Our family has been living in Portugal for over a year now. Our first summer in Portugal was a bit of a whirlwind as we were still in the midst of settling into our new home, didn’t have a car, and were still figuring things out. This summer, on the other hand, we had the most fabulous time! To end a summer full of beach days, Portuguese immersion in local summer camps, and a hiking trip to Madeira, we decided to spend the last week of summer break in the Algarve region of Portugal. Needless to say, it was a wonderful idea, and we all had the best time there!
We chose Lagos as our base of exploration for the week. We had visited Lagos last summer for a weekend to meet up with friends, and we liked it. Lagos turned out to be a great base from where to explore lots of fun places in the Western Algarve.
Getting There
Because we live in Lisbon, we simply drove to Lagos, which is a bit under 3 hours away by car. The first time we visited Lagos however, we did not have a car yet, so we used FlixBus to get there. The bus service was pretty easy, and the experience was super pleasant. Alternatively, you could also fly to Faro and drive to Lagos from there.
Where To Stay
We stayed in a super nice Airbnb in Porto do Mos, which is just a 5-minute drive from old town Lagos. The lovely house we stayed at had a wonderful swimming pool where the kids and I could spend our afternoons while my husband did some work. Porto de Mos beach was also 5-minutes away by car, making it super easy to spend the first half of the day swimming in the ocean, exploring the tide pools, or just reading a good book at the beach!
What We Did
There is something about living in a place and not feeling the pressure to explore everything at once. Because of that, we took it easy during our week in Lagos, spending lots of time at the beach in Porto de Mos, and at the pool. That being said, we did visit some of the cool places I have been pinning on my map over the past year. Here is a list of the fun activities we did:
Passadiços Barranco do Demo
The Passadiços do Barranco do Demo, inaugurated in October 2023 near Alferce in the Serra de Monchique, is a one-kilometre wooden boardwalk that winds along steep ravine slopes with more than 500 steps and several staircases anchored into the rock. At the bottom of the stairs is a 50-metre suspension bridge connecting to the other side of the ravine. The wooden stairs form part of a larger 6.5-kilometre route that links Alferce with the castle ruins on Cerro do Castelo (not really a castelo at the top though). Once you reach the hanging bridge, there is the option to go back up by via ferrata, but reservations are required.
We parked here, and then made our way down to the bridge and up the stairs on the other side of the ravine. Instead of continuing with the trail, we walked back to the car park the way we came. From there you can hike up to the Cerro de Castelo if you feel like it. The trail is well signed. Even though there’s no castle at the top, the views of the surrounding valley are pretty nice.
Castelo de Silves
The Castelo de Silves is one of the best-preserved castles in the Algarve, and Portugal! Built mainly between the 8th and 13th centuries during the Moorish period, it was a key defensive stronghold for the city of Silves, which was then the capital of the Algarve under Islamic rule. After several sieges, the castle was taken by Christian forces under King Sancho I in 1189, briefly lost again to the Moors, and finally conquered in 1249 during the Portuguese Reconquista.
A visit to the castle is a must if you are in the area. It was fun visiting a castle that has more to it than just the outside walls. The Castelo de Silves even had two cisterns that you could go down into! Also, there’s a cafe onsite that offers lots of food and drinks options for a very reasonable price.
Ponta da Piedade at sunset
The Ponta da Piedade hike in Lagos is a short but super fun walk along a wooden boardwalk that winds past dramatic golden cliffs, sea arches, and turquoise coves. The path leads to viewpoints overlooking one of the Algarve’s most iconic coastlines, and the historic lighthouse of Ponta da Piedade.
This trail is flat and easy to access (there is a huge parking lot for it too!), and it’s a favorite spot especially at sunset, when the cliffs glow and the whole sky turns orange! We saw lots of people picnicking atop the bluffs while enjoying the sunset. Bring warm layers as it can be quite windy there!
Sagres Fortress
The Fortaleza de Sagres, built in the 15th century under the direction of Prince Henry the Navigator, served as both a military stronghold and a base for Portugal’s early maritime expansion. Perched on a windswept headland at the southwestern tip of the European continent, it guarded the coast against pirates and foreign fleets while also housing sailors, cartographers, and shipbuilders during the Age of Discoveries. From here, expeditions set sail that helped chart the African coast and open sea routes toward India and beyond. Although later damaged by attacks and the 1755 earthquake, the fortress remains a powerful symbol of Portugal’s seafaring history and Henry’s vision that propelled the country onto the global stage.
We spent about 2 hours exploring the fortress and walking the perimeter trail. Our favorite part was “Voz do Mar.” This sound chamber, designed as a circular labyrinth, has a hole in the rock that goes all the way to the ocean below. As a result, when the waves crash down below, the sounds gets amplified. If you stand right on top of the hole (there’s a metal grate on top), you’ll also feel the power of the waves through the strong gust of wind that blows up when the waves crash. I think our kids went in and out of this maze-like structure a million times!
Benagil Caves
On our last full day in the Algarve, we decided to do what tourists do, and booked a 1-hour boat trip with Taruga Benagil Tours to check out the famous Benagil Cave, along with all the other beautiful caves and limestone formations along the coast. The Benagil Caves are one of the Algarve’s most iconic and visited natural attractions, and they are truly beautiful to see!
We chose to do the 1-hour tour, but you can also opt for a 30-minute one. The tour was fabulous and I 100% recommend it to others! The amount of caves in the area is really impressive, and it’s definitely fun going in them on a boat!
When you do the boat tour, you are not allowed to get off at the famous Benagil Cave beach, but you only go inside it. If you are interested in getting off at the beach, then you should consider the kayaking tour instead.
If we’d had had more time in the area, I would’ve liked to also walk the bluff trail to look at the rock formations from above. The Benagil Caves Trail is an easy 2-mile trail that takes you along the coastline. There are some cool beaches you can access from this trail as well.
Beijinhos Beach
After the boat tour we headed to Beijinhos Beach. We were very mindful of choosing a beach that would not be too crowded. Not surprisingly, most people seem to flock to the same popular beaches, leaving lots of other, less popular beaches uncrowded. To access this beach you need to park on the street, and walk down a passageway to some stairs that take you down to the beach.
During low tide you can access the other adjacent beaches, look for sea critters in the tide pools, and explore some of the caves. The only downside to this beach is that there are rocks on the shore, so you have to be careful when getting in the water. Water-shoes might have helped, but once you get the hang of it, you stop worrying about the rocks.
Walk around the old town
Lagos is a fun town! There are tons of restaurants and little shops to keep you entertained. We walked around town most nights, and got gelato from Gelicia more than once!
Lagos is home to several historic sites too, including the 17th-century Forte da Ponta da Bandeira, the Baroque Igreja de Santo António, the medieval city walls, and the Slave Market Museum (we didn’t visit this last one).
When we were in Lagos in the summer of 2024, we visited the beaches in town, and checked out some of the popular places like Pinhao Fort Bridge and Praia da Batata. In general, all the coastline along Lagos is beautiful and picturesque!
Final Thoughts
We had a wonderful time in the Algarve. It truly was the perfect way to end an already perfect summer! The beaches in this part of Portugal are truly beautiful, especially due to the dramatic rock formations along the coastline. In the future, if we decide to go back to the Algarve for another week of fun, we are thinking about staying in Tavira in order to explore more of the Eastern Algarve. Plus, Tavira is closer to Spain. Wouldn’t it be fun to hop into Spain one night to grab a tapas dinner?
One thing that is not always discussed is the fact that the beaches in the Algarve can sometimes have quite a bit of seaweed on them. Last year we encountered tons of it on the beaches right in Lagos, and this year Porto do Mos also had a lot–last year there was none. The beaches are still beautiful, but for some people, seaweed might be a deal breaker.
To learn more about our adventures in Portugal, visit this page. For all of our other travels, visit this page.
