The Algarve

Oh, the Algarve. Definitely one of our favorite places we have been to so far. From the dramatic rocky coastline, hidden coves, scalloped beaches, and deep clear water, the Algarve is an absolute dream. It is like nothing we’ve ever seen.

LAGOS:

Lagos is our personal favorite. It seems to have something for everyone. The town center is small with cobblestone streets and white buildings. It has endless options for food and drink, and it isn’t over pricey either. There are endless options of beaches to chose from, from “popular” busy beaches to more secluded hidden gems. Here is a bit of truth though, it can get very “touristy” but to be honest, that didn’t bother us because the whole town just had a great vibe to it.

Our first full day was spent laying on Praia do Camilo. If you’ve ever seen pictures of the Algarve coast then you’ve probably seen Camilo. To access the beach you have to walk down 200 steps so you can imagine the leg workout we got on the way up!!

We lay on the beach for a few hours, soaking up the sun. We tried to get in the water to cool off.. and I say try because it is FREEZING! It’s the Atlantic Ocean, it feels like your feet are about to drop off! Safe to say I only managed to get in up to my knees! Morgan was a bit braver though and dove under the water.

Camilo by day
Camilo by night

That evening Jess suggested we “go for a walk into town”. Well. That walk ended up being a 3 am stumble home for all 4 of us! We got suckered into the happy hour cocktails at the Three Monkeys. Depending on how the bartender poured it, it was a gamble whether you walked away with a regular strength cocktail or rocket fuel. 9 times out of 10 it was rocket fuel! I’ll spare you the details of the night but the next morning we found 2 darts from the dartboard (thanks Jess) and hot chips in our bags from our midnight snack.

The next morning, Jess and Lara head off back to London & other parts of Europe. Morgan and I spent the best part of the next two days laying on the beaches in Lagos. Each evening we jumped on our bikes and rode to different lookout points along the coastline to watch the sunset.. with a few beers in hand. That was a massive highlight for us. The sunsets are something else.

FIGUEIRA:

This morning we drove to Sagres which is the westernmost point of Portugal. We parked up at Cabo de São Vicente to have some lunch, which is right at the very tip. We had a little look around Sagres but in all honesty, we didn’t click with it so decided to head further up the coast towards Salema. As we were leaving Sagres, we stumbled on the most beautiful ceramic shop! I made Morgs stop because I had to have a look inside!

What a wall!
Couldn’t help myself

We came across a campsite using the Park4Night app that was in the little town of Figueira (not far from Salema) and decided to base ourselves there for the night. Once we arrived, we were chatting to the receptionist and she let us in on a little hidden gem. All she said was “follow the dirt path through the fields and keep going straight”. So we did. About 20 minutes later after we wandered through all sorts of fields filled with crops and fruit, we arrived at the most beautiful white sandy beach that we had seen in Portugal. It was the “Waewaetoria” of Portugal. Our hearts were instantly happy! There was only a handful of people on the beach so it felt like we had the beach to ourselves. We had a stunning afternoon so decided we would stay another day.

Each morning at Figueira, we woke at 5:30 am and took the little dirt path down to the beach where we climbed the rocks to watch the sunrise with a coffee in hand. What a way to start the day!

We were sad to say goodbye to this little spot. We had no expectations when we arrived at Figueira and it truly blew us away. I guess that’s the cool thing about travel right? You never know what you’ll come across

BENAGIL:

We made our way from Figueira to Benagil where we planned to spend the next 2 days. Morgan found a great spot on the cliff tops to free camp. When planning our trip to Europe, one of the things that was high on my bucket list was to camp on the cliff tops somewhere in the Algarve. I wanted to be able to sit in my bed and look out over the ocean. Morgs found a beautiful spot and we had an epic two nights there. We were in heaven!

Praia da Benagil has the most incredible natural cave with a massive gaping hole in the top. You can hike around over the cliffs and peer through the top of the cave to the beach below, or you access the cave by water. It is either a short boat ride (on a boat tour) or you can use a paddleboard or just swim there! The distance from the main beach to the cave is about 100 meters or so. Now, remember earlier when I said the water is FREEZING? Well by this stage we had been in the Algarve for about 5 days so I had managed to finally get in the water, last my knees and take a quick dip for all of about 2 minutes. There was no way I was going to be able to stay in the water long enough to swim that distance. We considered buying a floaty but we couldn’t find any. We also considered a boat tour but they are a rip off as they wizz you into the cave and straight back out!! So, we caved (no pun intended) and paid €30 (ouch) to hire a stand-up paddleboard for an hour.

We woke up early and picked up the board and paddled over to the cave! I think this was the best way to see the caves! We were early enough that the boat tours hadn’t even started so it was just us and a few other paddleboarders that were in the cave! We then paddled further down the coast looking at all the different hidden caves. We had a great morning and it was a real arm workout!

On our last morning, before we head off towards Spain, we woke up early and did a big walk across the top of the cliffs. It was a beautiful morning, the ocean was still and not a breath of wind. It was the perfect way to end our time here in the Algarve.