The last part of our Portugal trip took us to the Algarve region in southern Portugal, known for its coastline, beaches, and cliffs. It has a very outdoor, laid-back feel compared to the cities we visited earlier. We stayed 3 nights in Lagos and 2 nights in Faro.

The biggest highlight was hiking the Seven Hanging Valleys Trail, which is really beautiful. Most people stay in Carvoeiro for easier access to the trail, but since we weren’t driving, we based ourselves in Lagos instead which worked well for us.

In Lagos, we explored Ponta da Piedade and its old town. We later moved on to Faro and took a day trip to Tavira from there.

 

Day 1 – Settling into Lagos and trying barnacles

It was raining when we arrived in Lagos. After checking into our hotel, Ben was craving a burger from Nah Nah Bah. He ordered the Luis Figo burger and was very happy with his choice.

Then came one of the most exciting foods we’ve ever tried – barnacles! Barnacles are shellfish that grow on rocky coastlines and are considered a delicacy in Portugal and Spain. This was easily one of the best seafood dishes I’ve had in my life – a true taste of the ocean 😋

They’re not cheap. We ordered the minimum serving of around 250g, which cost about €20. There was a bit of a learning curve to twisting and opening the barnacles. Luckily, the restaurant staff showed us how to eat them, because we would have had absolutely no idea.

 

Day 2 – Seven Hanging Valleys Trail and Ponta da Piedade

I’m very proud of us for completing the Seven Hanging Valleys Trail! It’s one of the most popular activities in the Algarve. It is about 6 km one-way; some parts were steep and challenging, but we made it through.

In my opinion, this is the most beautiful natural landscape in Portugal that we have visited – even more beautiful than Cabo da Roca. The limestone cliffs were absolutely breathtaking.

Since we weren’t driving, we took a Bolt from Lagos to Praia da Marinha, the starting point of the hike, and walked one way to Praia do Vale de Centeanes. You can do the trail in the opposite direction, but we chose this route to avoid hiking straight into the sun.

The transport wasn’t cheap – our two Bolt rides cost around €55 in total. But for us, it was worth it. It was private, flexible with our timing, and saved us the hassle of driving and finding parking.

After returning to Lagos, we decided to visit Ponta da Piedade, one of the area’s most famous coastal landmarks.

We had originally planned to visit the next day (which is why we booked 3 nights in Lagos), but the weather forecast wasn’t looking good, so we decided to squeeze everything into one day. We had hoped to take the popular boardwalk there, but after the Seven Hanging Valleys hike, we were simply too exhausted so took a Bolt instead.

Once we arrived, we still had to walk down around 200 steps, but it was absolutely worth it! I can completely understand why it’s Lagos’ most famous attraction. The dramatic coastline, sea caves, and striking rock formations were simply incredible.

After exploring the area, we took the scenic boardwalk back towards the main town.

 

Day 3 – A relaxing day exploring Lagos old town

It was very cloudy that day, just as expected. We were glad we had done the main activities the day before.

We walked part of the boardwalk to visit Camilo Beach, a popular spot we thought we had missed yesterday. But when we arrived, we discovered the beach was actually closed.

After that, we spent the rest of the day exploring Lagos old town. I especially loved the colourful street art scattered around the town. Of course, we also had to try a local speciality – cataplana, a traditional Algarve seafood stew cooked in a clam-shaped copper pot. It was quite good 😋

I noticed there was quite a lot of UK food around Lagos. Later, I found out that Lagos is a popular destination for British tourists and expats, so that explained it.

 

Day 4 – Exploring Faro

We took a 2-hour train from Lagos to Faro. Faro felt much more touristy. It is one of the main gateways to the Algarve, with good transport connections and even an international airport, making it a very accessible base for travellers.

We stayed 2 nights in Faro and spent the day exploring its old town, wandering through the historic streets and soaking up the atmosphere.

A slightly embarrassing thing happened that day. A woman approached me, but I panicked and literally walked away thinking she might be a scammer, as I had heard so much about tourist scams in Europe. Later, I realised she was just a fellow tourist who just wanted someone to take a picture for her. I felt terrible, so I went back to apologise and took some photos for her. Definitely not my finest moment 😅 A reminder for me not to let fear get in the way of kindness.

One of the highlights for us was having bolo de bolacha at Pastelaria Coelho. It’s a popular Portuguese dessert made with layers of biscuits and coffee cream. We had been looking for it since Porto and finally found it here. It tasted really, really good 😋

 

Day 5 – A day trip to Tavira and Praia de Faro

We decided to take a day trip to Tavira, as we had heard it is a beautiful and peaceful town in the eastern Algarve. Tavira is known for its relaxed atmosphere, historic centre, and riverside setting, with easy access to nearby island beaches.

The train from Faro to Tavira takes about 45 minutes, but it’s quite infrequent, with only one every 1–2 hours, so we had to plan our timing carefully. Before heading out, we had breakfast at Melbourne Lane Café in Faro – we had to support them since we’re from Melbourne!

In Tavira, we visited the famous Roman Bridge and then wandered around without much of a plan. Along the way, we stopped at a café to try torta de laranja, a traditional Algarve orange roll.

Ben also made a new friend – a fiddler crab. At first, it looked like the crabs were happily waving at us. Later, we learned that they were actually waving their oversized claw to attract mates or defend their territory — not greeting us after all 😆

When it was time to leave Tavira, Ben even went back to the same spot to say goodbye to the same crab. That was honestly very cute 🥰

On the way back, we took a Bolt to Faro so we didn’t have to wait for the infrequent train. Later, we took a ferry to visit Praia de Faro, a long stretch of sand, known for its relaxed atmosphere and easy access from the city.

Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t great for almost half of the trip – I think we had already used up all our good weather luck in the earlier parts of Portugal. Still, I think we made the best of it and managed to enjoy the Algarve as much as we could.

I especially loved the nature and peaceful atmosphere of the Algarve. We also became unexpectedly fond of the fiddler crabs. Overall, it was a relaxing and memorable end to our time in Portugal before heading to Seville, Spain.

Previous destination: Lisbon, Portugal
Next destination: Seville, Spain