Piscina Municipal de Peniche

The Piscina Municipal de Peniche belongs to Peniche council and sits on Avenida Paulo VI. It is a swimming-school pool first: most of the water time goes to classes for babies, children, adults and older people. For families this means it’s the place to learn to swim in Peniche, rather than somewhere to splash about on a Saturday afternoon.

The two pools

The council’s welcome manual describes both:

• The main pool has six lanes, fixed starting blocks, and is 25 metres long and 12.5 metres wide. It is 1.20 m deep at the shallow end and 2 m at the deep end.
• The learner pool (tanque de aprendizagem) is 16 by 9 metres and between 70 cm and 1.20 m deep. Baby classes and the first three swimming school levels happen here.

Baby swimming (natação bebés) is for children from 6 months to 3 years, according to the manual, and the 2026/27 price list gives the band as 6 to 48 months. A parent goes in the water with the child, and the aim is to get babies used to the water rather than teach strokes. Classes last 30 minutes, once a week, and cost €18.60 a month.

The swimming school (escola de natação) teaches children from 4 to 17. Each level has its own cap colour, so a child can see their progress:

• Level 1, white cap: moving around in the water, floating on front and back, curling into a ball (“the egg”), swimming 5 metres and jumping in.
• Level 2, yellow cap: gliding, somersaults, 16 metres of kicking and the first backstroke.
• Level 3, blue cap: 16 metres of backstroke and 32 metres of front crawl with a turn.
• Level 4, green cap: moves to the 25-metre pool; 50 metres each of breaststroke, backstroke and crawl, with starts and turns.
• Level 5, red cap: 25 metres of butterfly and 100 metres of each stroke, including individual medley.
• Level 6, black cap: for those who want to keep swimming informally, with options such as water polo, artistic swimming, fin swimming and lifesaving.

Teachers assess every new pupil before placing them, and then twice a year, in February and June, so children need to be there for those classes. Lessons run from September to June and stop on public holidays, 24 and 31 December, Carnival Tuesday and at Easter.

Prices for 2026/27

Monthly fees for the swimming school are €21.45 for one class a week, €26.40 for two, €35.25 for three and €44 for four. Families get 25% off for the second and third member of the household and 50% from the fourth. Fees are paid between the 1st and the 15th of each month, with 2% added from the 16th. Once you sign up, you are committed to paying every month until the end of the season unless you fill in a withdrawal form at reception.

Enrolment for 2026/27 opened in July in stages: white caps from 10 July, yellow caps from 13 July, blue, green and red caps from 14 July, and babies from 15 July. Ask at reception about places left during the year.

Not in the usual sense. Free swimming (natação livre) is only for people aged 15 and over, after a test by the pool’s staff. It costs €2.05 for an 85-minute visit, or €2.55 on Wednesday evenings, loaded onto a user card. Up to eight people share each lane, and the number of lanes open changes through the day as clubs and schools book the pool. The free-swimming timetable is published on the council’s website.

For younger children the only route into the water here is a class.

The regulations and welcome manual list what parents need to know:

• Swimsuit, swim cap and flip-flops are compulsory. If you forget a cap, reception sells them.
• Non-swimmers must stay where they can stand.
• Only people in swimwear may go to the learner pool area, apart from staff.
• Every user needs a user card, which is free for swimming school pupils.
• For each child under 9, one adult may go into the changing room to help with changing and showering, then must leave and can come back at the end of the class.
• Reception gives you a locker key in exchange for ID.

Lessons can be cancelled up to six times a year for maintenance, training or competitions, with at least 72 hours’ notice, and those classes are not refunded.

On a calm summer day, a boat trip to Berlenga Island leaves from Peniche harbour. Further along the coast, Dino Parque Lourinhã is a good dry-weather contrast to a morning in the pool.

Can I take my toddler for a swim at Peniche pool?

Only in a baby class, which takes children from 6 months up to 4 years with a parent in the water. Free swimming is for over-15s.

How much are swimming lessons in Peniche?

From €21.45 a month for one class a week in 2026/27, with discounts for brothers and sisters.

Do children need a swim cap?

Yes. Caps and flip-flops are compulsory, and the swimming school gives each level its own cap colour.

How deep is the learner pool?

Between 70 cm and 1.20 m.

When do lessons start?

Enrolment opens in July and classes run from September to June.