Villa dos Cedros

A Contemporary Pego Beach House Near Comporta with a Brutalist Bent

Its four bedrooms accommodating up to eight guests, this newly constructed villa’s interiors are compact and contemporary, with a nod to Brutalist architecture in its strong geometry, polished cement floors and windows as adornment. Close to two Comporta-area beaches—Praia do Pego and Praia do Carvalhal—the house is stacked on a sandy hillside under the pines, with an enclosed garden space offering privacy from the neighbors. A 500sqm sand garden spreads out around the wood-decked swimming pool, and there’s a built-in shaded space for alfresco dining poolside.

Around

Located south of Comporta village, 1.5 kilometers from the beach, this pine-surrounded villa on the sand is also set near the Environmental Park of Lagoa Formosa, a seven-hectare sanctuary rich in biodiversity and featuring a variety of aquatic bird life, ducks, fish, and lush, wetland vegetation. Praia do Pego is a picturesque expanse of sand, with on-site lifeguards and disability access, as well as a handful of restaurants and bars, parking zones, toilets and loungers/umbrellas for rent. The waters here are clear and deep blue, and the beach feels somehow secluded despite its proximity to buzzy Comporta and Melides. This coastal area of Portugal has some 40 miles of relatively unspoiled beaches of golden sands with ochre cliffs as backdrops. Grass-tufted dunes insulate the waterfront areas from local communities, and nearby Carvalhal village is rural and slow moving, surrounded by rice paddies and pine forests.

Cavalhal is adjacent to the Sado Estuary’s nature reserve and is made up of a single main street flanked by homes, hotels, and shops. Carvalhal Beach feels a bit lost in time, a quiet stretch of sand located at the end of the village’s main street on the outskirts of town that’s a favorite of local families and famed for its sunsets, one of seven beaches in the Herdade de Comporta. There’s a small, waterfront restaurant serving traditional fare, and loungers and umbrellas for rent. Pego Beach is set more deeply into the pine forest and dunes, a remote crescent of sand that’s home to a locally famed restaurant, Sal, and a pod of dolphins named for the Sado reserve.

Big waves make the entire region a surfing hotspot for pros and beginners alike, and the region is well served by surf schools and local guiding companies. Nearby Melides is more happening, a favorite enclave of design-conscious shoppers and patrons of the arts who delight in the burgeoning selection of galleries, workshops and carefully curated boutiques. Comporta village offers easygoing elegance and trendsetting boutiques and restaurants. The area’s golden sands extend for miles, backed by dunes, cliffs, and wind-sculpted pines—beaches not to be missed are Praia da Galé-Fontainhas, Praia da Comporta and the Praia da Melides and the protected lagoons, their waters rich with birds and wildlife, including Lagoa de Santo André and the Lagoa de Melides.

Location

Nearest airport: Lisbon (1 ½ hours)

Best time to visit

April to October