Portugal / Faro
Praia da Rocha
Praia da Rocha is a 1.3 km-long sandy beach facing south-west, 1.5 km south-west of Ferragudo (Faro, Portugal). The sea averages 20.0 °C in September, its warmest month, and 15.2 °C in February; it never reaches 21 °C on average.
Average sea surface temperature by month. Current month outlined.
Reference
Praia da Rocha (English: "Rock Beach") is a beach and built up area on the Atlantic Ocean in the southern section of the concelho of Portimão, Algarve, southern Portugal. On the eastern edge of the beach stands the Fort of Santa Catarina, a 17th century fortress built to defend the mouth of the Arade River, and now a popular tourist attraction accessible directly from the beach or the road above.
Wikidata item Q1752037 · classified as sand beach and locality.
Month by month
October at Praia da Rocha
Beach-day index 7.5/10 · Portugal median 6.6
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea °C | 15.9 °C | 15.2 °C | 15.3 °C | 16.0 °C | 16.9 °C | 18.6 °C | 19.4 °C | 19.9 °C | 20.0 °C | 19.4 °C | 18.0 °C | 16.8 °C |
| High °C | 14° | 15° | 18° | 20° | 25° | 31° | 35° | 34° | 30° | 24° | 18° | 14° |
| Low °C | 4° | 5° | 6° | 8° | 11° | 15° | 16° | 17° | 15° | 12° | 7° | 5° |
| Rain mm | 50 | 47 | 56 | 54 | 30 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 23 | 69 | 84 | 63 |
| Cloud % | 51 | 46 | 47 | 45 | 36 | 27 | 18 | 18 | 27 | 41 | 46 | 49 |
| Wind m/s | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Daylight h | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.5 | 11.3 | 10.2 | 9.6 |
| Record high/low | 20°/-5° | 22°/-5° | 28°/-3° | 31°/1° | 36°/4° | 44°/9° | 45°/12° | 44°/12° | 43°/10° | 35°/4° | 27°/-2° | 20°/-4° |
| Beach index | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 4.8 | 7.4 | 8.2 | 7.0 | 7.3 | 8.6 | 7.5 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
Long-term monthly averages: air from NASA POWER (2001–2020), sea from NOAA OISST (1991–2020); records are the extremes of 2001–2020. How the index works.
When to go
The beach-day index peaks in June and September; September scores 8.6/10 with highs of 30 °C, sea at 20.0 °C and 23 mm of rain.
In September that is 0.6 points above the median of the 344 beaches in Portugal covered by this atlas.
At its warmest the water here is 1.1 °C warmer than the Portugal median for September (18.9 °C).
Across the year the sea averages 17.6 °C, cooler than 60% of the coastal beaches in the atlas.
November is the wettest month (84 mm) and July the driest (1 mm); the yearly total is about 490 mm.
Daylight runs from 9.6 hours in December to 14.7 hours in June; in mid-September the sun rises at 07:15 and sets at 19:43 local time.
Orientation, sun and shore
The shore faces south-west (215°). Open water fills about 33% of the horizon close by, which makes it an open stretch of shore.
The sun sets over the sea in October–March; in mid-December it goes down at 17:18 local time on a bearing of 241°.
Straight out to the south-west about 800 km of open sea lies before the next coast, enough for large swells to build.
About 1 km offshore the sea is roughly 9 m deep and 24 m at 3 km, a shallow, gently shelving sea floor. Behind the beach the ground is about 6 m above sea level 500 m inland and 3 m at 1.5 km, a flat coastal plain.
Within 1 km, the land is 39% built-up land, 29% grassland and 24% bare ground, sand or rock (satellite land-cover map, 2021): a partly built-up setting. Water makes up 52% of that circle.
- Built 39%
- Grass 29%
- Bare 24%
- Tree 6%
Land cover: ESA WorldCover 2021 (10 m). Orientation from OpenStreetMap land polygons sampled in 36 directions; depths and heights from the GEBCO 2020 grid (about 450 m cells), indicative only.
Bathing water quality
The official EU bathing-water site “Rocha”, 360 m from the beach centre, was rated Excellent for the 2025 season. It was Excellent in 11 of its 11 classified seasons since 2015.
- 2015Excellent
- 2016Excellent
- 2017Excellent
- 2018Excellent
- 2019Excellent
- 2020Excellent
- 2021Excellent
- 2022Excellent
- 2023Excellent
- 2024Excellent
- 2025Excellent
Source: European Environment Agency, EU Bathing Water Directive assessments · national site profile. Classes are based on four seasons of bacteriological sampling.
OpenStreetMap shows no lifeguard station within 1 km. Seasonal lifeguard posts are often unmapped, so check on site.
Photos
From above
Facilities within 1 km
- 152Restaurants, cafés & bars
- 6Public toilets
- –Showers
- 37Car parks
- –Lifeguard stations
- 41Hotels & guesthouses
- 9Grocery shops
- 1Water-sports spots
- 1Marinas & slipways
- 15Bus stops (1.5 km)
- 2Pharmacies & clinics
- 10Cash machines
- 1Viewpoints
- 1Historic sites
Food and drink mapped within 1 km: 94 restaurants, 13 cafés, 42 bars and 3 fast-food outlets. Accommodation: 41 hotels and guesthouses.
Counted within 1 km of the beach (bus stops 1.5 km) from OpenStreetMap features and Overture Maps places, release of 2026-10. Unmapped does not mean absent.
Around the beach
Historic sites
- Miradouro De Santa Catarina Portimão monument 900 m W
Nature
- Caverna cave entrance 1.4 km E
Islands in view
- Ilhéu da Boa Sorte 1.9 km SE
- Leixão da gaivota 2.0 km SE
Lighthouses & piers
- Cais A pier 500 m E
- Cais B pier 500 m E
- Cais C pier 500 m E
- Cais D pier 500 m E
- Cais E pier 520 m E
- Cais F pier 560 m NE
Marinas
- Marina de Portimão 830 m NE
Diving & boat hire
- Scooters and Bikes to rent 490 m NW
Getting there
| Airport | Code | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portimão Airport Portimão | PRM | 5.8 km | north-west |
| Faro - Gago Coutinho International Airport Faro | FAO | 51.1 km | east |
| Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport Lisbon | LIS | 193 km | north |
Straight-line distances from the beach; road distance is usually 20–40% longer.
Local transport: 15 bus stops within 1.5 km and 37 mapped car parks within 1 km.
8 towns and villages of 1,000+ people lie within 10 km (about 79.8K residents); within 30 km there are 25 (about 220.3K).
When people look it up
The EN Wikipedia article was read 13,086 times in the 12 months to August 2026. Interest peaks in June (1,563 views), 2.4× the quietest month.
Map and nearby beaches
Loading map…
Open in OpenStreetMap · Directions in Google Maps
| Beach | Distance | Warmest sea | Length | Surface |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Praia da Rocha | – | 20.0 °C | 1.3 km | Sand |
| Praia Grande | 1.2 km E | 20.0 °C | 792 m | – |
| Praia dos Três Irmãos | 4.3 km W | 20.0 °C | 573 m | Sand |
- Praia Grande1.2 km ECompare
- Praia dos Três Irmãos4.3 km WCompare
Data on this page
- Air temperature, rain, cloud, wind, humidity: NASA POWER climatology 2001–2020, 0.5° grid.
- Sea temperature: NOAA OISST v2.1 monthly normals 1991–2020, nearest ocean cell 8.2 km away.
- Beach outline, surface, rules and public facilities: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), feature w98687797; restaurants, cafés, bars and lodging: Overture Maps places (CDLA-Permissive-2.0).
- Water body, status and length: Wikidata (CC0).
- Towns and time zone: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Airports: OurAirports (public domain). Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations.
- Photos: Wikimedia Commons, author and licence under each image.
- Satellite view: Copernicus Sentinel-2 (ESA), scene S2C_29SNB_20260727_0_L2A.
- Orientation: OpenStreetMap land polygons (ODbL). Depth and terrain: GEBCO 2020 grid.
- Bathing-water quality: European Environment Agency (site PTCH9Q).
- Settlements: GeoNames places with 1,000+ inhabitants.
- Land cover: ESA WorldCover 2021, 10 m (CC BY 4.0).
Data compiled 2026-10-13. Something wrong? Report a data error.