West Cliffs, Óbidos: A Guide to Golf, Property and Life on Portugal's Silver Coast

West Cliffs is a golf and residential resort near the walled town of Óbidos, on Portugal's Silver Coast. It suits you if you want a seaside links on the doorstep, dune beaches and a lagoon close by and Lisbon within reach, and you are happy with an Atlantic climate that is fresher and breezier than the Algarve. Golf Homes International currently presents townhouses and detached villas there, and the key facts are below.

West Cliffs Ocean and Golf Resort is in Vau, in the municipality of Óbidos, on Portugal's Silver Coast. It occupies a stretch of Atlantic coastline of dunes, coastal scrub and pine, with views along the coast towards Peniche and the Berlengas islands.

The neighbour to the south is Praia D'El Rey, a separate resort with its own golf course, a Marriott hotel and a beach.

For homes and courses across the wider region, see our Silver Coast golf property page.

West Cliffs Golf Links is an 18-hole, par-72 seaside links designed by Cynthia Dye of Dye Designs Group. It opened in June 2017 and was named World's Best New Golf Course at the 2017 World Golf Awards.

The course runs through dunes, coastal scrub and pine, and you can see the Atlantic from every hole. Expect the wind to matter. A calm morning and a breezy afternoon can play like two different courses.

There is a clubhouse with a pro shop, rental equipment and changing rooms. The academy has a driving range, putting greens and a short-game area, so practice does not mean leaving the resort. Our West Cliffs Golf Course page has more on the course itself.

Other golf nearby

Three more courses are within a short drive, each on its own resort.

• Praia D'El Rey, about 3 km to the south, is a par-73 Cabell B. Robinson course that opened in 1997. It mixes seaside links and parkland holes through pine and dunes.
• Royal Óbidos, which opened in 2012, was the last course Seve Ballesteros designed.
• Bom Sucesso is a par-72 Donald Steel course from 2008 that runs beside the Óbidos Lagoon.

West Cliffs Golf Course West Cliffs Resort, Portugal View course →

Praia D'El Rey Golf Course Praia D'El Rey Golf & Beach Resort, Portugal View course →

We currently present two home types at West Cliffs. Further home types may follow as the resort develops.

Townhouses

The West Cliffs townhouses have three bedrooms and are a short walk through the dunes from the beach. They suit you if you want the beach within walking distance and a home that is easy to lock up between stays.

Detached villas

The West Cliffs villas are detached homes with three to five bedrooms, which gives more room for family and visiting guests. West Cliffs presents them with golf and Atlantic views.

Open now

Work began in 2015. The golf course and clubhouse restaurant opened in 2017, building work on the homes followed, and the resort began letting homes to visitors in 2020.

Today you can use:

• the 18-hole course, pro shop, academy and practice areas
• the clubhouse, with a grill restaurant, bar and terrace
• a tennis court and two floodlit padel courts
• the Atlantic Track, a coastal walking trail
• 24-hour reception, concierge and security

The resort maintains the communal grounds, and homes in the rental programme can add cleaning and laundry. A members' lounge is reserved for golf members.

The Kalyan Spa and a seasonal minimarket are next door at Praia D'El Rey rather than at West Cliffs itself. Some opening hours change with the season, so check ahead of a visit.

The masterplan

West Cliffs calls itself a five-star resort and says it is currently under construction. The final project is planned to include 469 accommodation units, two five-star hotels and further spaces for services and leisure. On the masterplan, the hotel and facilities are marked “soon”, with no dates attached.

Beaches and the lagoon

The Óbidos Lagoon is one of Portugal's largest coastal lagoons, known for its birdlife and calm-water sports. Its calmer water suits younger children better than the open Atlantic beaches do.

Praia do Bom Sucesso runs along the lagoon shore to the sea outlet, facing Foz do Arelho across the sandbanks. Praia D'El Rey is a long beach backed by dunes. Foz do Arelho, the village and beach at the lagoon mouth on the northern side, lies in the municipality of Caldas da Rainha.

Óbidos old town

The walled medieval town of Óbidos is a UNESCO City of Literature. It has hosted the FOLIO literary festival since 2015, and its Gothic church of São Pedro has been converted into a library and bookshop. The calendar also includes the International Chocolate Festival and Óbidos Vila Natal at Christmas.

Peniche and the Berlengas

Peniche is a fishing and tourism town inside the UNESCO Berlengas Biosphere Reserve. Boats run out to Berlenga island in season, and the coast here is known for surf and water sports. It makes a good day out for anyone in the household who is not playing golf.

Nazaré

Nazaré's Praia do Norte is internationally known for the giant waves created by the Nazaré Canyon. Bathing there is not recommended, so this is a beach for watching from the shore.

Everyday services

Caldas da Rainha is the nearest larger town for everyday shopping and services, and has a public hospital unit run by ULS do Oeste.

Restaurants, shops and some services in the area are seasonal and noticeably quieter outside summer. Out of season, plan on driving for most day-to-day errands.

The Silver Coast is fresher and often breezier than the Algarve, the sea is cooler and the year has a clear summer peak. At the resort, rental demand follows the same pattern.

It suits you if

You would choose an Atlantic links over a resort course in the sun, and you want two beach types, a lagoon, a historic town and a choice of courses, all without a long drive.

Think twice if

Warm winter golf is your priority, or you would rather have a finished resort with plenty of dining, shopping and evening life on site. Compare carefully with the south, or wait.

The other trade-off is timing. You would be buying into a resort that is still being built, so expect construction to continue around you for some time. We would suggest visiting once outside summer before you decide, so you see the place at its quietest.

If you are still comparing regions, our guide to the best golf resorts in Portugal for buying property covers the wider field.

The legal steps are the same as for any purchase in Portugal. These are the points specific to West Cliffs worth settling first:

We do not give legal or tax advice, so take independent legal and tax advice before any purchase in Portugal. Our guides to buying property in Portugal as an international buyer and buying property in Portugal as a UK buyer set out the process, and our Silver Coast page lists current homes across the region.