Heading to Portuguese beaches this summer and not sure where on the sand you’re allowed to stick your parasol? That uncertainty should end with a new map that will be placed at the entrance to beaches in the Algarve and along the Alentejo coast, showing concession, circulation and safety areas as well as free zones, to clarify where sun umbrellas can be set up.
The measure was announced by the Minister for Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, during a visit to the headquarters of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), following the controversy over sun umbrellas on Portuguese beaches, which left many bathers confused.
On Portuguese beaches it is common to find signs that split the sand between ‘concession zone’ and ‘umbrella zone’. Over the years, the idea took hold that anyone who didn’t rent a parasol or sun lounger had to put up their own umbrella only in the areas reserved for that purpose. In reality, there has never been any law to that effect.
The row blew up when the president of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), José Pimenta Machado, stated that stopping bathers from putting sun umbrellas in front of licensed concessions is “an abuse”.
The APA president later clarified that “the concession area is limited to that rectangle and can never exceed 30% of the usable area of the beach or 50% of the seafront”. “Everything else is for free use,” he stressed, in response to the questions that had been raised.
