Our Portugal & Andalucia Trip
Lisbon | Sintra | Lagos | Seville | Granada | Ronda | Cordoba
Portugal’s Algarve region sports turquoise beaches, rugged coastlines and tiny fishing towns anchored around local and European tourism. Visiting Lagos, Portugal is no exception — Even when we went in early November during the off season, there was still plenty of sunshine to enjoy a boat tour to get a view of the beaches and iconic Ponta da Piedade, and walk around the historic old town.
We spent a day here after visiting Lisbon and before a bus ride into Spain, a decision to break up the travel time and to experience Portugal’s coast. One day was perfect, but with more time in a summer month we might have kicked back on the beaches, rented kayaks or joined another excursion. They are easy to find: Tour operators post up in rows on the boardwalks.
Read More: Part of our Portugal and Andalucia, Spain Trip
Boat Tour
In the morning when we walked around looking for an excursion, there was only one tour group offering a boat ride out to the coves, crannies and rock formations down to Ponta da Piedade, the famous headland out into the Atlantic.
Our grizzled Portuguese guide didn’t speak English but between some gesturing and words he offered to a French-speaking couple that I could grasp for Romance language roots (“oh, éléphant!” “La couleur!” ), we put some names to imagining whimsical rock formations, and enjoyed a fun, casual ride around the beautiful coast. On the way back up to the docks, he kicked the boat in gear and sped us in teasing trajectories for head-first collisions with rock outcrops, pulling away at the last minute in a swerve and splash of sea-spray.
Historic Center
We spent an hour or so strolling the town, ducking into tourist shops and passing by the Igreja de Santo António. It’s a very relaxed destination and easy to navigate.
Lunch at Saibos
We stumbled into this cute tapas place, and it was one of our favorite meals in Portugal, with seafood and mussels straight from the Algarve.
Where to Stay
Lagos Avenida Hotel was a reasonably priced and gorgeous room, an easy walk from the train station and centrally located.
Our Portugal & Andalucia Trip
Lisbon | Sintra | Lagos | Seville | Granada | Ronda | Cordoba
Lagos was part of a trip that began in Lisbon and took us to explore the Andalucian region of Spain. After Lagos, we took a 4-hour bus into Spain via ALSA and arrived in Seville.
