Complexo de Piscinas Municipais de Albufeira

The Complexo de Piscinas Municipais de Albufeira (the council calls it the PMA) is an indoor pool complex at Quinta da Palmeira, on Rua José Carlos Ary dos Santos. It’s a year-round facility for local families, apart from August, when it closes for cleaning and maintenance. There are three pools:

• A recreation and fun pool (piscina de recreação e diversão), 17 by 10 metres.
• A learner pool (piscina de aprendizagem), 17 by 10 metres.
• A 25-metre pool, 25 by 17 metres.

There’s also a gym, saunas, steam rooms, a jacuzzi and activity rooms. The pool is busy with a large swimming school and water-fitness classes, and public swimming runs alongside them.

When checked in September 2026, the complex opened Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 21:00 and on Saturday from 9:00 to 17:00. Public swimming (regime de utilização livre) ran:

• Monday to Friday: 8:00 to 20:55.
• Saturday: 9:00 to 16:45.

It’s closed on Sundays and public holidays, on 24 and 31 December, and for the whole of August. In 2026 it also closed on Carnival Tuesday and Maundy Thursday. The council must give 72 hours’ notice of other closures, except in emergencies, and posts them on the pool’s page.

Under the pool’s regulations, a public-swim session is a 105-minute block: about 15 minutes to change, 60 minutes in the water and 30 minutes to shower and dress. Public swimmers get at least two lanes in the 25-metre pool, and where possible space in the learner and recreation pools. Swimmers can borrow the pool’s floats and teaching equipment when the lessons don’t need them.

The regulations spell out the rules parents most often get caught by:

• Children under 12 can only use public swimming with an adult, who supervises them and pays too.
• Everyone must wear a swim cap (touca) and flip-flops, and suitable swimwear: trunks or lycra shorts for boys and men, a one-piece swimsuit for girls and women.
• Shower and walk through the footbath before getting in.
• No diving, running or games unless part of a class, and no pushing or dunking.
• Don’t use the 25-metre pool if you can’t swim.
• Children under 8 can use the changing room of the opposite sex with an adult of that sex.
• The sauna and steam rooms are for over-18s only.

Reception sells swim caps, goggles and ear plugs. Lockers in the changing rooms take a €0.50 or €1 coin.

To use the pools you register at reception. Bring:

• A citizen card, passport or residence card, and your tax number (número de contribuinte).
• A signed declaration that you have no medical reason not to swim (the pool provides the form; it’s renewed every year).
• For under-18s, a term of responsibility filled in at reception by the parent, with a copy of the parent’s ID.

When checked in September 2026, registration with user card and insurance cost €8.74, and renewing the insurance cost €5.82 a year. The council’s pages don’t give the price of a single public swim, so ask at reception.

The Escola de Atividades Aquáticas (EAA) is the council’s swimming school. Lessons cost €17.47 a month for one class a week, €23.30 for two and €29.12 for three when checked for 2026/27. Monthly fees are due by the 8th of the month.

The 2026/27 timetable includes:

• AMA Bebés (water confidence for babies and toddlers), in groups for 9 to 18 months, 18 to 24 months, 24 to 36 months and over 36 months, on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings. The school recommends a swim nappy for babies.
• AMA 1 and AMA 2, water-confidence levels for young children, on weekday afternoons from about 16:45.
• IN 1 and IN 2 (beginners), then AN 3 and AN 4 (improvers).
• Adult swimming, water fitness, aqua bike and a fitness class called FOW.

Pupils can go in 15 minutes before class and must leave 30 minutes after it ends. Missing four classes in a row without notice loses your place.

For 2026/27, the complex reopened on 1 September, classes for returning pupils restarted on 7 September, and new pupils booked an assessment from 3 September, with assessments and enrolments from 14 September to 2 October 2026. New baby enrolments (under 4) were in the second and third weeks. After that, new pupils can join only if places are free.

In spring 2026 a serious fault in the heating boilers meant the pool couldn’t guarantee the 32 °C water that baby classes require, so those classes were suspended. The complex closed in the first half of June while the heating system was replaced, and reopened on 17 June 2026. If you have a baby or toddler starting classes, it’s worth asking how warm the water is.

This is a busy municipal pool, not a leisure centre: there are no slides. The recreation pool is the most playful part. Albufeira in summer is crowded, but by August the pool is closed anyway; it’s most useful from September to July, especially on wet or windy days when the beaches aren’t pleasant.

For a free run-around, the Parque da Alfarrobeira has the biggest playground in the municipality, next to the town skate park. In Albufeira, PLAY Albufeira is an indoor play café for a post-swim snack, and the electric karting at Albufeira Marina suits older children. In summer, Aqualand Algarve at Alcantarilha and Zoomarine near Guia are close by.

Is Albufeira municipal pool open in August?

No. The complex closes for the whole of August for cleaning and maintenance.

Can children swim alone?

Under-12s can only use public swimming with an adult, who also pays.

Do you need a swim cap?

Yes. A swim cap, flip-flops and suitable swimwear are compulsory. Reception sells caps.

How much are swimming lessons?

When checked for 2026/27: €17.47 a month for one class a week, €23.30 for two and €29.12 for three, plus €8.74 to register.

Are there baby swimming classes?

Yes. AMA Bebés classes start at 9 months, on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.