This September we started to the southern coast of Portugal, the Algarve. It is not as cheap as Greece (we spent for 2 weeks B&B the same as for 3 weeks HP in Eretria last year). Lagos is a town situated on the west end of the main touristic area with historic charm. The Arabic leftovers were destroyed in the earthquake in 18th century. bewahrt. Here you can find long sandy beaches (Meia Praia, Praia de Porto de Mos) as well as small coves with dangerous descents (Praia do Canavial, Praia do Camilo). Unfortunaly the water was too cold to take longer bathing session. Lagos main touristic focus lies on the Age of Colonization. Europes first slave market took place here in the 15th century. All over the town you find memorials and street names of famous discoverers. Portugal is strictly catholic, the numerous churches are well attended and wait for your visit.

Sights:

Faro (train, 2h, 8 EUR p.p. two ways):

Algarves capital also contains the airport. The old town is overflown by many planes. The city is not focused on tourists, it is dominated by industry and shops. You shouldn't miss the bones chapel in the north of the inner town. 1200 bones were used to overlay the walls.

Silves + Portimao (train/bus, 1h):

Silves, a town in the backlands, is dominated by an impressive red castle. Only some meters below the bishops church is located. The station is a little bit outside the town but there is a shuttle bus to the centre. After visiting the town we took the bus to Portimao, besides Albufeira the main touristic town at the Algarve. Busses and trains stop next to the large bridges over the river so you have to walk about 1,5 hours to the beach (Praia de Rocha). But the shopping area is next to the train station. Between beach and shopping street many skyscrapers were built.

Sagres / Cabo Sao Vicente (bus, 1h, 6 EUR):

At the south-west end of Europe you should wear wind safe clothes (or buy it there). At our visit it was very foggy so we hardly could see the lighthouse. Back at Sagres you shouldn't miss the navigator school of Henrique o Navegador. From the fortress' walls you have a nice view over the sea and the countryside. Sagres itself is a quiet Portuguese town at the end of the (old) world.

Zoo Lagos (Bus, 30 min, 3 EUR + 8 EUR entrance fee):

In Lagos backland you should visit the nice zoo. It is beautiful configured with many apes and birds. Due to its position and the high entrance fee you are nearly on your own, but the park is worth a visit.

Grotto tour (ship from Lagos harbour, 2h, 10 EUR p.p.):

At the harbour promenade many toursellers try to invite tourists for a trip to the cape. The trip starts with a larger ship to the grottos, there you have to change in a smaller one to take a closer view on the interesting figures in the rocks. For booking compare the different offers, there are differences in price and achievement.

Arrival

Portugal is member of the EU so there are no passport inspections any more. The easiest way to come to Algarve is by plane. We took a TAP Air Portugal flight via Lisbon, a very nice airline with better service than Lufthansa. You can also arrive by train (via Lisbon) or by car (via France and Spain), but that takes 2 up to 3 days.

Food:

Portugals cuisine is full of very tasty and cheap fish dishes. You should test salmon, codfish or grilled sardines. A speciality is the so called Cataplana, two copper halfbowles with tasty fish or meat and potatoes inside. There are also many pizzerias, snack bars and Chinese restaurants.
We can recommend: Campimar at Porto de Mos, O Pinguim (10 min away from hotel, route by e-mail), Gil Eanes (Snackbar at Sebastian memorial) and the pizzeria between Sebastian memorial promenade. The ice market is dominated by Langnese but there is a nice ice cream parlour at Sebastian memorial.

Money:

Portugal is an EURO-country. ATMs can be found at nearly every corner in inner town.

Shopping:

Main Portuguese tourist-articles cork crafts and Azulejus, coloured glazed tiles (not frost safe!).

Language:

Pourtuguese people speek Portuguese, of course. Most of them understand English, German and French.

Religion

Nearly all Portugueses are catholics.

Beach:

Many fine sandy beaches. Especially good for children are Meia Praia in the east and Praia de Porto de Mos in the west of the town. Praia Dona Ana and Praia do Campilo are very well attended. When you are a fan of naked bathing take a look on the small bays around the lighthouse.

Traffic:

The cheapest way to travel is the train but most stations are outside the towns (in-town stops only at Lagos, Portimao, Olhao and Faro). EVA is the main Algarve bus company with express busses to Lisbon. Bus tours are more expansive than the railway but cheaper than car rentals. But the timetable is not focused on touristic needs, there is only one good connection to Cabo Sao Vicente and to the zoo by day. We wanted to rent bikes at Aluguermoto but the lender was late for an hour an became unpolite so we refused to do. There is another bike rental between Shell station and bus terminal.

Hotel:

The Canavial Club is located in an area of new vacation houses. It is useful to rent a bike or a car. The hotel itself has no kitchen, only Bed&Breakfast. The reception desk is only staffed from 8 to 20 o'clock so there is no bar in the evening. The rooms are large with a bathtub, balcony and satellite TV. It is very quiet and green, but not practical for children (no children pool or playground).

 

Summary:

The Algarve is good for a beach vacation, but for longer swimming tours the water is too cold.
 

Bones chapel at Faro	Fortress Silves
Apes run at Zoo Lagos	Praia de Porto de Mos
Lagos station	Meia Praia
Hotel Canavial Club	Praia do Canavial at low tide
Grotto trip	Lagos Promenade