Praia de São Rafael
Faro, Portugal
- Free parking
Today at a glance
Best: 5 pm to sunset, sunset 6:45 pm5.4
6 km/h4 mph wind, Fair
5.5
6 km/h3 mph wind, Good
5.6
5 km/h3 mph wind, Good
5.7
7 km/h4 mph wind, Good
5.9
8 km/h5 mph wind, Good
6.1
9 km/h6 mph wind, Good
6.3
10 km/h6 mph wind, Good
6.2
13 km/h8 mph wind, Good
7.5
13 km/h8 mph wind, Great
8.4
10 km/h6 mph wind, Great
9.0
7 km/h4 mph wind, Excellent
This page puts what matters first for today's conditions.
Best time to swim
Best: 5 pm to sunset. Beach score for daylight hours, with wind in km/hmph underneath.
- Air
- 16°C60°F
- Water
- 18°C65°F
- Wind
- 74 km/hmph NNW
- Gusts
- 128 km/hmph
- Waves
- 0.2 m<1 ft
- UV
- 0 low
- Tide
- rising
- Rain
- 0%
- Sunset
- 6:45 pm
Tide, next 24 hours
- High 1 pm, 0.7 m2 ft
- Low 7 pm, -1.6 m5 ft
- High 1 am, 0.7 m2 ft
Tide is modeled, not measured. Rip current and water quality data are not available for this beach yet.
Beach info
Lifeguards, parking and facilities before you head down.
About Praia de São Rafael
Praia de São Rafael is a sandy beach located in Faro, Portugal. It is 221 meters long and covers an area of 6,859 square meters. The nearest town is Albufeira, 2,881 meters away, and there are 13 free parking areas within 500 meters.
Praia de São Rafael is a beach on the Atlantic south coast of the Algarve, close to the village resort of Sesmarias which is within the Municipality of Albufeira, Portugal. This beach is located 2.5 miles (4.0 km) by road to the west of Albufeira old town centre and is 29.7 miles (47.8 km) west of the regions capital of Faro. This beach is one of sixty nine blue flag beaches (2012) in the Algarve and is accredited with good facilities for disabled people.
Source: Praia de São Rafael on Wikipedia (authors). Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved Oct 19, 2026. Data sources
Facilities
- Restrooms250 m820 ft away
- Parking13 within 500 m0.3 miNearest 160 m520 ft. Listed as free
- Food and drink11 within 1 km0.6 miNearest 30 m100 ft
- SurfaceSand
Getting there
- Nearest bus stop
- 680 m0.4 miPraia San Rafael
- Nearest town
- 2.9 km1.8 miAlbufeira (city)
- Nearest airport
- 28 km17 miAeródromo Municipal de Portimão (PRM)
Nearby places
- Restaurante da Praia de São RafaelFood and drink30 m100 ft
- La Cantina del BorgoFood and drink260 m860 ft
- A SardinhaFood and drink310 m0.2 mi
- MariturItalian610 m0.4 mi
- City BarFood and drink680 m0.4 mi
Facilities from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Check posted signs; details change. Data sources
Nearby beaches
- Praia dos Paradinha0.2 km0.1 mi west away8.7 Excellent later
- Praia da Viga0.2 km0.1 mi east away8.7 Excellent later
- Praia dos Arrifes0.3 km0.2 mi north-east away8.7 Excellent later
- Praia dos Piratas0.3 km0.2 mi west away8.7 Excellent later
- Praia da Ponta Pequena0.5 km0.3 mi west away8.7 Excellent later
Where to stay near the beach
Compare hotels and apartments near Praia de São Rafael.
Beachfront rooms go first on warm weekends.
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Hotel results come from our stays partner. We may earn a commission when you book, at no extra cost to you, and it never changes the beach score.
The days ahead
Best score each day, with the stretch to aim for.
- Sat8.8 ExcellentBest 10 am to 7 pmWind up to 12 km/h7 mph, rain 0%
- Sun8.5 ExcellentBest 8 am to 12 pmWind up to 14 km/h9 mph, rain 0%
- Mon8.8 ExcellentBest 8 am to 6 pmWind up to 8 km/h5 mph, rain 0%
- Tue6.0 GoodBest 10 am to 6 pmWind up to 5 km/h3 mph, rain 4%
- Wed7.3 GreatBest 10 am to 6 pmWind up to 9 km/h5 mph, rain 3%
- Thu7.6 GreatBest 7 am to 12 pmWind up to 28 km/h18 mph, rain 0%