
The Best Beaches in Portugal: From the Algarve's Coves to the Silver Coast
Where to aim on a Portugal beach trip — the cliff-backed Algarve, the surf coast north of Lisbon, and the Atlantic islands — with the trade-offs that decide each one.

Where to aim on a Portugal beach trip — the cliff-backed Algarve, the surf coast north of Lisbon, and the Atlantic islands — with the trade-offs that decide each one.

Rail passes, neighborhoods, and pacing: the order of decisions that keeps a first Japan trip from unraveling.

State health departments post bacterial test results all summer. Knowing what an exceedance means, and how long it lasts, turns a confusing chart into a trip-planning tool.

The same thermometer reading can feel like a dare on one coast and a bath on another. Here is how the bands actually feel, and why.

Six shoreline routes where the water stays in sight from start to finish, and what to know before you go.

Shared houses, split costs, and the quiet diplomacy of getting a dozen adults to the same sand on the same week.

A simple rod, a license, and a willingness to read the water will get you started — here is what to know before your first cast from the shore.

Narragansett and Misquamicut deliver wide sand, real surf, and walkable beach towns — and none of the canal-bridge bottleneck.

A step-by-step approach to finding shore lodging, beaches, and restaurants where a dog is a guest, not a loophole.

Phantom ships, haunted inns, and lighthouse keepers who never clocked out — the folklore behind the coast's spookier season.