The southernmost end of continental Portugal is the Algarve. Famous for its spectacular cliffs, multitude of beaches and condos filled with expats, vacationers, Brits and locals, the Algarve has a lot to offer for those who love a good week or day by the water.
We’ve visited several times and are continuing to explore more, especially when we have friends visiting who’ve selected the Algarve for a roadtrip.
Feel free to use these Quick Links or read on below about the places we have visited.
- How to visit the Caves of the Algarve
- Lagos
- Tavira
- The Grand Hotel of Vila Real do Santo Antonio
- Things to do when visiting the West Coast of the Algarve
In the winter of 2019, before COVID struck, we journeyed from end to end of the Algarve along the coast. We stayed in Vila Real do Santo Antonio, right across the border from Spain and planned to return there to stay, once again, in the Grand House hotel for New Year’s Eve 2023 and their “Cascablanca Night” party until the flu took us down in Sevilla, Spain forcing us to return home for hot toddies and hours of sleep long before midnight struck in any European country. We were able to, fortunately, return to the Grand to use a credit generously offered by the hotel for our non-refundable booking from New Year’s.
On that first trip, we visited the tiny fishing village of Cacela Velha, condo-filled Albufeira and the sleepier surf town of Sagres at the southwestern tip of the Algarve and also visited and stayed in walled Lagos.
We returned to the Algarve, for the first time since that initial trip, four times in fall/winter 2023-2024. Once, visiting the Vilalara Thalassa Resort with friends where we were treated to stunning sunsets and lots of pool relaxation. The second time in the off off-season where we stayed next door to Vilalara Thalassa at Vila Vita Parc and finally, a bit further east where we stayed at Dunas Dourada Beach Club.
Resorts of the Algarve:
- Vila Vita Parc is huge. There are many pools, 7 bars, 12 restaurants (several of which are off-site at the beach with a shuttle), tennis courts and a pitch and putt golf course. Much of it was closed during the scaffolding season of late January but if you’re looking for a huge resort with a ton of on-site options this is a good place for you.
- Vilalara Thalassa is smaller and a bit more intimate. Of the three, it is our favorite. They have three restaurants on site and a set of really fantastic pools for lounging. Both Vilalara and Vila Vita offer access to small cliff-shrouded beaches and a cliff walk you can take down to the town of Armação de Pera and its expansive, long and great-for-walking beach. In high season, these places are spendy but deals can be found in the off season particularly if you don’t care if everything is open.
- Dunas Dourada Beach Club (not to be confused with the similarly named Dunas Dourada community or its confusing signs pointing to its reception area, which is not the one for the “Beach Club” resort further down the road) offers large condos alongside a long, flat, sandy stretch of beach. You won’t get the stunning falling cliffs you may associate with the Algarve if you’ve stalked it on Instagram, but you will get miles of beach strolling if that’s more up your alley. You’ll also get a lot of ex-pats. It felt more like we were visiting an ex-pat community in southern California than the southern end of Portugal. The resort itself is smaller with fewer pools and only one restaurant on property, but there are several places to eat dotting the beach and throughout town. If golf is your game, the Vale do Lobo golf resort offers stunning views and challenging holes right along the sea.
Before heading to Seville in December 2023, we stopped off and stayed in Tavira.
If you’re staying at either Vilalara Thalassa or Vila Vita Parc or in Lagos or near Portimão, you’re close the the famous caves of the Algarve. You can visit some by land but most require hitting the water for the best views. From either Armação de Pera or Portimão, you can take a boat tour. Smaller boats can actually go inside the caves where larger ones cannot. We used Algarve Discoveries and were very happy with them. To read more about the caves and our experience with Algarve Discoveries click here.
And if you’re looking for a much more low-key experience, try visiting some of the beaches and towns along the west coast. Stunning beaches, dramatic cliffs, wilder landscapes and smaller villages and hotels are in store between Sagres and Odeceixe along the Algarve’s west coast.
The Traveling Ridleys 