Bathing season runs until October 15 in Albufeira
Albufeira marked the start of the official bathing season in the borough with a sun-soaked ceremony at Praia dos Pescadores on Thursday (May 15).
The event brought together local leaders, rescue teams, schoolchildren and community groups to celebrate the start of the season, which runs until October 15.
One of the highlights of the day was a full-scale rescue simulation, which saw lifeguards, maritime authorities and firefighters testing their response to drowning scenarios.
“Everything is in place for an excellent bathing season,” declared local mayor José Carlos Rolo, praising municipal sanitation teams for keeping beaches clean every day.
The ceremony happened just two days after 15 beaches in Albufeira received the ‘Gold Quality Beach’ rating from environmental NGO Quercus – matching Almada and falling just one short of national leader Vila Nova de Gaia. The borough had already racked up 25 coveted Blue Flags earlier this year.
The event also served as a fun day out for local schoolchildren, who got hands-on with educational games on ocean biodiversity, hosted by the municipality’s Environment Unit.
Also on-site were teams from the local Community Health Unit and Luságua, offering demonstrations on public health and environmental safety.
Each municipality in Portugal is responsible for defining the start and end of its bathing season. The Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA) must be informed of the dates by the end of the year before. Generally, most bathing seasons tend to begin in the month of May, with Cascais standing out as the first to officially launch it on May 1. The seasons usually end by the end of September, although they extend to mid-October in several areas.
