because death would have put a real downer on the day and instead I had the joys of walking back up the kazillions of stairs.
So yeah. If you’re looking for somewhere that’s less busy than the main Carvoeiro beach, has no amenities and takes a bit of effort to get to, then Praia De Paraiso is the place for you!
How To Get To Praia De Paraiso:
Regardless of whether you’re walking or driving, when you get to the coast of Carvoeiro, go up the hill on the western side. Praia De Paraiso is literally the next beach along from Carvoeiro’s main beach. If you follow the road around you will see a restaurant called Restaurante O Boteco’s and a carpark on your left hand side. If you’re driving, park here. Because ya’know, it makes sense too. Then enjoy the kazillions of stairs you’ll need to climb down to get there!
