Road Trip through the Algarve
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Portugal is somewhere I’ve wanted to return for a long time. The tiled buildings and architecture, the birthplace of the pastal de nata, the wild Atlantic coast, it’s a country that you are easily won over by. With guaranteed sunshine and endless choice of beautiful beaches we decided to spend 10 days driving along the Algarve.
Travelling in March meant that we had a lot of locations, beaches, and spaces to ourselves but it also meant a few mixed days of weather. This was our first trip away with Ravi our son who was 13 months at the time, and travelling with a child obviously requires more planning and logistics and family friendly locations, but all the places we visited you could happily visit without kids. Plus I’ve added a few more options of places we would have love to go.
A car is a must in the Algarve, but if you are in Lisbon or Faro you are better off without one.
I adored Portugal, the locals were so friendly and welcoming, our favourite days were spent on small bays and beaches away from the larger towns. There are many hidden gems in the Algarve you just have to dig a little to find them away from the crowds.
Our Portugal Itinerary at a glance:
Day 1-3
Bristol-Faro-Sagres
Sagres, Martinhal: Martinhal Hotel Algarve
Day 4-9
Alvor
Stayed in this quite unusual but charming Airbnb
Day 9-10
Faro
Stayed in Lemontree Apartments, but their hotel looks even nicer here
Top tips for planning a family trip to Portugal:
Be prepared to do your research you can find some great places on: booking.com and Airbnb
Decide how much you want to travel and be on the road, we chose to focus on the Algarve for this trip as we are hoping to return to Lisbon/Porto and other areas another time. However if you do want to cover more distance there are very good toll roads.
We flew with Jet2 who were great and so helpful, with a swift check in. They let you take hand luggage on the plane which meant we could pack toys/food and a baby carrier to get Ravi to sleep on the plan. We also took a car seat and our pram which were essential. All the places we hired in Portugal had travel cots.
Our travelling style focusses on booking accommodation and then crafting our days around foodie stop offs, beaches, cafes, vineyards and general wondering around and taking in the sights. However we often do travel to places low season so if you going in peak season time, give yourself a good window of time to pre-book and arrange any key sights you want to see.
10-day Itinerary: Algarve, Portugal
We booked all our accommodation in advance, and did a lot of research before we left. Staying in three different locations so we could explore areas on foot and not have to constantly drive.
There are so many accommodation options you could be more last minute with your plans, we made sure all the places we booked had travel cots/high chairs and Portugal is such a family friendly location this was very easy to accommodate.
Sagres
Sagres had been described to me as laid back surfer vibe with some great food choices and cafes. We also chose the location to try out a Martinhal hotel, to ease ourselves into a holiday with Ravi. The hotel was fantastic, the location was right next to the beach, with a baby concierge so you could pre book everything you can imagine you would need.
Sagres was beautiful, it initially felt like quite a sleep quiet town but it had a lovely beach and was an easy place to navigate around and to start off our holiday.
Food & Restaurant Recommendations
Three little birds- tucked away on a small sunny corner, great food and cocktails and coffee. Tacos, salads and a great Port & Tonic
Picnic Sagres- homemade bagels and cakes, great coffee, and a small shop selling wine and other deli bits
Restaurante Carlos- We stumbled across this place in the late afternoon and sat down in the sunshine for clam spaghetti, a glass of cold white wine. I think it was one of the best places we found in Portugal.
Other tips:
Sagres would be a great place to higher bikes, there are lots of routes you can do that are local or other mountain bike tracks.
It can get very windy and exposed and in low season is quiet so I would suggest taking day trips out to nearby Lagos/ Silves if you are staying for longer than a weekend.
Alvor
With endless beautiful beach areas to choose from we found it hard to narrow down where to stay. We settled on Alvor as we could walk to local shops/beach and cafes. Alvor’s was charming, discreet and peaceful with incredible boardwalk built by the beach, which made for a perfect morning walk.
Recommendations:
Alvor Boardwalk – perfect to walk/run/stroll with a pram
Wild’s Sandwich Boutique – this was one of our best finds, the Irish couple here set the café up in 2020, delicious sandwiches, coffee and take away beach picnics
Lagos
We took a day trip to Lagos, it was one of the days that was more rainy. However we loved it and we wished we had spent a night or two there as well.
There were plenty of shops, café and great restaurants to pick from
Recommendations
Black & White Coffee shop- A more hipster and modern café, but good café and nice place to sit
Empanadas & Co- some of the best savoury and sweet empanadas I have tasted in a long time. Great service and very friendly staff
Abigail’s Café- we didn’t make it here but it was on the list.
Ferragudo
We didn’t make it here sadly, we ended up spending a day in Portimao which was a bit of a disappointment and not worth the journey.
But I have heard great things about Ferragudo, if you do go you have to visit this vineyard, or make a journey there for the afternoon:
Quinta Dos Santos
https://www.quintadossantos.com/
Try the wine and beer tasting and leave room for food.
Benagil
We loved it here so much we went back on two consecutive days, there is a tiny cove that you can only get to on foot. You can park at the car park at the top of the hill, and walk down to the beach, you could easily spend the day here, swimming in the sea, drinking at the small café by the beach and leaving time for a delicious lunch
This was my favourite restaurant of the trip, fresh daily fish, a breath-taking view form the balcony, local wine and a place to sit and have a long slow lunch.
Faro
We ended our trip in Faro, and were sad that we didn’t have a few more days there. It would make a great city break for a weekend as the airport is so central.
You can see most of the sights of the city in a walk around in a day or a long afternoon. But the charm of Faro is it’s islands that you can easily get boat to for the day
We didn’t make it here but I wish we had! You have to book a boat but it would be wort it
7imeio- a little further outside Faro
There is so much more of Portugal I would love to explore and visit, and I can’t wait to return. I do hope this helpful, let me know if you end up taking a trip or using any tips or advice here.
