Algarve beach inspections to continue throughout August

Inspections of beaches and bathing concessions in the Algarve will continue until the end of August, with results to be presented in the first or second week of September, according to the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA).

By TPN/Lusa, in News, Portugal, Algarve · 08 Aug 2025, 10:02 · 1 Comments

The inspection "will continue until the end of August, and we want to present the report with the results, as we did [with Grândola], sometime between the first and second week of September," APA president José Pimenta Machado told Lusa news agency.

On Tuesday, the Minister of Environment and Energy (MAEN), Maria da Graça Carvalho, announced that the APA, together with the National Maritime Authority (AMN), had begun inspections in the Algarve of beach access and compliance with public services by concessionaires.

"It's a normal inspection, as was done between Tróia and Melides [on the Alentejo coast]. In this case, it will be on the Algarve coast. They will begin in Sotavento, Monte Gordo, and Praia Verde," said Maria da Graça Carvalho, when asked about the topic during a press conference in Lisbon about sustainability programs.

The official added that, in the case of the Algarve, the complaints are mainly related to "access conditions" to restrooms and changing rooms, and not so much to restrictions on beach access.

Contacted by Lusa, the president of the APA explained that, on Tuesday, the action began "with preparatory work in coordination" with all the entities involved, which are expected to "go into the field" only today.

"Obviously, the Algarve is not the same size [as the Grândola coast], but we have some situations that concern us and that have already been identified".

These situations, he added, will be given "particular attention."

According to Pimenta Machado, who plans to "personally monitor" one of these actions, the APA will prioritize beach access and bathing concessions.

"We already know about some situations, and what we already know is not in compliance: access to changing rooms and restrooms is within the commercial area, [with] some restrictions that people may feel uncomfortable with," he explained.

According to the official, it is necessary to ensure that access to changing rooms and restrooms is "always external so that people feel free to use" these areas.