Beach Hopping Down the Algarve Coast in Portugal
One of the advantages to live in Marbella is that many interesting destinations are accessible within several hours of driving – Seville, Sierra Nevada, Granada, Cadiz and of course, Portugal.
It’s been several months we spoke about this trip and finally, just a few days before New Year we spontaneously decided to go. For me, the best way to explore the country is to travel by car. It gives you freedom, flexibility, and accessibility to the coolest locations – you can stop at any time you like and go to any place you want. For example, during our recent trip to Italy, we organized a car rental in Bologna airport and then traveled to various cities in the North of Italy – Venice, Lago Iseo, Verona.
Car hire
This time we decided to hire a car in Malaga airport and drive through Sevilla to the south of Portugal. Another option if you only want to visit Portugal is to use a car rental in Faro airport directly.
Traveling around Portugal by car is very comfortable. The roads are in good condition almost everywhere, traffic jams are rare, especially in winter. We didn’t need the car to travel around Faro, since the city is quite small. However, for moving around the region it is simply indespensable, especially because the capital of the Algarve is located on Route 125, which connects almost all interesting cities and villages of the region.
There are orange telephones on the road from which you use for emergency calls in case of accident or car break.
Parking is taken in the direction of driving. If there are no marks, then parking is free. There are so-called “blue zones” – those are paid. They are marked with a blue P sign, sometimes it says time on it, in this case you only need to pay for parking at the indicated hours (usually, 1 EUR per hour).
Faro
Our first stop was in Faro. It is quite small and very typical Portuguese city with very few attractions, however, it has a great location. We stayed 3 nights in Diamond Resorts and from there visited some of the most famous beaches in that area. The resort has great facilities – amazing golf course, spa, fitness and restaurants. The beach near the hotel is absolutely stunning too:
The biggest advantage to visit the coast at this time of the year is that you can enjoy tremendous seascapes with almost no people around. The sand here has a beautiful yellow colour and during sunset obtains amazing pink and golden tones.
On our second day, we decided to explore a little bit the city of Faro. The most interesting and authentic part of it is the Old Town or Cidade Velha. It is surrounded by ancient walls and has several entry gates. The most famous of them is Arco de Repouso (Gate of Rest), which according to the legend was the place where Afonso III, after taking Faro from the Moors, put his feet up and heard mass nearby.
The architecture and layout of the streets remind a lot Andalucia in Spain and no wonder since both countries have many common things in history.
Here and below wearing my favorite Sunset Midi Dress from Auguste the Label.
Most of the builidngs are typically white and many use ceramic tiles with oriental ornaments (Arabic influence) to decorate facades and floors.
The Cathedral is the main attraction here and is definitely worth visiting, especially to enjoy spectacular views from its roof:
The walk along local marina is pleasant and nice – we were surprised how few people were there but probably in summer is totally different.
Gastronomic experience
You can taste the Portuguese cuisine in typical local restaurants. They serve Algarve specialties cooked on a cataplana – a frying pan with a round bottom and a very tight lid (all flavors are preserved!). Most popular dishes include “bacalao” which is prepared in hundred of ways, sardines and meat. It is worth trying famous Portuguese green wine – “Vinho Verde” – a young, light and refreshing.
Beaches of Algarve
After Faro we decided to visit some of the most famous beaches on Algarve coast. Many of them are considered the best in the world. One of the most memorable for me was the visit to Benagil cave. It is only accessible by the sea, so when we arrived to Benagil beach we took a boat trip. Here are some pictures from the tour:
Some other beaches definitely worth visiting include Praia da Marinha, Praia da Rocha, Dona Ana Beach and Praia da Barriga. Three days are totally not enough to enjoy the south of Portugal at it fullest so I am planning to come back in the nearest future.
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