So, after 14 years in Croatia, SuncéBeat made its 2024 debut in Portugal, about 10 miles outside of Lisbon in the resort town of Costa da Caparica.

SuncéBeat New Horizons is shorter than we know it to be and, instead of the usual week, ran from Thursday, 18 July through to Sunday, 21 July, on the beautiful golden sands of Irmão Beach, known locally as the “place of happiness”.

It all seemed quite last minute as tickets only went on sale on 1 December 2023, and the lineup was announced in January, but it aligned perfectly for a girls trip birthday celebration. 

Getting to Costa da Caparica

Uber and Bolt are available and from Lisbon airport to Costa da Caparica will cost approximately €15 – 20.

Once you drive across the iconic Ponte 25 de Abril bridge leaving Lisbon, the Cristo Rei statue (reminiscent of “Christ the Redeemer” in Rio) greets you with open arms before reaching the extensive coastline of Costa da Caparica.

Accommodation

There is no on-site accommodation for SuncéBeat in Portugal, but there are plenty of Airbnb options. We got a spacious three-bedroom apartment with a pool along the promenade in Costa da Caparica, not far from the TRYP Hotel, which was a popular choice amongst Suncebeaters. There’s a coastline of beach opposite, and numerous restaurant options, cafes, and supermarkets nearby.

Ubers from the promenade in Costa da Caparica to Irmão Beach cost around 5 euros and around €15 – 20 to the Magic Garden.

Restaurant recommendations

Here are a couple of restaurant recommendations in Costa da Caparica:

A Transmontana – a lovely, unassuming traditional Portuguese restaurant full of authenticity, food made with love, and feels like home. You can choose your seafood and watch it cooked on the outside grill.

Praia Princesa is a restaurant in a relaxing beach setting that’s ideal for a celebratory or laidback lunch. It has an indoor, terrace and beach lounge area. The wide-ranging menu includes Portuguese classics like garlic-drenched clams and octopus salad, as well as more international dishes like white fish with Thai sauce and salmon chirashi.

Place of Happiness

The daytime action begins each day at the festival’s main site, Irmão, which has a proper festival feel and hippy vibe about it. In fact upon first hearing that SuncéBeat had moved to Portugal, this was exactly the picture in my mind – dancing in the sand while watching the sunset, and it was exactly that, except I didn’t imagine that dancing in the sand would be such hard work.

They may do well having a designated non-sand dance area, not only for those with less youth in their legs but also for long-time SuncéBeat wheelchair users.

There’s a restaurant on-site serving Mediterranean dishes and decent cocktails, and SuncéBeat also serves up carbs in the form of burgers, pizzas and wraps to soak up the alcohol and keep us going.

The Magic Yard

The festival continued into the early hours each night at the Magic Yard, where, thankfully, we were on even ground. It’s the perfect venue, and the lead-up is picturesque and adds the touch of magic its name suggests.

The venue is superb – an incredible mansion-like location with its own ballroom and outside chill-out area in the orange grove and pool area, all open until 6 am. It would be nice to have more on here in the day.

Boat Parties

The boat parties have long been a highlight of SuncéBeat, and The Principe Do Tejo hosted a series of them up the wondrous estuary of the River Tagus and under the Golden Gate-type suspension bridge, the Ponte 25 de Abril. 

Croatia v. Portugal

Naturally, people are going make comparisons – it’s human nature – but it can also be the thief of joy. The fact of the matter is this is not Croatia, and we need to get over it. It was refreshing to speak to first-timers to get their fresh perspective on the festival, as it seems many of us are stuck in our old SuncéBeat ways. That said, let’s weigh up the pros and cons, at least as I saw them.

Pros

First off, there’s a proper beach and no sea urchins. When I heard SuncéBeat’s new home was in Portugal, I immediately thought of the beach. Portugal’s golden sand beaches are ideal for a festival.

SuncéBeat in Portugal is more relaxed, has more of a holiday vibe and there’s plenty to do in Lisbon and the surrounding areas. Check out tours here.

As well as having much to do, Lisbon also has a great dining scene at all levels. The food is delicious; there’s endless seafood and traditional Portuguese and Brazilian restaurants. Additionally, Portugal is one of the cheapest countries in Western Europe. Overall, Portugal has inexpensive public transport, and Ubers are reasonably priced.

Cons

There’s no onsite accommodation, and things are quite spread out. Though we stayed in Costa da Caparica, it is still a taxi ride to Irmão, where the festival takes place during the day. Then, from Irmão, it’s even further to The Magic Yard, which is in Amora. A coach would have been handy from Irmão to The Magic yard as it is quite a distance away and would save the rush for Ubers/Bolt towards the end (cost in an Uber €15 – 20).

As beautiful as Irmão is, it’s pretty small, and when you’re at the main beach stage, you can still hear the music from the Mi-Soul tent and vice versa. This was confusing and meant that I couldn’t enjoy either at one point.  Though I appreciate that they want to replicate the intimacy of where they first started in Petrcane, Croatia, this issue needs sorting.

Being a smaller site at Irmao, you only have two areas where music is played, as opposed to three or four, meaning there was less choice to find the music that suits you.

What did I think of SuncéBeat New Horizons?

It’s clear that SuncéBeat has a new lease of life, and that’s mainly due to the location. Portugal has fantastic beaches, Lisbon is a great city, and being centred around the beautiful sandy expanses of Costa Da Caparica, you can’t go wrong.

The hippy in me loved the daytime venue as this is what festivals are supposed to be about – Children of Zeus at the golden hour while dancing in the sand and watching the sunset was a touch of magic.  There were divine and high vibrations.

That said, we are paying around the same price for a festival that lasts fewer days, and the lineup, in my opinion, was sparse for SuncéBeat.  Don’t get me wrong, we still had the likes of Kenny Dope serving up to close SuncéBeat at the Magic Yard and delivering in the same way he does at Barbarellas – in fine form. Craig Smith threw it down at The Orange Grove, and Enoo Napa closed well on the first night. Add to that Helen Ting, Spen, Sandy Riviera, Ron Trent, Rodigan and more.

Yet still, the music was often hit-and-miss, which may be due to having fewer areas for my musical tastebuds to be satisfied. I get this is a matter of personal taste, but also, the Irmão site is so small that I kept hearing a clash in music depending on where I stood, and there was a time when I arrived onsite, and no music was playing at all.

Regardless of the above, a time was had. I connected and reconnected with some beautiful spirits, and there’s always something special about being at a festival’s first year, even if it is “reborn”.

However, though the setting is a place of happiness, there’s a bit more to be done, but to do what they did in a matter of months is admirable. It’s their first year, and next year, they will no doubt come back stronger.

Next year SuncéBeat takes place from 19 – 23 June 2025, and tickets go on sale Monday, 2 September at 13.00. If you’re interested, book here.