Praia da Samoqueira

Praia da Samoqueira is a small rocky beach on Portugal's Alentejo coast, sitting just to the north of Porto Covo. Dark rock formations run along the waterline creating a shallow lagoon of calm water. At high tide the strip of golden sand shrinks and the beach becomes mostly rock. Low tide is the ideal time to aim for. As the water level drops it leaves behind tide pools and reveals small caves tucked away between the formations, plus the lagoon settles into a clear, calm basin set apart from the open sea. The water stays clear enough to shoot straight down into the pools and pick out the creatures living in them, which gives you a fun spot to experiment with sea creature photography. Wider compositions let you pair the rugged formations with the endless Atlantic behind them, or you can play with getting low over the tide pools to use them to mirror the sky. Ideally plan on pairing low tide with evening and sunset when the sun drops into the ocean creating amazing colours. There is a free parking lot and stairs to get down to beach level or a path that runs along the top for scenic views over the entire beach. Make sure to check the tide table before you set off to give yourself lots of time to experiment with various views and water levels. (Porto Covo, Portugal)