Municipality of Ílhavo Nautical Station

The Municipality of Ílhavo boasts excellent natural conditions for nautical sports and recreation. Seven kilometers of Atlantic coastline, the access channel to the largest port in the Central Region of Portugal, and double crossings by the channels of the Ria de Aveiro, natural amphitheaters for nautical practice, give it enormous sporting versatility for both beginners and experienced practitioners. Climatically, it is naturally windy from mid-spring and throughout the summer, with ideal conditions for water sports combined with enjoying the wind.

A diverse network of nautical facilities is located here (from the Port of Aveiro to small anchorages), generally equipped with the necessary equipment and services: mooring space, electricity, water, waste treatment, sanitary facilities and changing rooms, winches and/or gantries, etc. There are also several sailing schools and other nautical sports – for children and adults alike – associated with nautical clubs, as well as maritime tourism operators, and nautical schools (for obtaining various recreational navigation accreditation titles).

The local offerings also include an exceptional museum network: the Ílhavo Maritime Museum, the Santo André Museum Ship, and the Vista Alegre Museum; exceptionally dynamic cultural facilities; diverse festivals scattered throughout the municipality, both spatially and temporally, with particular emphasis on gastronomic festivals – the Cod Festival, Ria a Gosto – Costa Nova Seafood Festival, the Bakers' Route, and the Costa Nova Sardine Festival; and the Barra Lighthouse (the tallest in Portugal and one of the tallest in the world), as well as charismatic beaches and locations such as Barra and Costa Nova beaches, the Vista Alegre working-class neighborhood, the historic center of Ílhavo, the "Codfish Port," and the Oudinot Garden.

Several tourist entertainment companies and/or maritime tourism operators "offer" programs for sightings of marine fauna, boat trips and/or introductory boat rides, and other recreational and cultural programs, including shopping at Vista Alegre stores (the factory is located here) and a wide range of nautical handicrafts.

The history of the Municipality of Ílhavo, like that of the entire region in which it is located, is deeply marked by the dramatic changes that the hydrographic network and the coastline have undergone over time. With approximately nine and a half centuries of documented history, it is not surprising that Ílhavo has been identified by several authors as being descended from legendary navigators who would have entered through the mouth of the Vouga River and settled here.

It extends across a wide, flat area where its two cities are located – Ílhavo and Gafanha da Nazaré – but also a vast green area of ​​National Forest and an extensive coastal strip of golden sandy beaches – the charismatic beaches of Barra and Costa Nova. "The Sea by Tradition" is, as in no other, the motto of the Municipality of Ílhavo.