Portugal is a beautiful, historic country to visit, with its biggest cities situated along picturesque waterways. The Algarve best exemplifies this with its dramatic cliffs and world-class beaches. Spending a few days exploring the dazzling southern Portugal coastline goes by in the blink of an eye… mostly because you’re not visiting just one city but many. With so many gorgeous landscapes, you’re going to have trouble picking a favorite! Savor all the most memorable highlights of the Algarve coast, with its sandstone cliffs, dreamy sunsets, and unforgettable beaches. Our comprehensive four-day itinerary will ensure you see all the most amazing, breathtaking views.
When you’re planning a trip it’s often difficult to discern how much time to spend in a given area. Is four days enough in the Algarve? Can you squeeze in the highlights in less time? While it would be easy to extend your stay, four days is enough to see the highlights and do some thorough wandering around. Inversely, any less than is really too little time to hit all the big highlights. Four days is the perfect amount of time to visit the most outstanding areas and get a feel for the region’s character.
Having experienced a couple all-too-short layovers in Portugal, we recently decided it was time to go all in on an exploration extravaganza. We just finished a ten-day city-hopping adventure, and we’re already dying to go back! Growing up in South Florida, we’ve spent our fair share of time on the beach, but the beaches along the Algarve coastline are truly some of the most beautiful in the world.
Sometimes setting out, getting a little lost, and taking in small unexpected wonders can be the most amazingly memorable experience. If you’re keen to make the most of your time in the Algarve, we have an outstanding, action packed itinerary for you. Below we’ve detailed our favorite beaches, — plus all the tips and tricks to ensure you make the most of your time.
When to Visit
But first when to visit?! Time of year can make or break your experience, but everyone is different! Do crowds stress you out? Can you spend the day out wandering around in the middle of summer? Are you keen to avoid the rainy season? What’s important to you will help dictate your perfect time of year…. or perhaps it’s just about getting away from work whenever they can spare you!
Summer
The Algarve is a delight year-round, but some times of year are certainly better for visiting than others. Portugal will feel rather summery from June to mid-September, with July and August being the hottest months. This also happens to be the high season in Portugal, where you’ll find the highest concentration of tourists and prices will tend to be higher during this time as well. Super lovely as everything is open, the chances of rain are about as low as it gets, and everything is green and lively. The cons of summer visits are the high volume of fellow travelers and the heat may be a bit oppressive to any more northern-based visitors.
As a note: we were here mid-July and didn’t find the warm weather to be too bad; however, we’ve grown up with the hot and humid heat of summer in southwest Florida!
Winter
In the Algarve the wintery months of December, January, and February tend to not only be colder but rainer as well. There’s beauty to be found in every season, but if you visit in the winter, you’ll want to make sure you bring some layers…. and a rain jacket! You’ll love being able to explore without nearly as many people.
The cons of a winter visit pertain mostly to the weather and some of the spots that may be closed in the off-season. That being said, everyone has a different idea of what’s cold… doesn’t get snow, so anyone used to a biting winter may find a Portuguese winter to be a nice reprieve! Think highs in the 60’s and lows in the 40’s.
Spring & Fall
What does that leave? The shoulder seasons… arguably the best time to visit! If you can visit late April into May, it affords you the opportunity to enjoy all the sights of the Algarve— plus there’s less crowds to maneuver. Similarly, late September and into October will allow you to still explore before the weather turns chilly again, and the stifling crowds of the summer have started to thin out yet again. Plus, airfare over the summer can become astonishingly expensive, so booking outside of peak travel times can keep a little extra money in your pocket as well!
Transportation Station
While a car is not necessary for exploring much of Portugal, it really does help streamline your time efficiency when trying to explore the south coast. Areas like Porto and Lisbon are more compact, making it easy to walk pretty much everywhere you need to go, with loads of bus and trains available to facilitate adventures (or rescue tired feet) as necessary.
Inversely, the Algarve is a region, with dozens of small towns nestled into the coastline. As such, the easiest and most time-efficient way to get where you need to go will be renting a car. We used Enterprise (out of the Faro Airport), and we loved our zippy little hybrid (but read below for sketchy rental car company practices)! It was perfect for exploring all the nooks and crannies of this ruggedly beautiful coast.
Just a reminder, when you leave the USA, oftentimes the cheapest cars to rent will have manual transmission, so ensure you know how to drive the car you’re booking before making any final selections!
you can never be too careful
While we did love the car we rented and can confidently report it performed well for us, we were extremely underwhelmed with the customer service. Enterprise, Alamo, and National were all rented through Guerin, a local company. We declined insurance coverage through Guerin as my booking credit card includes rental car coverage.
When we were picking the car up, I took a video of the car as it had some very mild damage that I didn’t want us to be later charged for. I was SO GLAD I did because when we went to return the car, they told me that we’d damaged two wheel wells and had gotten a small, cosmetic, knick in the tire wall. If I didn’t have my own video of the car, we would have had to submit a claim for damage we didn’t incur. ALWAYS take pictures or videos of your rental cars!!!
Where to Stay
There’s a handful of bigger cities along the southern coast, like Faro, Albufeira, or Lagos that will have a plethora of options to chose from. Any of these spots would be lovely to base out of, but the more bustling locales tend to be a little more touristy.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but we if we were to make a recommendation, we’d actually recommend hunkering down in Portimao, Ferragudo, Carvoeiro. Why? The central location is perfect— close to amazing beaching, stellar hikes, and the iconic Benagil Cave. Plus, it’s a little less overwhelmingly touristy here!
We stayed at this Airbnb and loved that it was rather removed from any chaos and the little family vineyard was so peaceful and relaxing.
DAY ONE
Fargo is the most common city to arrive into, with both a train station as well as the Faro International Airport shepherding lucky visitors to the cerulean blues and jaw dropping cliffs that await. Faro itself is a charming town, but with limited time, we recommend spending half the day here before heading west.
Ponto Smokehouse is this little hole-in-the-wall pulled pork spot just steps away from the Faro Train Station. Definitely nothing fancy, but the fresh baked buns and delicious smoked pork are such a fast, yummy, and well-priced bite. If you happen to arrive on a late morning/early afternoon train, it’s so worth stopping in for a bite!!
Salty Experiences
Nothing makes you feel wide awake quite like surfing. Are you down to shred the gnar? Hang ten? Salty Experiences offers group and private surfing lessons to help dip your toe into the pool of possibilities. If surfing is a little more splashing around than you’re keen on, they also have canoeing and stand-up-paddleboarding adventures available as well!
Honestly, no need to splurge for a private lesson— you kinda just get taken out with the class, so just sign up for the group surf lesson! They do an awesome job helping everyone get up, offering advice specific to each person’s skill level, and ensuring it was a great experience for everyone.
You take a boat ride out to the surf spot to kinda pull away from the main area of the beach and get to a locale with a bit more wave action. This also means we definitely left our phones behind so we could dive in without concern for any waterlogged electronics. That being said, the image of Dana, with a big ‘ole smile on her face, riding the whitewash waves into the beach, will forever make me smile!!
Drive West
Ferragudo, Carvoeiro, or Portimão are the perfect middle ground to base out of for all of the Algarve wandering to be had. From Faro to Ferragudo, it’s less than an hour’s drive, so once you’re all rinsed off, it’s time to hit the road. When you roll in town, drop off your bags, grab your towel, and get ready to explore some beach vistas.
Life’s a Beach
There are so many beautiful beaches and so little time! Cheers to your camera roll being chock-a-block full of all the dreamiest beach photos you’re going to stare at for months to come! Whether you’re looking to beach-hop or pick one and stay ‘til sunset, you’re headed across the Arade River, to the lovely town of Portimão. There’s a handful of key, must-see spots to check out here.
Praia da Rocha
A rather long beach, this is the perfect locale if you’re looking to stretch your legs out and go on a relaxing beach walk. Another plus, this beach has lifeguards, which can be especially nice for any nervous swimmers or families with kids. It’s hard to pick a favorite beach along the Algarve because there are just so many beautiful vistas.
Praia dos Três Irmãos
This beach is easy to access with a sloping boardwalk guiding you down to the beautiful beach. Once you’re there, you can dip your toes in the refreshing water, and— if the tides allow– there’s also loads of little coves to explore, which add to the adventure of this sandy spectacle.
Praia da Prainha
The staircase down to the beach may feel never-ending, but the beach and beautifully eroded coast are truly unbelievable. It feels like a fun adventure to walk around the cliffs and find secluded spots. While you’re hard-pressed to find a bad sunset spot along the Algarve, Praia da Prainha makes for a gorgeous spot to end the day. We recommend making the trek back up the stairs to enjoy the sunset from above, but it’s truly beautiful from any vantage point along the coast.
Rest up! Tomorrow is an action-packed day, with lots of hiking, kayaking, and cave exploration, so make sure to tuck in early, so you can hit the ground running in the morning!
DAY TWO
The early bird gets the worm…. but also the Benagil Cave to themselves! From morning paddling to picturesque beachside relaxation to dreamy evening sunsets, your second day exploring the Algarve coastline will be hard to beat.
Benagil Cave Kayak
You may be thinking… why kayak to the cave instead of taking a boat ride… where you don’t have to work at all?? The sweat equity goes a long way, because it means you get to actually hang out and wander around in the algarve. The powerboats will come into the cave, but they don’t dock on the beach— that privilege is reserved for the kayakers!
There’s loads of different companies that offer tours out to the cave, but Secret Algarve offers a 7:00am excursion, which we highly recommend!!! I know it sounds early, but this is one of the most popular attractions in South Portugal, so if you fancy the idea of having the space a bit more to yourself, it will be worth setting your alarm clock.
BEACH
Praia de Benagil is the beach you’ll launch out of for your kayak journey, but once you’re done paddling, we actually recommend relocating to a Praia de Carvoeiro. Praia de Benagil is lovely but just get a little hectic with everyone coming and going.
Not far down the road, Praia de Carvoeiro is a small but charming beach that makes for a beautiful place to lay out and relax. I honestly don’t think I would every get tired of looking out at the sandstone cliffs and the sparkling blue water. This makes for a perfect spot to camp out for the day. Even in the summer, the water remains refreshingly cold, so overheating won’t be a problem. While the beach itself isn’t terribly conducive to a long walk on the beach, you can wander along the boardwalk to catch a birds eye view of the beach— or follow all the way to Algar Seco to explore this unique rock formation.
Lagos
The drive to Lagos is only 35 minutes or so, which makes for a pretty easy ride. Lagos is ripe with ethereal sunset locales, but we have the perfect sunset experience locked down. Be sure to arrive at the Dona Ana Beach parking lot at least an hour before the sunset, because you’ll be walking your way to Ponta da Piedade via a gorgeous boardwalk.
While there is a more direct route there, the boardwalk is filled with loads of little viewpoints and access to different beaches, such a Praia do Camilo. I’m not sure I’d ever get tired of looking out at each uniquely amazing sandy paradise. The boardwalk continues to wrap its was west, so really, find whatever spot you like best and wait for the sun to sink away.
Pro tip— you are up on cliffs, so the sun sets a bit sooner up here as it will slip behind the elevated cliffs before it sets into the horizon. Just a reminder that this is not a spot you’d want to be cutting it close for the sunset…. you just might miss it!
DAY THREE
Rise and shine… again! While there’s no real rush to get up and out the door, this morning’s hiking adventure is rather popular, so it’s always nice to get out ahead of the crowds– especially if you’re visiting in the high season. Another bonus of getting out early? Summer days can get rather warm, so an early start means hiking in a bit cooler temperatures.
Seven Hanging Valleys
So where are you headed? Praia da Marinha is a beautiful beach, but it also serves as a trailhead for the Seven Hanging Valleys hike. This amazing hike meanders along the coastline, affording unparalleled views of the staggering cliffs and the crashing waves of the ocean below.
The hike takes around 2.5 hours to complete and clocked in around 4 miles— and that’s just going one way! To be fair, we walked out to just about every outlook and also stopped to take more than our fair share of pictures, so it’s certainly possible to knock it out at a faster clip. If you do this as an out and back hike will be about 8 miles total if you plan to trek back to your car. We ended up just catching an uber back to our car, to save energy for the rest of the day.
Praia do Vale de Centeanes is on the west-end of the hike, so if you feel the need to rest coming on immediately, you can always just relax beach-side there and then either hike or uber back to your car! The beauty of this trail? Since it’s an out and back hike, you can start at either end!
There was a bit more we wanted to explore near Marinha, so that’s where we decided to base out of, but you can start wherever makes the most sense for you! Also worth noting, Marinha has a bigger parking lot.
Pro tip: If you’re visiting in the summer, the parking lot will fill up. To ensure you’ll be able to secure a spot, we recommend arriving by 9am. When we were leaving around noon, there was a literal honking and yelling ordeal going on over who would get out spot as we were driving away!!
Albufeira
Rinse off, pack your bags, and get ready to hit the road for Albufeira. While a bit touristy, this alluring beachside city is certainly worth making a day-trip for. You’ll get to enjoy a whole new set of views and beach-town charm. Albufeira isn’t huuuge, but there are some top spots you’ll want to make sure you check out.
First stop? The Albufeira Old Town Square! This eclectic hub is home to street performers, shops, musicians, a small art museum, and loads of tasty restaurants. The cobblestone, tiles walls, and blossoming flowers made for quite the vibrant promenade.
Next, wander on over to the nearby Miradouro Pau da Bandeira. This overlook is perched above Albufeira’s Praia dos Pescadores (pictured below), and makes for a dazzling view of both the town and the beach itself. Even more unique, there’s an outdoor escalator that will take you from the viewpoint down to the beach. While there certainly aren’t commonplace throughout Portugal, we saw a handful of them during our explorations and can confirm they were quite lovely to have when it’s time to start climbing back uphill.
After a morning of hiking and wandering around, you might be feeling like you’re ready for a nap. Praia dos Pescadores makes for a lovely spot to stretch out… or go run wild in the blow-up obstacle coarse just off shore. If you’re looking for something a bit more removed, Praia dos Arrifes is only fifteen minutes west, and is another marvelous beach option. They both will have bathrooms and dining options nearby, which is clutch.
DAY FOUR
beach bum at Praia da Mesquita
Nothing hits the spot quite like laying out and taking a nap on the beach. And lucky for you, you have a few options for beaches to rest at. After a couple of rather active mornings, the name of the game today is finding a relaxation station.
Praia da Marinha will be the easiest to access as this is the same beach parking lot yesterday’s hike started from. This beach is the perfect picturesque spot to drift off into a well-deserved little cat nap.
If you arrive at the beach before 9am, you’ll more or less have it to yourself for a bit, but as the day rolls on, more beachgoers will start to arrive. If you keep heading west and the tides are cooperating to let you climb over a few rocks, you’ll find Praia da Mesquita! In the summer months you’ll be hard-pressed to get any nooks or crannies of the coastline to yourself, but this area might just be a bit more secluded than Praia da Marinha.
So Long, Farewell
From Ferragudo back to Faro it’s about a 45 minute drive, so ensure you leave enough time to drop your bags, return a rental car, etc. as necessary. We arrived via train and left by plane, and we can attest that both the train station and the airport are pretty easy to navigate– even without being fluent in Portuguese.
The Algarve offers scenic coastlines, amazing views, delicious food, and outstanding hikes. Four days here will fly by! Where are you headed next? Will your travels take you to Lisbon, Portugal’s capital city (check out our Lisbon blog post here)? Or perhaps go take in the gorgeous northern wine country in Porto (click here for a perfect three day Porto itinerary)?? It’s amazing how each region embodies the Portuguese landscape and culture in a different way. Happy travels!
written by Hannah
Hannah has learned the hard way to be careful what you wish for— sometimes happily ever after lands you with a husband and puppy… in the Midwest. Despite leaving Florida to move to Wisconsin, Hannah maintains her bossy big sister role with regular phone calls to keep up with all the little sister shenanigans. Notoriously chatty with her patients as well, Hannah stays busy as a physical therapist, but loves spending weekends exploring newfound hikes.
