Introduction
The best things to do in Fuseta? Shall I tell you?
For such a small place, there is so much on offer!
Due to its location, you’re so lucky. It has the best of both worlds when it comes to activities:
The beach and the sea providing the perfect setting for swimming, boat trips, kayaking…
The surrounding area providing ample opportunity for walking, cycling, bird-watching…
And of course, the town itself provides an untold number of restaurants and bars for you to enjoy.
It’s perfect!
Here are a few of the things I like to do:
Go to the Beach
Unlike many of the towns on the Ria Formosa, Fuseta has two beaches.
The first is on the mainland, just three to four minutes from the main square.
At one end is an abandoned lifeboat station, at the other, the ‘Borda d’Agua’ café, and In between is maybe 400 metres of beautiful sandy beach, speckled with shells.
Along the top of maybe half the beach runs a simple boardwalk, making access easier.
The beach is great for families since it’s protected from the Atlantic by the Ilha da Fuseta, (one of the barrier islands that help to make up the Ria Formosa National Park). This protection means that waves never do more than lap gently on to the sand.
In summer, the beach can become quite busy, but that simply means that it becomes a riot of colour, with beachgoers sitting beneath umbrellas the whole length of the beach.
Once on the beach, you can sunbathe, read a book or go for a swim (or maybe just a paddle…).
You can go for a drink or a snack at ‘Borda d’Agua’.
You can sit and watch the small pleasure boats, fishing boats and ferries leaving Fuseta for the islands or the open sea.
More importantly, If you’re feeling more energetic, there is a range of water activities available (see below).
During the high season, there are lifeguards on duty, so safety is assured.
To be honest, I’ve never seen them called into action – which is a good thing!
The second beach is on the Atlantic side of the Ilha da Fuseta itself. You have to take a ferry or a water taxi from the quayside to get there.
Duckboards run from the ferry jetty to the beach, so again, access is not difficult.
The facilities on the island are similar to those on the mainland beach (but a little more basic when it comes to refreshments): a couple of shacks offering drinks and food, water activities, lifeguards…
Portaloos are available should you be caught short.
The waves are obviously bigger, since the beach isn’t protected, but the big difference here is the length of the beach. It stretches for maybe 6 kilometres, ending at the part of the island known as Ilha da Armona. In reality, it’s the same island, but the two ends have different names.
If you walk a couple of hundred yards away from the entry point to the beach on Ilha da Fuseta, you’ll notice the crowds beginning to thin out. If you walk a couple of hundred yards more, there will hardly be anyone around. If you keep going, you’ll have the beach to yourself! An empty beach in the Algarve!
It sounds surprising, but this is the reality of the Eastern Algarve – it’s a place where you can still find yourself alone with the beauty of a sandy beach stretching as far as the eye can see, a beach with a backdrop of sand dunes, dappled with shells, with the Atlantic lapping or pounding onto the sand, depending on conditions.
I love it.
One thing to be aware of: the ferries do not run all year round (only April to the end of September in 2019) and the shacks will close over the winter, and the lifeguards will leave the beach to its own devices. But in some respects, that is the best time to go.
Take a water taxi over to the island, take a picnic with you, take your swimming gear and start walking. Stop when and where you want. Eat your picnic, dip in and out of the sea, make a day of it. Once you reach Armona, you can catch a ferry back to Olhao, and the train back to Fuseta – just make sure that you’re aware of the ferry and train times, otherwise it will be a €25 water taxi from Armona to Olhao and a €20 taxi back to Fuseta. If there’s a group of you though, maybe that’s the way to go!
Enjoy the beach!
Take a Boat Trip
Fuseta’s heart is the sea.
It’s a fishing village.
Fishermen still ply their trade every day. They supply the Mercado Municipal (the fresh food market on the quayside) and the local restaurants. They laugh and joke, they sit in the bars, they make the place tick.
To experience Fuseta properly, you should really take a boat trip at some point.
This might simply be a ferry to the island or a water taxi.
Or maybe you would like to do something a little more adventurous.
Companies on the quayside offer all sorts of boat tours: tours out to the different islands, sailing trips, dolphin watching, seahorse viewing, sport fishing…
Each one of them is a treat in its own right.
If you want to know more, either wander down to the quayside (where tour operators will be happy to advise you) or click here.
Try a Watersport
Fuseta is the perfect location for watersports.
With protection from the Atlantic offered by the Ilha da Fuseta, the Ria Formosa is a great place to learn to SUP (Stand Up Paddle), Kayak or Kitesurf.
And for those more experienced practitioners, there’s always the Atlantic on the other side of the island.
Both beaches offer SUPs and Kayaks for general hire (during the high season at least) at reasonable rates, but you can also book formal lessons through various companies in the town (eg Kite Centre Algarve)
SUP and Kayaking are both great ways to explore the delights of the Ria Formosa.
Kite-surfing is more for those who want to get the adrenalin flowing – and when the wind gets up, the adrenalin will flow! And even more so this year, with the Portugal National Kiteboard Championships coming to Ilha da Fuseta!
Go Cycling
Fuseta is on the Ecovia do Litoral, part of the Eurovelo (Cycle routes that connect across Europe).
The Ecovia runs for 214km from Cabo de São Vincente, on the Atlantic Ocean to Villa Real de Santo Antonio, on the Spanish border – a cycle route that allows you to see the Algarve in all its glory.
It mainly runs on gravel tracks, through pine forests, orange groves, olive groves, and along the coast, although at times of necessity, it runs on roads through urban areas.
It’s fairly flat (only rising to 100m) so you’d think it would be easy to negotiate, but the gravel tracks can be hard work, as can some of the short inclines. In addition, if the wind is up, that can make it hard going too.
What I love though is that around Fuseta, the Ecovia runs through the Ria Formosa National Park.
On ready-made gravel tracks, you can cycle through the Salinas (saltpans), stop to look at the wildlife (bird-watching in particular), enjoy the peace and quiet.
I use the Ecovia on a regular basis, and at times you won’t see a soul.
So why not hire a bike for the day, and cycle to Olhao, or Tavira?
Bikes can be hired from:
Loja Baixa-Mar, Av. 25 de Abril Blofo F, 8700-011 Fuzeta, Portugal – +351 967 354 772
Mon-Fri: 9:30am-7:30pm (closed from 1-3:30pm), Saturday: 9:30am–1pm, Sunday: Closed
Go Walking
The Ecovia isn’t just a cycle route. You can also use it for walking.
Obviously, walking is much slower, but it does have its benefits!
I find that I see a lot more when walking. I stop more, I appreciate more, I enjoy more.
Walking also allows me to follow a route closer to the coast, a route that isn’t accessible to cyclists – not always, but sometimes.
You’ll find that the scenery around Fuseta is stunning, as is the peace and quiet.
Once again, it’s easy to forget that you are on the Algarve, as a flock of Flamingos circles above your head, before fluttering down into one of the remote Salinas – and you’re the only one to witness it…
So don’t forget your camera!
Go Birdwatching
Which brings me on to Birdwatching.
The Ria Formosa provides some of the most important wetlands in Europe, with both saltwater and freshwater wetlands within walking distance of Fuseta.
These provide ideal conditions for birdwatching, with both resident and migratory birds in abundance.
I’ll be honest here, I don’t know a huge amount about birds, but I’ve certainly taken more of an interest since coming to Fuseta and walking the local area.
I see flamingos almost daily – greater flamingos apparently. I can see them from my roof terrace. I’ve seen black-wing stilts, Eurasian spoonbills, oystercatchers, white storks, cattle egrets, little stints and many more.
If birdwatching is your thing, then you can do a lot worse than come to Fuseta!
Eat out
For a town the size of Fuseta, there’s a huge number of places to eat: everything from world-class seafood (obviously!), to traditional dishes, to the best kebabs I’ve ever tasted.
Why not try a Cataplana? Or an Espetada? Or just plain grilled fish? I say plain, but the taste is truly amazing.
‘What is a Cataplana?’ I hear you say!
A Cataplana is actually the pot used to cook this dish, shaped like a clam. It retains moisture, and results in a stunning meal!
Cataplana can be meat-based, or more likely, seafood or fish-based. Occasionally there will be a mix of all three. More often than not, it will be cooked for more than one person, and many restaurants ask for 24 hours notice to cook it.
But I have to say: it’s worth it!
Unlike in many other parts of the Algarve, many of these restaurants will stay open all year round. Fuseta is a working town, a town that doesn’t really close down.
And the food is always good!
Go to or section on our favourite restaurants: 5 of my favourite places to eat in Fuseta
Watch the World go by
Lastly, and by no means least:
Just sit and watch the world go by…
Whether you’re sitting at a bar or a café on the square…
Or outside the Pastelaria (pastry shop) eating a Pastel de Nata…
Perhaps on the quayside watching the boats come and go…
Or maybe on the beach…
…there is nothing better than just sitting back, relaxing and watching the world go by.
Fuseta is just perfect for this.
