“Accessible Beach – Beach for All!” Programme

Pagina Programa “Praia Acessível – Praia para Todos!”

Affordable Beach - Beach for All!

Updated: 27-05-2025

Logótipo do Programa Praia Acessível - Praia Para Todos

The Accessible Beach Program - Praia para Todos! was created in 2004 and has been developed on the ground since 2005, under an institutional partnership, at the level of the Central State Administration, which brings together the National Institute for Rehabilitation (then the National Secretariat for the Rehabilitation and Integration of People with Disabilities - SNRIPD), the Portuguese Environment Agency - APA, I.P. (then the Water Institute - INAG) and Turismo de Portugal, I.P., and which, until 2007, also included the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training - IEFP, I.P.

At the level of the Regional Administration, environmental entities responsible for the monitoring and supervision of water resources are involved in the implementation of the Programme - on the mainland, the Administrations of the Hydrographic Regions of the APA, I.P., and, in the Autonomous Regions of Madeira and the Azores, the Regional Secretariats with identical responsibilities through the Regional Directorates.

At local government level, municipalities with beaches officially designated as bathing waters are involved, within the scope of Article 4 of Decree-Law No 135/2009 of 3 June 2009, in collaboration with private entities concessionaires of these beaches.

The central objective of this Program - which promotes compliance with the legislation on accessibility, namely the provisions of the technical standards approved by Decree-Law No. 163/2006, of 8 August (accessibility regime), as well as with Law No. 46/2006, of 28 August (non-discrimination law) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by Portugal in 2009 - aims to ensure that more and more Portuguese beaches become accessible and services that enable their use and enjoy, with equity, dignity, safety, comfort, independence and the greatest possible autonomy, by all people who wish to visit them, regardless of their age and possible mobility difficulties or other disabilities that, transitionally or permanently, condition their mobility.

The mandatory requirements that determine the attribution of the classification of "accessible" to a bathing area, allowing the raising of the respective award, are the following:

easy, obstacle-free pedestrian access from the surrounding public road to an accessible entrance to the bathing area;
orderly parking with reserved places for vehicles for the service of persons with disabilities who are mobile, carry a parking card, are located as close as possible to that entrance and are connected to it by a pedestrian path without any barriers;
A network of walkways accessible on the beach, totally free of obstacles and interruptions, which will begin at this accessible entrance and will include walkways on the beach, whenever it exists, and, in other cases, a paved, firm, stable and continuous route. In case of gradients, the steps shall be supplemented by smooth ramps with handrails and/or mechanical lifting means accessible to persons with restricted mobility (lifts or lifting platforms). This network of accessible routes will necessarily lead to: the area of sunbathing and shadows (sun hats, awnings, stalks, tents), and as close as possible to the water; and sanitary facilities and a first aid centre adapted to the needs of persons with reduced mobility.
Presence of lifeguard;
Information to the public at the entrance to the beach and on the municipality's website, detailing the accessibility conditions and support services available to people with restricted mobility.

Some examples of other good practices that, although not mandatory, unquestionably improve the conditions of enjoyment of the beaches by these people, are therefore recommended in a perspective of continuous improvement of the Programme:

Amphibian equipment for bathing and/or walking on the beach for people with reduced mobility (wheelchairs, walkers, Canadians, etc.);
Clothes, showers, water fountains and foot washes accessible to all;
Shadowed reception and support spaces reserved for people with restricted mobility and people with assistance dogs;
personalised reception and guidance of visually impaired persons;
Beach bars, restaurants and shops accessible to all;
accessible and inclusive recreational and pedagogical activities;
information to the public in alternative formats, including those accessible to the blind;
colour identification system for colour-blind people on sea-status flags and in containers for separate waste collection;
Tactile maps of the beach, with indications in Braille, at the entrance to the bathing area;
Systems for routing and access to the bath with autonomy of blind people and for issuing safety alerts of deaf people.

List of Beaches Candidates for the Accessible Beach, Beach for All Program! - bathing season 2025 (not yet classified)

List of Beaches Candidates for the Accessible Beach Program Beach for All 2025 (updated on May 15)

Note: The document above refers to a list of candidates for the Accessible Beach award and not to the final list.

Documents available for download

“Accessible Beach – Beach for All!” 2024

The application period for the ‘Accessible Beach – Beach for All!’ programme for the 2024 bathing season ended on 31 March 2024.

Applications for bathing areas for the award must be sent by the respective municipalities to the following entities: on mainland Portugal, to the Regional Hydrographic Administrations of the Portuguese Environment Agency to which they are assigned; in the Autonomous Regions of Madeira and the Azores, the Regional Directorate for Environment and Climate Change and the Regional Directorate for Spatial Planning and Water Resources, respectively.

The documentation to be submitted is contained in an Application Form, which you can consult A QUI, and a Statement of Commitment (Annex 4), which you can access A QUI. The Form (Annex 1, Annex 2 and Annex 3), which explains its main mandatory requirements, and the Award Rules, which you can consult HERE.

Developments

The Program has maintained increasing adherence by municipalities and beach concessionaires, although there is a long way to go to achieve the desired final objective:

Make accessible the beaches, coastal and inland, enabling their free enjoyment, with equity and security, by all who wish to attend them.

For the 2024 bathing season, the Programme covers 37% of the beaches officially designated as bathing waters.

There is an increase in the total number of beaches awarded under the ‘Accessible Beach – Beach for All!’ programme, compared to 2023, and for the fourth consecutive year, the highest number of beaches awarded since the start of the programme.

The following table shows the history of accessible bathing areas:

Evolution of accessible bathing areas
Bathing season	Mainland	Azores	Wood	Total
2024	220	17	7	244
2023	217	18	7	242
2022	207	18	8	233
2021	198	17	8	223
2020	177	17	7	201
2019	189	17	9	215
2018	189	16	9	214
2017	194	16	12	222
2016	183	14	12	209
2015	179	14	11	204
2014	171	14	9	194
2013	162	10	7	179
2012	162	15	7	184
2011	153	14	8	175
2010	142	9	7	158
2009	139	9	6	154
2008	109	9		118
2007	92	5		97
2006	74	2		76
2005	48	1		49

You can also consult the pages about the Program on the websites of the Portuguese Environment Agency, I.P. (includes an interactive map with the geographical location of the awarded beaches) and the Turismo de Portugal, I.P.

Accessible Beaches 2024: List of award-winning beaches (August 8)

In the current bathing season 244 beaches were awarded, of which 62 are river or lake bathing areas and 182 are coastal or transitional, corresponding respectively to a distribution of 25% and 75% of the total number of Accessible Beaches.

Around 85% of the beaches provide an important added value: amphibious equipment for bathing and walking on the beach for people with restricted mobility, in addition to which a significant part of the municipalities and concessionaires provide bathing assistance services.

Consult HERE the final list of beaches awarded 2024 by the Accessible Beach Program, Praia Para Todos.

Contacts

Email: INR-praia.acessivel@inr.mtsss.pt