It’s our third visit to the Algarve region in Portugal. About three hours from Brussels, it makes for an ideal autumn getaway! We pick up the rental car and do some groceries, before the real trip can start.
Surprisingly, there are still some sightings we haven’t visited the last times. Since we’ve been to most tourist hotspots, we have time to check out some amazing beaches.
One of them is definitely Praia da Falésia. With cliffs in ocher, white and red, just at the beach, this is quite spectacular! The nearby beach Olhos de Agua is pretty, and at the left you have a nice view over the cliffs of Falésia. Praia do Sao Rafael is a beach like you can find many of along the Algarve coast, but to the left you’ll find some challenging cliff climbing options (don’t worry, the ocean is still far away) from where you can enjoy a lovely view!
Something different, is Ponte da Piedade.
Of course one must visit the famous steps that lead directly to the ocean. And yes, you can take a tour with a local fisherman to have a look at the rocks from another angle. But we didn’t know there is a whole lot more than just the Piedade. There is a nice boardwalk (to prevent people from walking over the cliffs and endanger nature and themselves …) that leads to splendid lookouts. We were very curious to one beach in particular, because it didn’t seem reachable. But there were people walking around, so … Praia do Canavial was indeed a bit difficult to get to, but in the end, we found the steps leading to the sand. This is an amazing little beach, with just a few other visitors.
In comparison to this one, Praia da Luz is one of those beaches you can easily skip! A very nice place to see the sunset, if you are close to Sagres and don’t want to share this moment with hundreds of other tourists, is Praia da Boca do Rio. The way in is a bit tricky with a 2WD, but we enjoyed an amazing end of the day!
Praia da Salema is one of those places probably stuffed with people during summer months, but outside the season, it is a lovely place!
Around Sagres, there are some more beaches well worth a visit. One of our favourite places must be the tour you can walk/drive/cycle between Praia do Bordeira and Praia do Amado. Only minus (but what makes it one of those most amazing places at the same time): this is the Atlantic Ocean side, which means wind, wind and more wind!
If you’re into some off roading (but if it hasn’t rained, you can drive a 2WD), try to find the Torre da Aspa. We spent some hours at the tower, and didn’t see one single person during all that time.
This was another beautiful trip, celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary, discovered a lot of new and beautiful places, and even met an Aussie all the way from Adelaide living in Lagos …
To us, the Algarve is an ideal place to relax and enjoy the lovely weather, but not in the Summer!
see the full album on flickr