Our Super Fun Road Trip to The Algarve + Staying near Albufeira! This blog post is all about our trip to The Algarve, Portugal.
Are you planning a trip to The Algarve? If so, read all about our recent road trip to The Algarve, what to do, where to eat and where to stay! We rented a car and spent 6 glorious days near Albufeira in an adorable area called Olhos d’Agua. After we explored Old Town Albufeira, we were extremely glad that we had chosen the vacation rental in Olhos d’Agua. Have you been to The Algarve? What do you think about it?
Our move to Lisbon
If you have read our previous posts, you know that we are a vegan family of 4 that moved from Austin, Texas to Portugal in July 2021. Check it out here: Portugal move. We spent the first 2.5 weeks in Cascais, then 8 days in Porto and now we are in Lisbon, where we will be living full-time. All of August was spent in Lisbon. We spent most of the time finding a long-term apartment and doing paperwork necessary to live here, including SEF appointments.
We found an awesome 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment in one of our favorite areas of Lisbon – Areeiro. Our current long-term apartment is only a block away from the apartment we stayed at during August and is owned by the same family. They used to rent the apartments as Airbnbs, but due to the decreased tourism from Covid, they decided to rent the apartments for 1 year until more tourists returns to Lisbon. We had to move out of the August apartment on August 31, but the long-term apartment wasn’t available until September 6. Therefore, we decided to spend the 6 day gap time in The Algarve.
WHERE TO STAY IN THE ALGARVE
Check out this awesome list of places to stay in The Algarve: HOTELS AND APARTMENTS IN LAGOS, PORTUGAL
Road trip to The Algarve
We rented a car through Discover Cars. We took a Bolt (like Uber) to pick up the rental car on August 31 at 8:00 a.m. Once we arrived, they informed us that the car that we rented (a VW Polo) was unavailable. We rented an automatic vehicle since it has been 16 years since we’ve driven manual cars. And we wanted to feel comfortable driving, especially since we didn’t completely understand the road signs.
In short, we wanted to ensure less distractions by renting the automatic vehicle. Thankfully, they upgraded us to an automatic vehicle that was available at the time – a BMW hatchback. It was a comfortable, and very safe car. After we picked up the vehicle, we drove back to our apartment and picked up our backpacks and teens. Then, we drove to The Algarve. Our extra items were stored at another apartment in the same building so we wouldn’t have to travel with all of our stuff. We have rented several times from Discover Cars and they have been amazing!
the drive to the algarve
Once we drove over the Vasco de Gama bridge, heading South, we felt great! The highways are in excellent condition and the drive to The Algarve was quite simple. One thing to note: the highways are all tolls. They aren’t cheap, but if you can afford to rent a car and travel around Portugal, then the toll fees probably aren’t going to break you. We were marveling at the fact that the actual users of the roads pay for their servicing and upkeep, rather than every citizen. After an hour of driving, we stopped at one of the service areas and the bathrooms were immaculate. No need to worry about gross bathrooms during your road trip in Portugal.
Checking into the vacation rental
After 2.5 hours of easy driving, we arrived at our vacation rental in Olhos D’Agua. The kids opined that the road from the highway to our rental reminded them of Arizona, where my parents live. It did seem a bit like the desert until we got onto the main road, opened our windows and smelled the marvelous ocean air. We checked into the rental apartment and then went to the closest grocery store, which happened to be right next door. Then, we picked up some items for dinner and breakfast the next day. The grocery store, Intermarche, reminded us of every typical small beach town grocery store. It was a little cramped and crowded with people dressed in beach fair and flip flops.
We had lunch/dinner at the vacation rental and then immediately went to the closest beach, Praia Maria Luisa. After eating, we got to the beach just in time to catch the gorgeous sunset! We let the water reach our feet so we could compare the water temperature to what we experienced in Cascais. It’s the Atlantic Ocean so it’s still cold, but I would guess that it’s approximately 2 degrees warmer in The Algarve than Cascais. So, likely about 68 degrees – brisk and refreshing! After our beach foray, we returned to the apartment, ate our favorite dessert (Vegan Magnum bars) and watched a movie (we take our Firestick everywhere so we can plug it into the TV and access our streaming services).
First full day in The Algarve
Our first full day was spent at the magnificent, one-of-a-kind, Praia da Falesia. We were blown away by how large and majestic it was with huge red rock formations/cliffs behind the beach. It reminded me of Zion or Bryce Canyon National Park. It’s one of the most beautiful beaches in the entire Algarve region and was rated the 3rd best beach in the world by Tripadvisor. This beach is truly one-of-a-kind with red cliffs, and pine trees at the top of the cliffs. It has soft golden sand on an ample beach with lovely shades of teal and aquamarine ocean. If you visit The Algarve, we highly recommend a visit to this amazing beach!
After several hours walking along the beach, enjoying the picturesque views and resting in the hot sun (with some cooling off in the ocean), we headed back to our apartment for dinner. We made one of our favorite dinners – tofu stir fry. Then, we did some research to decide what to do the next day. Typically, before a trip, I meticulously plan everything – what we should do, where to go, where to eat, etc., but this time, I decided for a more organic, less organized approach.
Road trip to Portimão and Lagos
The next day, the kids were ready for a lazy day and Fernando and I were ready to explore. The kids opted to stay at the apartment while we drove to the Western Algarve to check out some of the towns in that direction. We stopped at Portimão and walked along the boardwalk towards the marina. It was a very hot day with little shade along the boardwalk so we cut the walk short and returned to the car to explore another area.
ponta da piedade
Once we left Fava Mercearia Cafe, we drove to a super touristy area, which as you may guess, was SUPER touristy. We typically seek out secret spots or at least, spots that are less well-known and not so touristy. However, from seeing lovely photos on Instagram, we decided to check out Ponta da Piedade. Ponta da Piedade is a headland consisting of dramatic, huge cliffs leading to sea pillars, rock arches and hidden grottos. At the bottom of the steep staircase, you can see this beauty along with the light azure waters below. It really is gorgeous – it’s just unfortunate that there are so many tourists!
On the other side of the road, there’s a wooden boardwalk that seems to go endlessly from the top of the cliffs in Lagos to Luz. We didn’t have time to walk on the boardwalk, but we will definitely walk the boardwalk on our next trip to The Algarve.
After Ponta da Piedade, we headed back to our apartment in Olhos D’Agua so we could have dinner with the kids. Then, we went on a night stroll in the area. We walked back to Praia Maria Luisa and enjoyed the night views. While walking through the ritzy Club Med area to get back to the main street, we imagined how the ultra-wealthy live their lives.
We met up with fellow expats from Austin
The next day, we met up with Scott and Lynda, who are also expats from Austin. I had been in touch with Scott prior to the move and it was fun to actually meet in person. After some discussion, we met at Veggie Cafe in Albufeira where we enjoyed a delicious vegan lunch. We each shared stories of our past, how we decided to move to Portugal and the trials and tribulations that come from such a bold move. It was a great time!
We met up with more expat friends from Austin
The next day, we planned to meet up with a friend (Becky) who I had been in touch with for quite some time since deciding to move to Lisbon. She is a friend of a good friend and we connected via Facebook late last year. Becky and her wife, DJ moved to Lisbon in January and then Tavira in April. We met Becky and her friend, Katherine, at Escandinavia Spirit Cafe in Fuseta. After finally finding parking in fuseta, we enjoyed delicious vegan pizzas, risotto and veggie burgers along with great conversation.
Fuseta was a happening town – there were people everywhere! I need to do more research to see why it’s so popular with the Portuguese. After lunch, we drove from Fuseta to Tavira (20 minute drive) so we could go to Becky’s house in the old town and meet her sweet dogs, Charlotte and Chanel. The kids and I were in heaven being able to pet and give attention to the furry kids! Becky gave us a tour of their gorgeous home and then a tour of old town Tavira.
In Tavira, we started at the Jardim do Coreto gazebo pond area where we marveled at the koi fish and myriad baby turtles. Then we meandered through alleyways, old cobblestone streets in the Praca da Republica, across the Roman pedestrian bridge (Ponte Antiga Sobre O Rio Gilão) and to the top of the hill at the Tavira Castle. The Tavira Castle had some wonderful lookout areas as well as fragrant, colorful gardens. Once we explored the town, we headed back to Becky’s house. We said “see you later” to Becky, Katherine, the fur babies and drove back to our apartment in Olhos D’Agua.
Our last full day in The Algarve
We spent our last full day at our favorite place, Falesia Beach. This time, we were smart and took the umbrella that was hiding under the bed at the apartment. We were so glad that we took the umbrella to provide shade under the hot sun, but nonetheless, we still got a bit sunburnt. The sun is definitely intense and you should absolutely wear sunblock while outside! We spent the entire day at the beach – walking towards Quarteira. After hanging out under the umbrella, building a sandcastle, going in the water to cool off and eating snacks, we walked back to our apartment.
We saw 2 Portuguese Men-o-War in the water and as you can imagine, quickly got out of the water upon seeing them. This is the first time we had ever seen these globby clear, strange looking sea creatures. We also came across another strange looking sea creature that seemed pretty innocent, but we kept our distance from that as well. After a fun-filled day at the beach, we walked back to our apartment and ate our vegan frozen pizzas bought at Continente. Fernando and I decided to make the most of our last night in The Algarve and drove to Old Town Albufeira.
Old Town Albufeira
I was warned by our Portuguese friends that Albufeira is the party town of the Algarve. This is where young people come to party and spend spring and summer breaks. We parked our car and then walked around Old Town. There were SO many tourists and most of them weren’t wearing masks. We felt quite uncomfortable so we walked straight to the closest beach and then walked along the beach to get a view of Old Town from that angle.
We went to the lookout point, using an escalator to reach it! Fernando and I couldn’t stop laughing at how silly everyone, including us, looked taking an escalator from the beach to the lookout point. We enjoyed the lovely view. Then we took the escalator back down to the beach and walked through Old Town to reach our car.
The area that we walked through reminded me of the Las Vegas Strip or NYC Times Square, but on a smaller scale. There were loud bars, bright lights and rowdy people everywhere. Fernando and I agreed that this wasn’t our cup of tea and returned to our car to drive back to our nice and comfy apartment in Olhos D’Agua. We were immensely happy that we didn’t stay in Old Town Albufeira!
Road trip from The Algarve to Lisbon
We left the apartment around 9:30 a.m. and headed to Sevilla. You might ask why the heck we would go to Sevilla. Well, I’m a little obsessed with my Vitamix and really want to get one here as I left my US Vitamix back in Austin. I had heard from fellow expats that you could get Vitamix at Costco in Sevilla. So, Fernando and the kids obliged my crazy request to drive to Sevilla from The Algarve and then to Lisbon.
After 2.5 hours, we arrived at Costco and I was euphoric upon entering the store. It reminded me of the store I frequented in Austin. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the Vitamix. We picked up a few other items since we made the long journey there and got in the car to return to Lisbon. The drive from Sevilla to Lisbon is 4 hours, but it’s quite lovely going through mountains, hills and small towns. We arrived to Lisbon in the late afternoon and met Tiago, the owner of the apartment that we are leasing for a year. We were exhausted, but elated to finally have a long-term apartment in Lisbon after 2 months of not feeling quite settled into our new country.
Details + costs of trip to the algarve:
Car Rental – car rental 207€ (high season prices) + 17.22€ for Toll tag + tolls (about 60€) – we had a great experience with Discover Cars and highly recommend them!
Vacation rental – 850€ for 6 nights (The Algarve isn’t cheap during the high season!)
Petrol – Approx 200€ (Our car took diesel and it costs about 1.55€/liter – expensive compared to Austin!)
Food – we went out for a few meals and cooked most of our meals at the apartment. We spent approximately 200-220€ for food from the grocery store and out at 3 restaurants.
Have any questions about our trip to The Algarve? Feel free to ask them here and I will get back to you!
where to stay in the algarve
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fun paid activities in the algarve:
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THE 5 ITEMS WE WERE SO HAPPY TO HAVE FOR ALL OF OUR TRIPS:
- Merrell women’s light hiking shoes – these are amazing because they are lightweight, but are extra grippy and helpful! I also have this pair that I always get compliments on: Merrell Rainbow shoes. Fernando loves his Asics trail runners which are also grippy and perfect for walking on cobblestone streets.
- Thermoflask water bottle – like a Hydroflask, but more affordable! We don’t go anywhere without these water bottles full of purified water.
- North Face Aphrodite 2.0 capris – Seriously, I wear these pants every.single.day! I couldn’t live without these ultra-comfy, lightweight pants that dry so quickly. They are 100% worth the money!
- Osprey Day Pack – this is an awesome lightweight backpack! We easily put the belongings we need at hand for traveling around the city and on public transportation.
- Travel-friendly chewable toothpaste tablets – these are so fantastic for keeping your teeth clean on the go!
OUR FAVORITE EUROPEAN SERVICES:
- DISCOVER CARS – If you want to rent a car while you’re in Europe, our favorite car rental aggregator is Discover Cars. We frequently rent cars, and they always have the best prices and great quality vehicles.
- iTalki – if you want to learn another language before traveling to Europe or while you’re there, we love iTalki. We highly recommend their language services.
- NORD VPN – perfect to use your technology in other countries!
- Airalo E-Sim – this let’s you use your phone anywhere in the world without having to get a physical sim! We use this all the time when we travel outside Europe!
- For fun activities in each city, check out Viator and their recommendations.
- Big Bus Tours – the perfect way to see the city when you first arrive!
- Get Transfer – transfers between all of the airports and cities
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