Guide · Algarve
The route I take friends on when they fly in. One base, short drives, no dragging suitcases to a new place every day.
Written by a localBase
Portimão or Lagos. From here the whole Algarve is within an hour or an hour and a half.
Car
Essential. Without one half of these places are out of reach, and buses eat the whole day. Pick it up at Faro airport the moment you land.
When to go
The season is long. September and October are still warm, and the crowds are already gone.
Day 1 · Faro · Ferragudo · Praia da Rocha
Land in Faro, pick up the car, an hour to the base.
A tiny fishing town across the water from Portimão: white houses, boats, narrow lanes. No tour buses here.
Fim do Mundo in Ferragudo. The name means “the end of the world” — exactly the feeling you want on the first evening.
Praia da Rocha, from the upper promenade.
Day 2 · Benagil · Marinha · Carvoeiro
Boats leave from Portimão, Carvoeiro and from Benagil beach itself. You cannot walk in — only from the water.
The most beautiful beach in the south.
Come before 11. After that the car park is full, and it turns into a fight rather than a holiday.
The clifftop trail starts right at Marinha. The whole thing is 6 km one way. If you would rather not go far, walk the first twenty minutes: the best views are there.
Cliffs at sunset. Taking the stairs down to the water is a must.
Day 3 · Lagos · Sagres · São Vicente
The old town, the fortress walls, tiny beaches tucked between the cliffs.
Those famous ochre arches and grottoes. A viewpoint at the top, stairs leading down, and boats from below for half an hour.
A fortress on the cliff, wind and ocean on every side.
The southwesternmost point of Europe. Beyond it only the Atlantic, all the way to America. Best at sunset.
Bring a windbreaker. It blows there always, even in thirty-degree heat.
Day 4 · Monchique · Fóia · winery
Mountains an hour from the coast. A completely different Algarve: green, eucalyptus, cool air.
The highest point in the south. On a clear day you can see both coasts.
The local spirit made from strawberry-tree berries. Distilled right there in the mountains.
A tasting of local varieties, snacks and sunset among the vines.
Book ahead. There are not many places, especially at weekends.
Day 5 · Tavira · Cacela Velha · Ria Formosa
The prettiest town in the Algarve — and almost without tourists. The bridge, the churches, azulejos on the façades.
A tiny village on a hill above the lagoon. A church, a fort, a dozen white houses and the view over Ria Formosa people come here for. You can walk it in half an hour, and then you do not want to leave.
A boat to a sand island: flamingos, oysters, empty beaches.
If you get up early — for salt, spices and fish.
Details
Five things that spoil the trip most often.
Next
This is the skeleton. For your dates, your budget and who you are travelling with — as a couple, with kids, with friends — the route changes a lot. Send me your dates and what matters most: beaches, towns, nature or food.
I live in southern Portugal. I know every place in this guide personally.