I Just Found The Most Colorful Beach Town In Portugal And It’s Still Cheap
At least 20 visits to Portugal in, it’s not usually I come throughout locations that also catch me fully off guard, however my most up-to-date street journey throughout the northern half of the nation led me to a tiny, quaint seashore city that appears like a postcard scene come to life.
And to my shock, sure, it nonetheless feels unmistakably Portuguese, and it’s nonetheless surprisingly reasonably priced.
Costa Nova is a roughly 1,200-person-strong seashore neighborhood, with a picture-perfect waterfront and an actual fishing spirit that hasn’t been fully polished out of existence regardless of Portugal’s newfound reputation.
Lying roughly 50 miles south of Porto, the drive right here takes round 55 minutes to 1 hour 10 minutes, relying on visitors; it’s the place you need to go if the hustle and bustle of the town crowds and people more and more expensive glasses of Port begin sporting skinny.
And if I’m being trustworthy, a relaxing glass of Bairrada espumante is healthier anyway:
The Most Colorful Beach Town In Portugal
I’m unsure about you, however I don’t consider I’ve ever laid eyes on something fairly like this earlier than:
An virtually completely aligned row of brightly painted fishermen’s cottages, historically constructed from wooden and coated in principally vertical stripes in sunny shades of blue, crimson, inexperienced, and pastel yellow, lining a sleepy lagoonfront.
If something in more and more jam-packed Portugal nonetheless seems to be remotely storybook-like, Costa Nova is that one.
The striped homes, identified regionally as palheiros, sit on a slender sandy strip wedged between the Ria de Aveiro lagoon, the place fishing boats and pleasure craft nonetheless come and go, and the huge Atlantic Ocean.
It’s already September, and summer season in Europe is slowly winding down, however daytime temperatures right here nonetheless common round a fairly balmy 74–78°F. Even in October, highs hover round 68–70°F, with nights dipping to a still-manageable 55–58°F.
That’s the factor about Portugal: it could already be gray and nippy in different components of the continent, however this delicate Atlantic nook on the westernmost fringe of Iberia can nonetheless serve up loads of brilliant, sunny days.
Just convey a lightweight raincoat, as a result of October is when the climate can begin taking part in foolish buggers.
Beware: This Is Not The Mediterranean
Is it seashore climate, you ask?
With the mercury nudging the mid-to-upper 70s in September, you possibly can positively stretch out on the broad, white-sand dunes fringing Costa Nova’s ocean facet, and the country, wood-fronted Cristal Prado seashore bar is the good spot for an early-evening sundowner.
I’d advise in opposition to plunging straight into the Atlantic with out testing the waters first, although.
As a lot as your Instagram feed would have you ever consider, Portugal is just not within the Mediterranean. It sits proper on the North Atlantic, and the water right here is bracing, hovering round 61–65°F in summer season and early fall.
Then once more, when it’s a scorching fall day trip, it hits the spot.
Portugal Without The Surging Crowds
My favourite factor about being in Costa Nova to date?
Just how quiet, easy-going, and relaxed it feels: no anxiously wanting over my shoulder to ensure I’m not being adopted, even after evening falls, or instinctively clutching my bag on the faintest rustle behind me on the sand.
Portugal is a fairly protected nation general, sitting at Level 1 on the U.S. Department of State’s official journey advisory, whereas Spain and Italy presently sit on the extra cautionary Level 2.
Those increased scores are tied mainly to terrorism and unrest issues, thoughts, and don’t essentially imply on a regular basis avenue crime is dramatically worse.
Outside main city facilities like Lisbon and Porto, pickpocketing and opportunistic theft are far much less of an on a regular basis concern, although by no means solely nonexistent.
Of course, you possibly can by no means absolutely change off your widespread sense, so I’d encourage you to maintain your wits about you and by no means depart belongings unattended whereas going for that refreshing swim, irrespective of how protected it feels.
But let’s face it: the most important risk in Costa Nova is underestimating the Atlantic surf, and maaaybe placing on a number of further kilos.
Even informal vacationers agree. Portugal scores 86/100 on Travel Off Path’s crowd-sourced Traveler Safety Index:
How Affordable Is Costa Nova, Portugal?
Speaking of additional kilos, the city has a handful of family-owned, no-frills tascas to attempt.
Scattered alongside the lagoonfront promenade, they’re cracking spots for slowing down, unwinding, and sampling trustworthy Portuguese meals with out paying by the nostril as you may in now-pricey, tourist-packed Porto.
Sitting down for a three-course meal right here, I don’t suppose I’ve ever spent over $35, and that’s for a creamy, piping-hot bowl of creme de camarão, a hulking francesinha for my essential—my favourite Northern Portuguese dish—and tripa de Aveiro for dessert.
If you’ve by no means had a francesinha, image an absolute doorstop of a sandwich layered with steak, ham, and sausage, smothered in melted cheese, and drowned in a wealthy, barely spicy beer-and-tomato sauce.
It’s neither elegant nor remotely wholesome, however blimey, does it do the job.
As for tripa de Aveiro, that’s a heat, mushy, almost-underdone crepe-like candy invented proper right here in Costa Nova, historically served plain or crammed with chocolate or ovos moles—the silky, gloriously wealthy egg-yolk-and-sugar custard originating from neighboring Aveiro.
Average Prices In Costa Nova, Portugal In Fall 2026
- Espresso: $1–$2.50
- Tripa doce or ovos moles: $2.50–$5
- Takeaway bifana or prego sandwich: $5–$9
- Casual restaurant meal: $12–$18
- 3-course mid-range dinner: $24–$41 per individual, excluding drinks
- Seafood dinner: $30–$55 per individual
- Domestic beer: $2.50–$5
- Glass of Bairrada wine or espumante: $4–$7
- 3-star resort or native B&B: $80–$140 per double room
- Bus between Aveiro and Costa Nova: $2.50–$3.50 every means
- Standard moliceiro tour in Aveiro: $12–$18 per grownup
Sounds reasonably priced sufficient, however earlier than you jet off to Europe this fall, be sure you double-check the entry necessities and permitted-stay guidelines making use of to U.S. passport holders.
The European Union has lately launched its new Entry/Exit System, which sees most Americans and different non-EU short-stay guests fingerprinted and photographed at their first exterior Schengen border crossing.
Some airports throughout Europe have skilled teething issues and longer queues whereas workers and programs settle in.
Head over to the Entry Requirement Checker and be sure you have all of your documentation so as earlier than flying to keep away from pointless delays.
Don’t Miss Out On The Portuguese Venice
By the best way, Costa Nova is barely a brief, 7-mile drive from Aveiro, the so-called Portuguese Venice, which we’ve coated beforehand right here.
A compact, canal-cut metropolis, it’s dotted with florid Art Nouveau townhouses, their façades decked out in colourful azulejos, sculpted stonework, curving botanical ornaments, and elaborate wrought-iron balconies.
There are cafés serving ovos moles, an absolute must-try if you happen to’re on the town, and, after all, you possibly can’t come right here and never take a spin on a moliceiro boat.
Aveiro’s colourful reply to Venice’s gondolas, these slender, high-prowed boats as soon as transported moliço, a sort of lagoon seaweed, however now carry sightseers alongside the town’s 4 essential city canals.
The customary excursions final roughly 45 minutes and price round $12–18 per grownup, however right here’s the catch: they keep inside Aveiro’s city waterways and don’t sail the seven miles out to Costa Nova.
If you wish to see the palheiros from the water, look particularly for a separate lagoon tour departing nearer to the coast, and ensure its route earlier than reserving.
A tucked-away gem few vacationers even know exists?
I’ll spherical out this text with a bit of nod to Igreja Matriz de Válega, a riotously colourful, azulejo-covered church round 18 miles north of Aveiro that simply screams Portugal.
Its façade is totally wrapped in vibrant polychrome tiles depicting biblical scenes, and it’s simply probably the most photogenic church I’ve seen anyplace in Europe.
A tiny bit out of the best way, however effectively well worth the detour.
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