Agroal river beach is located on the Rio Nabão, in Formigais, Ourem. We call it ‘Egg Roll’ river beach as we haven’t got to terms with pronunciations yet! (ha ha). This river beach is well known for it’s therapeutic properties of the water for the treatment of skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis. We visited after a tour of Tomar castle and convent. We arrived at 2pm and were shocked to find a queue. We have never queued for a river beach before. The line was not too long but it took us 1 hr to gain entry and hubby a further 15 mins. It is also the first river beach I have attended which has given me a wristband, there was no time limit enforced. Due to Covid there are maximum capacities at all river beaches. It wasn’t too much of an inconvenience to wait as we had shade from the trees and ate our picnic sat on the wall. It was quite funny to see people walk straight up to the front oblivious to the queue, then beg with the staff to let them in which did not work. Hubby said that the staff told him that he had to wear his face mask in all locations except for when in the water, a designated area near the cafe and whilst eating at the cafe. Usually you only have to wear a face mask when entering the cafes/bars and toilets. We spent all our time in the river so it wasn’t an issue.

It’s the first river beach I have visited which has a few shops selling tourist stuff like towels and lilo’s. There were also stall holders selling fruit and nuts and other stuff. I am not sure how I feel about this as most river beaches are an oasis of nature and only have a cafe/bar. I am not sure I like the idea of them becoming commercialised but I did see a gigantic pink inflatable flamingo for sell which would easily take 3-4 passengers down the river! Look at the photo below of this beast of a bird, it’s huge compared to the dinghy next to it. My theory is, I could eat all the pastel de nata’s, get even fatter and still meet the maximum KG weight capacity (ha ha). I really want this as a birthday gift next year but I also want walking boots and an inflatable kayak for two. Hubby broke the rule and took bikini photos of me below the waist, don’t worry he got a good telling off! There is a nice bar/cafe and the toilets were guarded by two very friendly elderly ladies, not sure why. We found a lovely spot to pitch our pop up tent then headed to sample the water which is known to be ice cold. There is a man made pool with spring water which apparently is ice cold but we stayed in the river section which wasn’t too cold and did not enter the separate pool area. We enjoyed a good few hours floating around together in the gorgeous sunshine. I didn’t see a lifeguard on duty but I did see a first aider giving treatment to a small boy for a minor injury.

This really is a beautiful river beach with glistening water but for us a one off as way to far to travel to (1 hr 50 mins). We have similar river beaches nearer our home including Loriga river beach but I am very glad I got to experience Agroal, it’s pretty setting and landscapes.

GPS Coordinates: 39°40’44.9″N 8°26’10.2″W