With more than 200 different species of fish to be caught off the shores of Portugal there is a great tradition of sea fishing here. Beach casting is very popular among the locals who often spend all day on the beach in pursuit of bass, bream, mullet, mackerel, and sole. A hired guide or some friendly locals will tell you about the best equipment and techniques.

Even if you have a good head for heights you’ll definitely need an experienced guide if you want to have a go at cliff fishing. It’s a great challenge and success can reward you with catches like gropers, sea bream, gilthead, garfish, and moray and conger eels.

But perhaps the ultimate challenge is big game fishing. You can do this starting from the mainland but the best sport is to be found around the islands. The waters off the Azores hold world records for blue marlin catches; Madeira is teeming with albacore, spear fish, blue fin tuna, skipjack, amberjack, and wahoo all year round; while the Algarve specializes in shark fishing.

It’s easy to charter a boat privately, or you can join a prearranged trip from a marina with guides, equipment, bait and expert advice all provided.

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