Algarve
Cliffs and sea caves in the west, sand and warmer water in the east
- When to go
- October 20° · 10 rainy days
- Per day
- €€€price 3 of 5
- How many days
- 4–5days
- For you
- 6 questions →
- Nearest airport
- 4 km Faro · 60 km Portimão
- Right now
The Algarve takes four or five days and one decision before you book: the west around Lagos for cliffs and sea caves, or the east around Tavira for long sandy beaches and warmer water. The airport is at Faro, between the two; Lagos is 92 km away, about an hour on the toll-free A22 motorway or an hour and three-quarters by train from the town.
Benagil, the cave with a hole in its roof that lets the sun in, has been off limits to independent visits since August 2024: swimming to it, paddling in on a rented kayak without a guide and landing on the beach inside are all banned. What remains is a licensed tour by boat, kayak or SUP, which stays in the cave for five to ten minutes.
The railway runs along the coast from Lagos through Faro to Tavira, but not to the cliffs in between: Praia da Marinha, Benagil and the path above them need a car or a tour with transport. Without a car, then, the base is Lagos or Tavira, both on the line; with one, it doesn't matter where you sleep.
What to see in Algarve
The Seven Hanging Valleys trail
A 5.7 km path along the cliff edge, from Praia da Marinha and its double rock arch to Praia de Vale Centeanes, across valleys that break off above the sea. It passes over the Benagil skylight, which makes it the way to see the cave without a tour. There's no shade — start in the morning and carry water.
Ponta da Piedade
A headland of stacks and arches 2.4 km from Praia Dona Ana in Lagos, mostly on boardwalks. The grottoes at its foot can only be seen from the water, by small boat from Lagos marina — for anyone without a car, that's the stand-in for Benagil.
Lagos old town
In the fifteenth century ships left here to trace the African coast, and in 1434 Gil Eanes became the first to sail past Cape Bojador. Colonial Europe's first slave market opened in Lagos in 1444; the 1755 earthquake levelled the town, so most of the core was rebuilt after it.
Silves
The Moorish capital of the Algarve, inland. Its castle of rammed earth faced with red sandstone covers about 12,000 m² and keeps a cistern and the remains of an Almohad palace; entry is €2.80. Half a day for a cloudy one.
Ilha de Tavira
An island of 11 km of sand in the Ria Formosa nature park, about ten minutes by boat from the Quatro Águas pier, two kilometres from Tavira. A beach with no cliffs and no stairs: for families, and for anyone who wants sand rather than rock.
- C
Cape St Vincent
The south-westernmost point of mainland Europe, six kilometres from Sagres: cliffs of about 75 metres and a lighthouse from 1846. A day with a car, with the sunset at the end.
Two things you probably did not know
Cape Sagres in the southwest of the Algarve was the end of the known world before the discovery of America. The Romans called it Promontorium Sacrum and believed the sun hissed as it went out in the sea there.
The caves at Benagil and Lagos formed as the sea ate away at soft sandstone over millions of years. In places the roof has collapsed and left an opening through which the sun falls onto the sand. These caves are reachable only by boat.
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