August is barely a week old and it has already been so good to us. The sea settled into that high-summer stillness we wait for all year, and the water — honestly, we keep checking we are still in Portugal. Anchored in the coves this week we could see the seabed straight off the bow, the swim ladder disappearing into turquoise, fenders floating over green glass. It feels like the tropics, except the lighthouse on the cliff is ours.
So — welcome, August. Here is what this month looks like on the water, and why a boat might be the plan you did not know you were looking for.
The clearest water of the year
Every summer has a stretch when the Atlantic stops behaving like the Atlantic. This is it. The mornings are glassy, the afternoons hold a soft breeze, and in the anchorages between Cascais and Guincho the water is so transparent you can watch your own anchor set. Swimming here right now is the kind of thing people fly hours for — and it is ten minutes from Marina de Cascais.
In Cascais this month and looking for a plan?
If you are visiting Cascais in August — or you live here and have friends and family in town — you have probably already done the list. The beach, the old town, the ice cream, Boca do Inferno, maybe a day out to Sintra. All great. But the plan that people remember, the one the whole group still talks about at Christmas, is the one where you saw this coast from the water.
Here is the part most visitors do not realise: you can have a whole boat to yourselves. Not a ticket on a crowded tour — a private boat, your own group, a captain who knows every cove, and a day shaped around you. No experience needed, nothing to organise beyond showing up at the marina. It works for every kind of group:
- Friends who want a swim day. A coastal cruise out of Cascais — cruise the cliffs, drop anchor in a clear-water cove, swim, float, repeat. Two hours is enough to change the whole day; four feels like a holiday inside your holiday.
- Families, from grandparents to kids. The Catamaran sits flat and steady with room for everyone to spread out — the easiest boat day for a multi-generation crew.
- Couples and small groups chasing the golden hour. A sunset cruise with a drink in hand, timed so the cliffs turn copper as the light drops. August evenings here stay warm long after the sun goes.
- The big day out. Cascais to Lisbon by sea — past the Sintra cliffs, into the Tagus, under the bridge, past Belém. The most cinematic way to see two places in one day.
- A dinner nobody expects. Dinner served at anchor as dusk comes in — a table on the water that no restaurant in town can match.
And if your group has its own idea — a birthday, a proposal, a reunion, a sushi dinner under string lights — a tailor-made experience is exactly that: tell us the occasion and we build the day around it.
Whichever shape you choose, it is always private: one group, one boat, captain and fuel included. And if you want more ideas for your days ashore, our local guide to Cascais maps the places we actually go.
The month is young — but it books fast
July gave us a month to remember, and August has opened even better. It is also the busiest month of the year on this coast, and the calm-morning swims and sunset slots are always the first to go.
If you are here this month with people you love and you want one day that stands above the rest of the trip — send us your dates. You will hear back from Miguel directly, usually within a few hours, with availability and a plan shaped around your group.
The water is warm, clear and waiting. Welcome, August. See you out there.
