Piscinas Municipais de Santiago do Cacém

Santiago do Cacém is an inland town on the Alentejo coast, a short drive from Sines and Vila Nova de Santo André. Its council pools, the Piscinas Municipais de Santiago do Cacém, opened on 17 September 2005 and see around 300 people a day, from babies to older people. Both pools are heated, so small children can swim here in winter too.

The Câmara Municipal also runs free outdoor pools in the town’s Rio da Figueira urban park in summer, covered further down.

• The learner pool (piscina de aprendizagem) is 17 by 10 metres and 60 cm to 1 m deep. Small children can stand in most of it.
• The competition pool is 25 by 17 metres and 1.10 m to 1.80 m deep at the starting blocks. It’s for children who can already swim.

Coaches can watch swimmers through two underwater windows in the basement, used in lessons and training. Upstairs is a stand with 377 seats looking over the pools and a bar in a gallery above the entrance hall. The ground floor has reception, changing rooms that take about 160 people an hour, a first-aid room and a gym.

The building opens from 08:00 to 22:00 on weekdays, and on Saturdays from 09:00 to 13:00 and 15:00 to 19:00.

Public swimming (utilização livre) means swimming on your own in the pool at times not taken by classes. In the 2026–27 price table it cost €1.71 an hour on weekdays and €2.36 an hour on Saturdays. People over 65 swim free. Ask at reception which lanes and times are free for the public, since classes fill much of the timetable.

This is a pool built around its swimming school, and the range of classes is wide. The council lists baby swimming, water familiarisation (adaptação ao meio aquático), children’s swimming at levels 1 to 3, aquatic psychomotor classes (psicomotricidade aquática), adult swimming, water aerobics in several forms including aquajump and hydrobike, hydrotherapy and aqua-natal classes. Schools in the municipality also bring primary pupils.

The 2026–27 timetable has baby classes (6 to 36 months) on weekday late afternoons and at weekends, and children’s classes mostly between 17:00 and 20:00 on weekdays, with some early morning and Saturday slots. New for 2026–27 is Aqua Circuito, a 30-minute class that mixes all the water fitness styles, for adults.

Monthly prices for 2026–27:

• Babies (6 to 36 months): €17.99 once a week, €27.18 twice a week.
• Swimming for children up to 13: €14.45 once a week, €21.54 twice, €28.76 three times.
• Swimming for over-13s: from €16.55 once a week.
• Registration is €14.45 (€8.67 to re-register), and a replacement card costs €4.33.

Families save: the second family member enrolled gets 25% off and the third 50% off. Registration for 2026–27 opened on 9 July 2026, and classes are booked and paid through the council’s online pool portal.

The council’s pages don’t say whether parents go in the water for baby classes or where they wait during children’s classes, so ask at reception.

The pool’s regulations (2011) are specific about swimwear:

• Everyone on the pool deck needs a swim cap (touca) and rubber flip-flops.
• Men and boys must wear close-fitting lycra trunks or briefs with no pockets. Loose board shorts are not allowed.
• Women and girls wear a swimsuit or a sports bikini.
• Children up to 3 must wear swim nappies.
• Nobody jumps off the starting blocks without permission.
• Wash off sun cream and similar products before getting in.

In summer the town opens outdoor pools in the Parque Urbano do Rio da Figueira, an urban park in Santiago do Cacém. They open every year from June to mid September and are free to use. There are two: a children’s pool with a limit of 30 people and a large pool with a limit of 100. The small limits mean that on hot afternoons you may have to wait for a space, so go early.

The indoor pools are closed on Sundays, and public swimming shares the building with a busy class timetable. There are no slides or play features. The strict swimwear rule catches out visiting dads and older boys in board shorts. The free outdoor pools are small for the number of people who want to use them in summer.

The Badoca Safari Park is in the same municipality and makes a full day with animals. The Lousal mine science centre is inland to the north. On the coast, Sines’ ship-shaped indoor pool is the nearest alternative when Santiago’s is booked up.

Are the Santiago do Cacém pools heated?

Yes. Both indoor pools, the learner pool and the 25-metre pool, are heated.

Is there a shallow pool for toddlers?

Yes. The learner pool is 60 cm to 1 m deep. Under-3s must wear swim nappies.

Are there baby swimming lessons?

Yes, for 6 to 36 months, from €17.99 a month for one class a week in 2026–27.

Can dads wear swim shorts?

Not loose ones. The regulations require close-fitting lycra trunks or briefs for men and boys.

Are the outdoor pools free?

Yes. The Rio da Figueira park pools are free, from June to mid September.