Golf guide • Portugal • Alentejo coast

Golf in Comporta: dunes, pines and rice fields south of Lisbon

Comporta, on the Alentejo coast about 1 hr 20 min from Lisbon airport, has two eighteen-hole courses at Terras da Comporta: David McLay Kidd's Dunas, ranked number one in Portugal by Top100GolfCourses in 2026, and the Torre, Sergio García's first design. Golfers come for sand-based golf among umbrella pines and dunes, fishermen's huts turned into rare places to stay, and cooking built on rice and fish. The best months are April to June, then September and October; February is also a good time to play.

Plan this tripUpdated 29 October 2026

South of the Sado estuary, the Tróia peninsula stretches south in a long strip of dunes and pines, with the Atlantic on one side and rice fields on the other. Comporta is the village of this rice country, farmed here since the 20th century by a large agricultural estate, with its storks, granaries and reed-roofed huts. Golf arrived late, but it arrived in style.

Terras da Comporta has two eighteen-hole courses a few minutes apart. The Dunas, by the Scottish architect David McLay Kidd, opened in 2023 after years of waiting; the Torre, Sergio García's first major design, joined it in 2025. They could hardly be more different: one spectacular among the dunes, the other flatter and more demanding of accuracy. Sandy soil and umbrella pines give both the look of southern heathland.

Half an hour north, on the peninsula, Tróia Golf, laid out by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1980, is closed for a restoration led by the Robert Trent Jones II team. The aim is to recover its original links spirit, with wider fairways, restored dunes and a reworked routing that gives the trees less of a role, bringing back the ground game and playability. It is scheduled to reopen in March 2027. Until then, three to five nights are enough to play both courses, play the Dunas a second time and keep a day for the estuary.

The courses

Green and white flag edged by a rugged sand bunker and dune grasses, pine forest in the background

Terras da Comporta – Dunas Course

Architect: David McLay Kidd
Opened 2023
18 holes
Par 71

David McLay Kidd, the architect of Bandon Dunes, began the project around 2010; by 2014 the course was shaped and half seeded when the owners' bank collapsed and froze it. Taken over in 2019, it opened in 2023 as Kidd's first design in continental Europe. Fescue fairways rise and fall through big dunes and sandy waste areas among the pines, a kilometre from an ocean the dunes keep out of sight. Wide and free of forced carries, it suits every level. It is ranked number one in Portugal by Top100GolfCourses in 2026.

Signature hole. The 3rd is a par 3 to a green some sixty metres deep, where club selection depends entirely on the pin. On the 7th, you tee off from the highest point of the property.

Official website

Terras da Comporta – Torre Course

Architect: Sergio García
Opened 2025
18 holes
Par 72

Officially opened in October 2025, the Torre is the first major course designed by Sergio García, who drew on Valderrama, his favourite course. Flatter than the Dunas, the land rolls gently through the pine forest, with large sandy areas and views of the rice fields and, in the distance, the Serra da Arrábida. Narrow corridors, doglegs and small, subtly sloping greens: here accuracy counts for more than length. It was named the World's Best New Golf Course at the 2025 World Golf Awards, two years after the Dunas.

Signature hole. The 18th, a long par 5 guarded by sand from tee to green, is the hole most players remember.

Official website

Where to stay

Quinta da Comporta

In Carvalhal, a few minutes from the Dunas, this was the architect Miguel Câncio Martins's first signature project in Portugal, built with local wood, wicker and stone. The Inari restaurant stands on the ground where rice was once stored and threshed, and the artist Vhils carved the portrait of a woman rice harvester. Ask for an Eira room: its balcony looks over the rice fields to the horizon, whereas the Deluxe rooms face the garden.

Sublime Comporta

Gonçalo Pessoa discovered Comporta in 2001, then placed an advertisement in the Diário de Notícias to buy land there. The hotel opened in 2014 with fourteen rooms, on a 68-hectare estate of umbrella pines, cork oaks and dunes; it holds a Michelin Key. Ask for a Bio-Pool Suite, whose private terrace opens straight onto the natural pool. For a group, the Cabana Villas have two to five bedrooms.

Casas na Areia

Near Carrasqueira, three kilometres from the village and the beach, this former family holiday house brings together old fishermen's huts renovated by the architect Manuel Aires Mateus, a friend of the owners. The thatched main house has a sand floor, heated in winter. It is let as a whole, for up to eight adults, which makes it an ideal base for a small group of golfers. There is no restaurant: dinner is in the village.

Low whitewashed house with a thatched roof and blue window frames, an olive tree and umbrella pines at dusk

Where to dine

Cavalariça

In a former village stable, opened in 2017, Cavalariça is the only restaurant in the village listed in the Michelin Guide (no star). The menu follows the seasons and the produce of the region, from the Sado to Alcácer. Start with the croquettes, which the Michelin Guide names among the signature dishes, then share the plates: here, everything goes in the middle of the table.

A Escola

On the road to Alcácer do Sal, at Cachopos, the old primary school for the rice workers' children became a restaurant in 1996, founded by Henrique Galvão; his son-in-law, Octaviano Martins, has run the kitchen for more than fifteen years. Order the empada de coelho bravo, the house wild rabbit pie served with rice. Book ahead: the Alentejo tourist board says a reservation is needed.

Sal

Founded in 2012 on Pego beach by five partners, Sal moved in 2023 to Carvalhal beach, into the former O Dinis, a few minutes from the Dunas. Fresh fish and seafood, almost with your feet in the sand. Have the black rice with cuttlefish and aioli, or the fish soup, after a morning round. Lunch is when it is at its best.

Beyond golf

The Carrasqueira jetty

A quarter of an hour south of Comporta, the stilt harbour of Carrasqueira reaches out over the estuary mud on uneven wooden posts, so that fishermen can reach their boats at low tide. A University of Évora master's thesis dates the start of its construction to 1964. Come at sunset at low tide, when the whole structure is exposed and the colourful boats rest on the mud.

Dolphins and birds of the Sado

The Sado estuary is home to a resident group of bottlenose dolphins, around twenty animals, which you can approach by boat from Setúbal; choose a small licensed operator. On land, the rice fields of the nature reserve draw white storks, herons, egrets and glossy ibises, and flamingos are more numerous in winter.

The Herdade da Comporta estate

The great estate founded in 1836 made Comporta rice country; it also makes wine. Its winery, set among the rice fields of the nature reserve, offers tours and tastings of about an hour, with views over the paddies. An ideal break between two rounds, before dinner in the village.

Wooden jetty on stilts in an estuary at low tide, colourful boats, rice fields and storks at twilight

When to go

Golf is played all year round. The finest months are mid-April to June and September to October, with 19 to 25 degrees; May, June and September are the driest. Winter stays mild, around 15 to 17 degrees in the afternoon, but brings seven to ten days of rain a month; February is often drier than March. July and August are hot, dry and very busy, with a steady afternoon wind.

Getting there

Lisbon (LIS) is the natural airport, 1 hr 15 min to 1 hr 30 min by road via the A2 and Alcácer do Sal. For a more scenic arrival, the Setúbal car ferry crosses the estuary to Tróia in 25 minutes. Faro is about 2 hr 45 min away. A car, with or without a driver, is essential on the ground: the courses, beaches and villages are spread out.

Frequently asked questions

What golf courses are there in Comporta?

Terras da Comporta has two eighteen-hole courses open to visitors: the Dunas, by David McLay Kidd (2023), and the Torre, by Sergio García (2025). Tróia Golf, by Robert Trent Jones Sr. (1980), is closed for a restoration by the Robert Trent Jones II team, which is bringing back its links spirit; it is scheduled to reopen in March 2027.

Is Comporta Dunas the best golf course in Portugal?

It is ranked number one in Portugal by Top100GolfCourses in 2026 and was named the World's Best New Golf Course at the 2023 World Golf Awards.

Can visitors play Terras da Comporta without being a member?

Yes. Both courses welcome visitors, with online booking and a buggy included at the Dunas. A handicap certificate is required, up to 54.

When is the best time to play golf in Comporta?

From April to June, then in September and October; February, often drier than March, is also good. August is hot and very busy.

How do you get to Comporta from Lisbon?

By car, allow 1 hr 15 min to 1 hr 30 min from Lisbon airport on the motorway. The Setúbal ferry to Tróia offers a slower, more beautiful arrival across the estuary.

Tailor-made

Your golf trip: Comporta

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)