Complexo das Piscinas Municipais de Olhão

The Complexo das Piscinas Municipais de Olhão opened on 26 April 2000 on Rua da Feira. It’s a single covered hall with three pools, and the council describes it as a facility built mainly for teaching, which shows in its layout: two of the three pools are shallow enough for children and beginners.

According to the council:

• The competition pool is 25 by 16.67 metres, 2 metres deep and has eight lanes. It’s approved for official swimming events.
• The learner pool (tanque de aprendizagem) is 15 by 8 metres and slopes from 90 cm to 1.20 metres, with five lanes and a ramp. It’s used for learning to swim, aquagym and hydrotherapy.
• The starter pool (tanque de iniciação) is 10 by 6 metres and slopes from 60 to 80 cm, with a ramp. It’s for water confidence, and it’s the one a toddler or preschooler can stand in.
• There’s also a jacuzzi.

Around the pools are changing rooms, a first-aid post, a multipurpose room, a bar and seats for 150 spectators.

This catches visitors out. Because of the long drought in the Algarve and low water in the reservoirs, the councils of the Algarve’s municipal association (AMAL) agreed to close municipal pools in the coastal areas as a water-saving measure. Olhão’s pool is therefore closed to the general public in July and August. It’s a pool for September to June, which is also when a warm indoor swim is most welcome.

When checked in September 2026:

• Monday to Friday: 7:00 to 14:30 and 15:30 to 21:00.
• Saturday: 9:00 to 19:00, without a lunch break.

The long Saturday opening makes this the easiest day for working parents. The Loulé and Quarteira pools, by comparison, close at 14:00 or have a lunch break on Saturdays.

Public swimming is called utilização livre. The 2026/27 price list, in force from 7 September 2026, gave:

• Children under 3: free.
• Up to age 15: €1.95 a swim, or €18.97 for a monthly card.
• Youth card (Cartão Jovem) holders and over-65s: the same, €1.95 or €18.97.
• People with a disability: €1.08, or €10.08 a month.
• Ages 16 to 64: €2.28, or €22.33 a month.

The user card is free the first time (€9 to replace it). The council’s page doesn’t publish the public-swim timetable or rules such as swim caps, swim nappies or age limits for swimming alone; take a cap and flip-flops to be safe and ask at reception.

Olhão council’s swimming school timetable for 2026/27 (classes from October 2026) includes:

• Baby classes (BB1 to BB4), on Saturday mornings between 9:00 and about 12:00.
• Water confidence (AMA1 and AMA2) and learning to swim (APZ1 to APZ3), twice a week in late-afternoon slots from 17:15.
• Improvers (APF), adapted swimming and aquagym.

Prices from 7 September 2026:

• Baby classes, once a week: €17.89 a month.
• Water confidence, learning, improvers, adapted swimming and aquagym, twice a week: €26.78 a month.
• Enrolment €5.64 and annual insurance €5.64.

Enrolment forms for classes and for groups are on the council’s pool page.

It’s a municipal pool, not a leisure centre, so there are no slides or play features. Classes fill the late afternoons from about 17:15. The starter pool is the key thing for families with small children, but it’s also where water-confidence classes happen, so phone to ask when it’s free for public swimmers.

Olhão is the gateway to the Ria Formosa lagoon. The nature reserve at Quinta de Marim is on the edge of town, and ferries leave Olhão for the island of Culatra. The town’s seafood festival appears on What’s on.

Is Olhão municipal pool open in summer?

Not to the general public in July and August. The Algarve councils agreed to close coastal municipal pools in those months to save water during the drought.

How much is a swim?

€1.95 for children up to 15 and €2.28 for adults in 2026/27. Under-3s are free.

Is there a shallow pool for toddlers?

Yes. The starter pool is 60 to 80 cm deep with a ramp.

Are there baby swimming classes?

Yes, on Saturday mornings, at €17.89 a month for one class a week.

When is the pool open on Saturdays?

From 9:00 to 19:00 without a break, when checked in September 2026.