The beaches of Tróia are kilometre after kilometre of white sand gently lapped by the sea. Along the coastal road, or on the dunes, all the way between the beaches of Comporta and Pego, it’s easy to find a pleasant restaurant in which to enjoy a meal of tasty fresh fish.

And you only have to travel a few kilometres to change the scenery. At Praia da Galé, for instance, the line of dunes is interrupted, giving way to a five million-year-old cliff that stretches all the way to Melides.

If you enjoy playing volleyball, football or rugby, you’ll find the goalposts and nets already set up for you on the beach of Tróia-Mar, close to the ferry that connects the Tróia peninsula to the city of Setúbal.

It’s well worth taking the short ride across this narrow gateway between the mouth of the Sado estuary and the Atlantic Ocean. You may even be lucky enough to see some friendly dolphins swimming beside your boat.

Further inland are the cork and holm oak groves, pinewoods, and the undulating carpet of rice paddies that form part of the Sado Estuary Nature Reserve, where families of birds come to build their nests and spend the winter.