Location and Access: Where are the Dinosaur Footprints in Salema?

Head to the charming village of Salema, nestled between Lagos and Sagres. It’s approximately an hour’s drive from Faro airport, along the stunning coastline of the Algarve region in Portugal. 

The dinosaur footprints can easily be found on the rocky shores to the right-hand side of Salema Beach as you face the sea, or rather the western end of Praia da Salema.

Accessing the site is relatively easy.  At mid to low tide, the dinosaur footprints can be reached by walking along the beach.  Look for the wooden steps leading down from the cliff past the Atlântico restaurant.

A short walk towards the rocks reveals a flat rock bed – there, etched in time, are the dinosaur footprints!

At high tide, or if you prefer to skip the beach walk, you can view the dinosaur footprints from the wooden stairs that come down the cliff.

Here’s what it’s like at mid-tide and high-tide:

If you have good mobility, you can even climb onto the slab of rock where the dinosaur footprints are for a closer look or some amazing photo opportunities.

Nearby rocks also appear to have some interesting shapes, which may also be dinosaur footprints, or at least your imagination may think they are. We were certain that other imprints, on other nearby rocks, looked exactly the same shape!

Top Tip: Plan your visit around low tide for easier access and clearer visibility of the footprints.

Are They Really Dinosaur Footprints?

The question lingers: Are these truly dinosaur footprints, or could they be something else?

Some sceptics may argue that such markings may have been caused by other factors such as erosion or geological processes. While nothing can be 100% confirmed, paleontological evidence strongly suggests these are indeed dinosaur footprints. 

These imprints, preserved in the rock formations, sure do look like a set of footprints and provide tangible evidence of the dinosaurs that once roamed this land. Our one observation was how close together the footprints were, which seems slightly odd.

It sparked interesting conversations with our children about what else they could be, such as webbed-foot duck tracks caused by ancient giant ducks that might once have lived!

The three-toed impressions are believed to belong to a type of bipedal herbivore called an Ornithopod. Experts believe it could be an Iguanodon, a large dinosaur reaching up to 12 meters in length.

Salema’s dinosaur footprints shed light on the geological history of the region, revealing clues about ancient environments and ecosystems.

By studying the size, shape, and arrangement of the footprints, scientists can piece together a narrative of life millions of years ago, painting a vivid picture of a world ruled by dinosaurs.

Intriguing Fact: The surrounding rock formations were once a muddy sand lagoon floor, perfectly preserving these ancient tracks for eternity.

Returning to the Dinosaur Footprints in 2026

We returned to the dinosaur footprints in Salema during our April 2026 road trip through Portugal and Spain, curious to see if anything had changed since our previous visit.

The good news is that the footprints were still easy to find, and there’s now an informational sign nearby, which makes the location much clearer than before. On our first visit, it felt much more like a hidden gem that you had to know about in advance.

However, one noticeable change was that the wooden boardwalk and steps leading down towards the footprints had been closed off during our visit. It looked like there may have been some erosion near the bottom of the steps, although people were still climbing around the barriers or using nearby paths to access the area.

It was also high tide when we visited this time, so we didn’t climb down to the footprints themselves. Instead, we viewed them from above.

Our son also somehow couldn’t remember visiting them before, despite us coming only a couple of years earlier, which genuinely surprised us!

Even without climbing down again, it was still really interesting to return and see them from a different perspective.

Hopefully, the steps are repaired and reopened properly in future, as they gave a really good view over the footprints.

Beyond Salema: Exploring Other Dinosaur Sites in Portugal

Portugal boasts other dinosaur footprint sites, each offering a unique experience. Check out:

• Carenque, Lisbon: Home to the largest dinosaur footprints in the Iberian Peninsula.
• Lourinhã, Lisbon: Explore a dinosaur museum (Lourinhã Museum) and the Jurassic Park of Portugal (Dino Parque Lourinhã).
• Cabo Espichel, Setúbal: Discover diverse footprint tracks.

Portugal is well-known for its dinosaur-related discoveries, including this man who found a 25-metre dinosaur skeleton in his garden!