Golf Trip Planner logo
Golf Trip PlannerPrivate Concierge
Golf guide • Portugal • Lisbon Region

Golf in Cascais: dunes, stone pines and the Atlantic on Lisbon's doorstep

Cascais, a seaside town some thirty kilometres west of Lisbon, has four courses within about twenty minutes: Oitavos Dunes, Arthur Hills' layout among dunes and pines, Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s Quinta da Marinha, the venerable Golf do Estoril and Penha Longa in the foothills of Sintra. Golfers come for ocean golf in a mild climate all year round, ideally from March to June and from September to November.

Plan this tripUpdated

A fishing village that became a royal resort when King Luís I began spending his summers here in the 1870s, Cascais has kept its turreted villas, its citadel and its calçada pavements of black and white waves. The town stands at the end of the Estoril coast, where the Tagus estuary opens onto the Atlantic, with the Sintra hills behind. It is this meeting of wooded mountain and ocean that gives its courses their character.

Almost all the golf is played inside the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park or on its edge. Oitavos Dunes and Quinta da Marinha share the same estate, between the town and Guincho beach, a few minutes from the centre. Estoril, one of the oldest clubs in the country, is about ten minutes away, and Penha Longa, about twenty, climbs the hills on the Sintra side. Stone pines, pale sand and a westerly wind: the scenery changes from one course to the next without ever losing sight of the sea.

Four to six nights allow you to play all four courses without rushing, keeping a day for the palaces of Sintra and an evening of grilled fish facing the rocks. Lisbon is only thirty kilometres or so away, but Cascais is enough on its own: you walk to dinner in the old town, stroll along the bay early in the morning, and the first tees are close at hand.

The courses

Bunker cut into dune grasses in front of a green, between two pines, a rough sea beyond

Oitavos Dunes

  • Architect: Arthur Hills
  • Opened 2001
  • 18 holes
  • Par 71

Opened in 2001, Arthur Hills' course is the benchmark of the region: a par 71 of just over 6,300 metres from the competition tees, alternating wooded holes among stone pines with links-style holes in the dunes, against a backdrop of the Atlantic, Cabo da Roca and the Sintra hills. It has hosted four Portuguese Opens and appeared in Golf Magazine's 2017-2018 ranking of the world's top hundred courses. Its maintenance and environmental management, recognised by Audubon International, are of the same standard. The wind supplies most of the challenge: a course for consistent golfers, demanding but fair.

Signature hole. The 14th, a 153-metre par 3, often plays far longer than its yardage: the tee shot carries a rain-carved ravine that runs along the whole right side of the green. The 17th and 18th, two par 4s of more than 430 metres, close the card in earnest.

Official website

Quinta da Marinha

  • Architect: Robert Trent Jones Sr.
  • Opened 1984
  • 18 holes
  • Par 71

Designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and opened in 1984, this par 71 of 5,845 metres winds through the pines on flat ground set slightly back from Guincho beach. The front nine crosses wooded countryside, the back nine opens onto the Atlantic. Its six par 3s are its spice, among them the 4th, known as "Ravine". Water hazards and contoured greens keep good players alert without discouraging the rest. The holes have been reordered: the old 11th is now the 1st, and the 18th now finishes in front of the hotel, renamed Kimpton Quinta da Marinha in 2026. An enjoyable course for a first day.

Official website

Penha Longa Atlântico

  • Architect: Robert Trent Jones Jr.
  • Opened 1992
  • 18 holes

In the hills of the Serra de Sintra, about twenty minutes from Cascais, Robert Trent Jones Jr.'s Atlântico course opened in 1992 and hosted the Portuguese Open two years later. The terrain is bold, with plenty of climbs and descents, and the views stretch over Estoril, Cascais and the ocean. The estate is that of a former monastery, whose walls appear as you play, and a nine-hole course, the Mosteiro, opened in 1995, completes the offer. Take a buggy: this is the most physical course of the trip.

Signature hole. The 15th, a par 3, demands a 155-metre carry over water, often into the prevailing wind; the 16th, which calls for a long drive over a valley, is considered the hardest hole.

Official website

Golf do Estoril

  • Architect: Jean Gassiat; Philip Mackenzie Ross (1945)
  • Opened 1929
  • 18 holes
  • Par 69

Founded in 1929 with nine holes by Jean Gassiat, then extended by Philip Mackenzie Ross, Estoril is one of the founding clubs of Portuguese golf and hosted twenty Portuguese Opens between 1953 and 1987. The 18-hole course, a par 69 of 5,189 metres, rewards precision over length, with narrow fairways lined with eucalyptus, pine and mimosa on either side of the A5 motorway. A nine-hole course completes it. The club describes itself as the only one in the country still offering caddies: an old-school round, four minutes' drive from the Palácio Estoril.

Signature hole. The 16th, a 179-metre par 3, is considered one of the best par 3s in Portugal.

Official website

Where to stay

The Oitavos

Set on the Oitavos Dunes estate, between the pines and the ocean, The Oitavos favours restraint: contemporary architecture, floor-to-ceiling windows and 142 rooms facing the course or the Atlantic. Ask for a Premium room, the same size as a Superior but with windows facing the ocean, where the others look mostly onto the golf. Two seawater pools, a spa, an equestrian centre, and the first tee a few steps away. Closed from mid-December to mid-January.

The Albatroz Hotel

The Dukes of Loulé built this summer house in 1873 on a headland between two beaches, when the court spent the season in Cascais. A small eleven-room inn in the 1960s, it has kept its antique furniture and old-world fabrics. Ask for a sea-facing room with a balcony; the clifftop pool is unheated, and the station is a minute's walk away. Estoril and Quinta da Marinha are about ten minutes by car.

Where to dine

Fortaleza do Guincho

A 17th-century fort on the rocks of Guincho beach, now a Relais & Châteaux hotel with a Michelin-starred restaurant. Chef Gil Fernandes serves inventive seafood cooking, à la carte or as tasting menus. Book a table by the windows to watch the sun go down over the ocean towards Cabo da Roca.

Porto Santa Maria

Opened in 1947 on the Guincho road, this house is a classic of the coast, listed in the Michelin Guide. Order the sea bass baked in a salt crust, sold by weight, a speciality Bill Clinton tasted in 2000, or the clams Bulhão Pato, and ask to see the wine cellar, richer than you might imagine. The ideal table after a round at Oitavos, a few minutes away.

Mar do Inferno

On the avenue along the cliff, a stone's throw from the Boca do Inferno, the Tirano family has run this fish and seafood house for nearly fifty years. Grilled fish of the day and shellfish, in a dining room facing the ocean: book the terrace above the sea for lunch after a round at Quinta da Marinha. Closed on Wednesdays.

Grilled fish, clams and a glass of white wine on a terrace above rocks battered by the swell

Beyond golf

Old Cascais and its museums

The citadel, the Santa Marta lighthouse, now a museum, and the neo-Gothic mansion of the Counts of Castro Guimarães line the bay. Right next door, the Casa das Histórias Paula Rego, designed by Eduardo Souto de Moura and opened in 2009, houses the artist's paintings, prints and drawings beneath its two red concrete pyramids. It can all be done on foot in a morning.

Boca do Inferno and the Guincho coast

West of the town, the sea surges into a chasm in the cliff, the Boca do Inferno, filmed as early as 1896 for one of the first films in history. The road continues along the coast to the great beach of Guincho, open to the Atlantic swell, then climbs to Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of mainland Europe.

The palaces of Sintra

Half an hour away, the cultural landscape of Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995, brings together the Pena Palace commissioned by King Consort Ferdinand II, the Moorish Castle and the Quinta da Regaleira. Set off early, as the roads in the hills are narrow, and combine the visit with a tee time at Penha Longa.

Promenade of wavy black and white cobbles, palm trees and old villas facing a bay with sailing boats

When to go

A mild ocean climate makes Cascais a golf destination almost all year round. Spring, from March to June, and autumn, from September to November, offer the best combination of mild weather and courses in good shape. Summer remains pleasant, averaging around 21 °C, but the coast is very busy. Winter is mild, averaging around 12 °C, and brings most of the rain: allow a day or two in hand.

Getting there

Lisbon airport (LIS) is about thirty-five minutes by car from Cascais on the motorway, and all four courses lie within twenty minutes of the town. Without a car, the Cascais line train runs from Cais do Sodré station in Lisbon to the centre of Cascais along the Tagus, but a car or driver remains more practical for reaching the courses.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best golf course in Cascais?

Oitavos Dunes, Arthur Hills' layout opened in 2001 among dunes and stone pines. It has hosted four Portuguese Opens and featured in Golf Magazine's 2017-2018 ranking of the world's top hundred courses.

How many golf courses are there around Cascais?

Four 18-hole courses lie within twenty minutes of the town: Oitavos Dunes, Quinta da Marinha, Golf do Estoril and Penha Longa Atlântico. Estoril and Penha Longa each have a nine-hole course as well.

When is the best time to play golf in Cascais?

From March to June and from September to November for the best conditions. Summer is mild but very busy; winter remains playable, with average temperatures around 12 °C and more rain.

How many days do you need for a golf trip to Cascais?

Four to six nights to play all four courses and keep a day for Sintra or the Guincho coast.

Which airport is best for a golf trip to Cascais?

Lisbon airport (LIS), about thirty-five minutes by road from Cascais and its courses.

Tailor-made

Your golf trip: Cascais

Tee times, suites, transfers and tables: your concierge replies within 24 hours with a proposal shaped around you.

Green in the foreground, a row of conifers and eucalyptus-covered hills sloping down to the ocean under a cloudy sky
Azores (São Miguel)

Azores

2 courses
Green surrounded by sand dunes, dry grasses and umbrella pines, with the ocean on the horizon at sunset
Alentejo coast

Comporta

2 courses
Fishing village of white houses trimmed in blue on an ochre cliff, boats pulled up on the sand
Lisbon Region

Ericeira

3 courses
Explore: Portugal →