Week 387 · Portimão · Alvor · Benagil Cave · Lagos · Sagres
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We had gone to the Algarve in winter 2017 (Week 161) and stayed in the old historical town of Lagos. This time, we stayed in two separate places as this part of the trip was less about touring and more about scouting out places we might like to live part-time in retirement — which is still some time away.
First two nights were in Portimão where we stayed in a hotel/BnB by the port (about a 2-mile walk from the beach area). We took the city of Portimão off our list — kinda like Ocean City, MD. Lots of places to eat, drink, buy t-shirts, and English and Irish bars galore. Nice beachfront with many exclusive hotels.
On the second night, we kept working our way down the coast and found Alvor — a small town with a historic centre about 5 miles from Portimão. Right on a river that goes into the sea and near beaches as well. Really did seem like a place you could stay long term.
I did want to do one tourist thing — go to Benagil Cave. I failed on my earlier trip in 2017 as the waves were too big. So we got a tour on a bigger boat this time — two options: the fast boat with a roof for shade, or the slow boat with shade and a bathroom. Of course we signed up for shade and a bathroom with all the old people and young families. The roof was good — except when you actually want to see something, then it is really annoying. Went in and out in about 3 minutes. Zero for two.
So the next morning I reserved a kayak. We arrived to total mayhem. I had resigned I wasn't going to make it when I saw people dragging rental kayaks a half-mile walk up a steep hill. But when I got to the beach — my kayak place was there with no one in the reservation line (with about a hundred in the walk-up rental line) and we were off in about 10 minutes. Took about 10 minutes to kayak in — still too many people to really enjoy, but a really cool place.
I had resigned I wasn't going to make it when I saw people dragging their rental kayaks a half-mile walk up a steep hill. But when I got to the beach — my kayak place was there with no one in the reservation line (with about a hundred in the walk-up rental line) and we were off in about 10 minutes.
Still too many people to really enjoy — but a really cool place. Reserve a kayak in advance. Do not sign up for the boat with the roof.
For our second stop we stayed in the outskirts of Lagos near Porto De Mos — about 10 minutes from the historic old town where we had stayed in 2017. I rented a bike to go along the coast — the downhill on the hybrid e-bike was a little rough and I didn't want to add Portugal to the list of countries in which I visited an emergency room, so I took a detour through Luz. Probably the most spectacular scenery I saw on the trip.
The Algarve — from the Arabic "Al-Gharb" meaning "the west" — is Portugal's southernmost region, stretching 155 kilometres along the Atlantic coast. The distinctive golden limestone cliffs, sea caves, and rock formations were formed by the erosion of Jurassic and Cretaceous limestone over millions of years. Ponta da Piedade near Lagos is widely considered one of the most dramatic coastal landscapes in Europe. Benagil Cave became globally famous through social media around 2015 — visitor numbers surged from hundreds to hundreds of thousands annually within a few years, forcing the introduction of kayak restrictions. Sagres Fort, at the southwestern tip, sits at Cape St. Vincent — the most southwesterly point of continental Europe and historically one of the most important navigation waypoints for Portuguese and Spanish explorers during the Age of Discovery.
Last stop heading to the airport — Sagres. It was named after a Portuguese lager that is famous in the country. It is the southwestern-most point in Europe — we had been there before — but the sun makes it even more spectacular.
"Reserve a kayak in advance for Benagil. Do not sign up for the boat with the roof. And Alvor — a small town right on the river — really did seem like a place you could stay long term."