Peniche and the Berlengas, a surf peninsula and an island of granite.

Peniche was once an island and is today a limestone peninsula joined to the mainland by sand, with a fishing port, a fortress that was a prison under the dictatorship and waves on one coast or the other almost every day. Opposite, 45 minutes away by boat, Berlenga is an island of reddish granite with a 17th-century fort, clear waters and bird colonies. From Lisbon it can be done in a long day, but the boat and the surf call for a night's stay.

How do you get there from Lisbon?

By car, about 90 km on the A8 to the north and the IP6 to Peniche: a little over an hour and a quarter without traffic. By bus from Lisbon it is around an hour and a half to the centre of Peniche. If you fly from Spain, you land in Lisbon, which is the nearest airport; hire a car there or take the bus.

For the morning boat to Berlenga you must be at the marina 45 minutes before departure, at 10:00 or 11:00 depending on the season. Leaving Lisbon first thing you will make it; if you go by bus, it is safer to sleep in Peniche the night before.

What is the trip to Berlenga like?

Viamar leaves from Peniche marina, beside the fortress, from 8 May to 30 September, and all its departures give five hours on the island. The return trip for an adult costs from €19.90 in May, June and September on weekdays to €34.90 in the weeks of August; children from 3 to 11 pay less. The BerlengasPass, the nature reserve fee, is bought separately, at €3 per adult per day. No more than 550 people may be on the island at once: weekends in July and August sell out weeks ahead.

On the island, take the path up to the lighthouse and go down the stairs to the Fort of São João Baptista, joined to the island by a stone bridge. By the jetty there is a small beach with very clear water and a restaurant. The glass-bottom boat trip through the caves is paid for separately on the island. There is no shade: bring water, a hat and sun cream.

What to see in Peniche?

The 16th-century fortress, beside the harbour, is today the National Museum of Resistance and Freedom: it was a prison for political prisoners and Álvaro Cunhal escaped from here in 1960. To the west, Cabo Carvoeiro has a lighthouse above layered cliffs and, in front, the rock stack of Nau dos Corvos. To the north, Baleal, the former island of whales, has beaches on both sides of the isthmus; to the south, Supertubos is the beach of tubular waves, a regular venue of the world surf tour.

To learn, Baleal Surf Camp, Portugal's first surf camp, open since 1993, gives lessons in groups of up to five from €38.

Where to eat and sleep?

For fish, Tasca do Joel, beside the harbour since 1982, is open Wednesday to Sunday and on Sunday only at midday. To sleep, PenichePraia, on the north coast, has rooms, bungalows, pitches and heated salt-water pools, and admits pets; Baleal Surf Camp has a hostel and apartments on the sand at Baleal.

When should you go?

June and September are the best months: there is a boat, the price is lowest and the island is quiet. July and August are high season. From October to April there is no boat to Berlenga, but Peniche is still a surf destination, with the biggest waves of the year.