While the statute states that the bathing season this year runs from 1 May to 15 October for the purposes of "operation ... of bathing support concessions and accessory services" - a reference to beach cafés and restaurants and the lifeguards that these must fund, it is up to each municipality to set dates for their area, or different beaches within it.

The legislation covers all guarded beaches, whether by the seaside or on rivers and lakes.

Of Portugal's 650 beaches or other bathing areas, just 175 start the season on Thursday, 1 June - above all beaches on the coast just south of Lisbon, in the municipalities of Almada, and municipalities in the Algarve, as well as most of the beaches in the Madeira region.

The date on which the largest number of beaches open - 246 in total mainland Portugal and in the islands – is 15 June.

The bathing season has already started on 43 beaches, above all in Cascais, Oeiras - both in the Lisbon district - and Albufeira in the Algarve. In almost all other cases in that region the bathing season runs from 15 May to 30 September.

The North is the only region with a single timetable for sea beaches (15 June to 15 September), while the season for river beaches runs from between 15 June and 15 July to between 31 August and 15 September.

In the Centre the season varies greatly, mostly from between 15 June and 1 July to between 10 and 17 September. However, there are various river beaches in the region's interior that have a different timetable.

In the Azores the limits range from 1 June and 1 July for the start and between 1 August and 14 October for the end of the season.