Alvor is a small and laid-back resort town with a beautiful long, sandy beach (Praia dos Três Irmãos) that’s surrounded by sand dunes and a beautiful boardwalk. It’s a peaceful resort town that has a pleasant vibe and feels quite secluded and away from it all – the perfect place to go and relax. Throughout the day, you’ll see the Read more...

The Strip or Monte Choro Strip is the colloquial name given to the long road, Avenida Sá Carneiro, that runs from the Monte Choro neighbourhood to the Areias de São João neighbourhood in Albufeira. It’s a long road of nightclubs, bars, restaurants, and cafés serving full English breakfasts that’s buzzing all day and stays that way well into the early hours of the Read more...

With plenty of cheap restaurants, souvenirs shops, and sunburnt British tourists, Albufeira is the quintessential beach resort town. Although this is definitely Albufeira vibe, it tends to attract just about every kind of tourist including families, stag and hen parties, backpackers older travellers, and just about everyone else. Albufeira has a lot going for it, which is why it’s become Read more...

Portimão attracts very few tourists, at least when compared to the nearby towns of Praia da Rocha, Alvor, and Lagos. The reason being is that Portimão isn’t as immediately appealing as some of the other towns on the Algarve, particularly the city centre. It also doesn’t have a beach within walking distance: the nearest beaches, Praia da Vau and Praia Read more...

São Bartolomeu de Messines (normally just called Messines or S.B. Messines) is not a town that many people visit. Located inland, it doesn’t have a beach. It also – in fairness to Messines – isn’t as picturesque as other nearby rural towns like Silves and Monchique.  While all of those things might seem like cons rather than pros, they do Read more...

Once a quiet fishing village, the quaint little town of Ferragudo is characterised by fishermen’s cottages, whitewashed buildings, and narrow cobbled streets. It’s one of the prettiest towns on the Algarve and, although the town’s focus is now tourism rather than fishing, Ferragudo has been fairly unaffected by the worst parts of tourism: you won’t find any neon or high-rise hotels Read more...

Silves is a medium-sized town situated in the Central Algarve. The town is famous for its incredibly well-preserved Moorish Castle (Castelo de Silves), cathedral (Catedral de Silves), and its annual Medieval Festival. By any traveller’s standards Silves is incredibly picturesque, and one of the Algarve’s most beautiful towns. As well as the town’s beautiful cobbled streets, old Roman bridge, and Read more...