Algarve, Portugal — Hannah & Christopher

Lagos/Town

After Lisbon, we took a bus to Lagos, a popular southern beach town in Portugal. Even though it’s a long 3 hour ride, the bus we took is a comfortable coach bus with a hostess serving us drinks and snacks (at extra cost of course). After we arrived, we dropped our luggage in our hotel room and went exploring in the downtown area which the hotel was close to. It’s an old town with cobblestone roads, shops, restaurants and tourists everywhere. Along the way, we saw some old churches, castles and the marina. At night, there is live jazz music in the square where people can sit on the patio from any restaurant to enjoy!

Praia da Batata

On our first day, we walked to the closest beach - Praia da Batata. It’s also a very popular beach in Lagos because of its close proximity to the city. The beach sits in a sheltered cove surrounded by beautiful formation rocks and you can go through little tunnels to other sections of the beach. There are also signs warning people not to stay near the cliff because of there is the danger of rocks falling. Another interesting fact is that because the beach is facing east, it is protected from the big waves from the Atlantic ocean so the water here is very calm and is perfect for swimming. We visited later in the afternoon which ended up being abit cloudy and not very lively as most of the tourists are already packing up their stuff, kayaks and paddle boards.

Praia do Camilos

The next day we decided to visit the other beaches further south to Praia da Batata. Another infamous one is the Praia do Camilos. We were blessed with sun and good temperature that day and we could see how clear the water was from elevated positions. To get to the beach, you need to walk down a very long set of wooden stairs. It’s a bit of an effort but once we were down there, the view was worth it. The beach was pretty secluded and small but it was very crowded because of the beautiful weather. Even though it was June, the Atlantic water was still freezing. As you can see, not a lot of people are brave enough to swim in the freezing water. Chris and I rented an umbrella and spent most of the afternoon enjoying the sun. We also walked around and enjoyed the beautiful rock formation around the area, some with arches and even one with a cave opening!

Ponta da Piedade/Boat tour

After a lovely afternoon spent on the beach, we decided to walk south to Ponta da Piedade. From the cliffs, it was the most amazing view of the Atlantic Ocean. The water was crystal clear and it had a turquoise blue colour. We decided to go on a boat tour to cruise around the caves, grottoes and sea arches. Our guide told us these rocks are the result of thousands of years of erosion. Some of these rocks are so famous, the fisherman even gave names to these rocks because of their shapes.

Benagil Cave

One of the main reasons we wanted to visit the Algarve is the infamous Benagil Cave. This cave has been featured on social media so much we decided to come and take a look! Because this cave can’t be visited on foot, a lot of tourists either take a boat tour (but you can’t get off the boat), rent a kayak or even swim to visit this attraction. We, on the other hand, signed up for an Airbnb experience and traveled to the cave with stand up paddleboards (SUP) and a guide. Even though our guide was very patient with us and taught us all the basics, it was quite a challenge for us since it’s still our first time stand up paddleboarding. Usually, it’s better to do it on calm waters for their first time so it’s easy to stand up and steer. But the waters were pretty rough due to the tour boats passing by constantly, a couple of us fell into the waters on multiple occasions. Luckily, the water wasn’t as cold as the previous days so it’s not so bad.

When we arrived in the cave, it was PACKED with tourists and boats coming in and out! Once we got to the beach inside the cave, our guide told us the history of the cave and showed us fossils of clams and shells. We only had about 10 mins of free time on our own so before we can really enjoy the view and presence of cave we took a brief moment to take a couple of pictures and videos before we had to leave. I would highly suggest renting a kayak if you want to spend more time in the cave. Nevertheless, it was one of the highlights on our trip!

Benagil Beach

After the SUP tour, we went to Benagil beach (which is just right beside the cave) and rested for a bit due to our legs being really sore from both kneeling and trying to stand up on the paddle board while fighting the surprisingly strong currents. This particular beach is popular because alot of each/surf equipment rentals and tour group meeting spots are situated here.

Hike

After our lunch, we started our hike along the coast line of the Algarve. There are trails if you want to visit other beaches. Along the way, we saw beautiful rock formations with arches, caves and beaches from above. We trekked about 2-3 hours before reaching Praia da Marinha.

At the Arcos Naturais overlooking the ❤️arches!

Our hike came to an end at Praia da Marinha and we decided to buy a couple of cold drinks and rest in the shade before going back to Lagos. At the top of the beach, there were a few local vendors that sold not only drinks but fresh fruits. While we were resting, we overheard a couple talking to one of the vendors and said they came back for their nectarines because it was so good. Hearing this, we also bought a couple and it was one of the juiciest and sweetest nectarines we’ve ever had. We really wish we could bring them back!

Food in the Algarve

Compared to Lisbon, obviously Lagos has lesser options since it’s a smaller area. But their seafood is on par with Lisbon. The way they made their seafood has a more authentic vibe to it with more parsley, garlic and onions. Chris even mentioned one of the shrimp dishes tasted exactly how his mom and grandmother made it. Maybe because we are in a beach town close to the ocean, the food somehow tasted more fresh. The Algarve is also a huge beach destinations for the British, there are a lot of expats who have opened their own restaurants serving typically more beef dishes. Regardless of where we went, every restaurant we ended up in had the most amazing seafood we’ve ever tasted.

HUGE Turbot from Restaurante A Forja (It’s the most expensive dish-35 euros for the meal but it was so worth it)

Final Thoughts

Algarve was a lot of fun and also very relaxing. Its very picturesque and we got a lot of amazing photos. If you love water activities, Algarve is the best place to do it with amazing views especially in sunset. Food is also exceptional, even the fruits! We spent two and a half days in the Algarve and we think that would suffice. But if you wanted more time to relax and visit more beaches, it’s good to add another day. Everything is relatively close by. Even if you were to visit a further destination like the Benagil cave from Lagos, there are ubers everywhere. Thank you Portugal! You served us well! Next, Morocco!