When we left the Duoro Valley in the north of Portugal, we drove 6 hours south to The Algarve. The Algarve region of Portugal is famous for it’s sponge toffee colored limestone cliffs, mild winters and breathtaking ocean views, we are very happy to be spending two months here.
Our first month was spent in Praia da Rocha in the heart of the tourist area. The gorgeous Praia da Rocha beach is an 8 minute walk away from our apartment so we enjoyed many a walk there, and depending upon the tides our walks took us west along 6 different beaches before we could go no further, unless we climbed the cliff.
While Portimao and Praia da Rocha are used interchangeably, Portimao is 3 km inland and Praia da Rocha sits along one of the finest beaches in the Algarve. Portimao is the Algarve’s second most populous city and was traditionally a center for shipbuilding, sardine fishing and fish processing. Today it’s where many of the Portuguese in the area live and doesn’t have an easily accessible beach so it’s not overly touristic. The city’s old and once bustling fishing docks have been transformed into a scenic promenade, leading to the quaint old town.
Praia da Rocha is a resort town that’s sprung up around Praia da Rocha beach and has all the trappings of a seaside holiday town. It can get very crowded and noisy here in the summer, and there is block upon block of high rise holiday apartment buildings. It’s reasonably quiet and laid back here in December and many of the restaurants are closed for the winter.
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Not only did we walk our local beaches, we drove to some of the more popular hiking tracks in the area, the most well known being the 7 Hanging Valleys Trail. It is a one way 6 km route from Praia Marinha to Praia do Vale Centianes, famous for its breathtaking scenery. We enjoyed spectacular views of the rugged coast, limestone cliffs, picturesque beaches, sinkholes and caves. Our hike started above the famous Marinha Beach, one of the top 10 beaches in Europe, and headed west along the top of the cliffs. The early part of the hike has the most impressive views over the toffee colored cliffs and the blue/green ocean below, with pinnacles, arches and beaches around every turn. We passed the famous Benagil Cave but from up top it’s just a large hole in the ground surrounded by a fence preventing people from getting too close to the edge. Benagil is best seen from the water.
The last part of the trail is the most challenging because of a long staircase up from Carvalho Beach with a few rocky ascents and descents along the way. The cliffs also become a little less dramatic but there several natural sinkholes, viewpoints and the Alfanzina Lighthouse.
The official trail distance may be 6 km but my distance ended up closer 7.2 km with all the sidetracks to viewpoints and general meandering away from the trail for the best views. We did this hike as a one way route and called an Uber at the end of the trail to take us back to our car. I forgot to turn off my GPS when we got in the Uber so the last little bit in red is driving 🤪
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Another hike we did was from our apartment to Alvor Beach, again, probably a shorter distance if we did not meander around, and get lost a few times. This trail is not as well marked and we ended up on city roads for part of it having to go around large chunks of private property. While the views were stunning, they were not quite as spectacular and enjoyable as the 7 Hanging Valleys trail. We also did this walk as a one way taking an Uber home at the end.
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Tavira is written up as the most charming town in the Algarve but I think we may have missed it’s charm, possibly because it’s December and most places are closed. Plus, the beach is nowhere near the town and you have to take a small ferry to get there. We did find a few interesting sights around town like the 17th century Roman Bridge, Tavira Castle and the Igreja Misericordia de Tavira. The most outstanding feature of this church is the blue and white tile panels from the 18th century. Tickets to visit the church and bell tower cost 3 Euros (USD $3.15) each.
A place I found much more interesting close to Tavira is the Anchor Cemetery at Barril Beach, a rusting memorial to an abandoned fishing industry. Barril Beach was once the location of a small tuna fishing community and the remnants of this bygone industry have been transformed into a tourist facility. The anchors had to be transported to a boat, fishing nets attached, then the anchors were dropped to specific places on the seabed creating a complex web of nets to catch schools of tuna as they migrated along the Algarve coast. The anchors weighed from 300 kg to 1 ton and took 8 to 20 people to load onto the boats. When this type of fishing became uneconomical and was ceased in 1966, around 250 iron anchors were left in the sand dunes where the boats were once hauled. There are signboards around the former community explaining how harsh life was for the migrants who lived and worked here during the summer fishing seasons. It’s worth a visit here if you are in the area, and the beach would be lovely on a less windy day.
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Albufeira is the Algarve’s most famous and vibrant resort town, crammed with tourist attractions and amenities. There are hundreds of bars and restaurants and the town is famed for it’s chaotic and vibrant summer party scene. We stayed here 6 years ago but it was January so once again not the height of tourist season and we found it pretty laid back. After staying in Praia da Rocha this time I prefer the look of Albufeira with it’s whitewashed buildings cascading down the hillside to the cliffs overlooking the ocean.
We began our walk around Albufeira at the Miradouro do Pau da Bandeira, one of the most famous and photographed viewpoints of the Algarve with it’s views over the Praia dos Pescadores beach and Albufeira old town.
The historic quarter of Albufeira is filled with pretty cobbled streets and whitewashed buildings that meander up the hill to where the castle once stood. One of the town’s most famous sights is the ‘Albufeira tunnel’ which was originally a sea cave. This 20 meter long tunnel cuts through the cliff and connects the town to the Praia do Peneco beach.
Above the beach is the Esplanada Doutor Frutuoso da Silva which heads west towards the marina. Along the way there are two more outstanding viewpoints, the Miradouro Rua Latino Coelho and the Miradouro Rossio. The views of Albufeira and the beaches from here are stunning.
As we headed back towards town we passed the quirky Portas Da Villa Antiquity Bar, known for it’s exterior adorned with hundreds of shells.
We briefly walked to the end of the short pier that is a favorite location with Portuguese fishermen. There was a weather warning while we were in Albufeira so the waves crashing onto the pier and the beach were pretty impressive. After enjoying a fabulous lunch we called it a day. It was fun to be back in Albufeira and I think it’s a good destination, in the off season!!
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The town of Silves is a short drive from Portimao so we headed up there for a few hours. We visited Silves 6 years ago but thought it was worth a return visit to wander around town and tour the castle again. At the entrance to the castle is a large bronze statue of King Sancho I, the second king of Portugal and the first Christian conqueror of the city in 1189. The earliest known reference to the castle was in the 10th century, it is believed to have been situated on top of Roman fortifications from the 4th or 5th century. When Sancho took Silves he ordered the fortification of the city and built the castle whose remains can be seen today. The Castelo de Silves is now the best preserved castle in the Algarve. It’s an impressive site, with eleven square towers and red sandstone walls.
The historic section of Silves has some pretty cobblestone streets, random azulejos tiles and an old cathedral.
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We celebrated Christmas🎄and New Years 🥳 in Praia da Rocha with quiet dinners at home, my favorite champagne, walks on the beach and indulging in traditional Portuguese treats, Pastel de Nata.
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While it’s not generally shorts weather here in December the weather is ideal for beach walks and hiking the clifftop trails. Our time in Praia da Rocha has been good but if we were to stay here again we would look for a smaller, quieter apartment complex. Our building alone had over 275 apartments in it and unfortunately we had construction going on next door with 3 weeks of very loud jackhammering which obviously tainted our opinion. The beach walks are spectacular here which would be the draw to coming back.
Our next stop is only 30 minutes west of here, and hopefully quieter. Onwards to Lagos…..
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TRIP TIPS
If you are looking for a gym in Portimao we joined the Amarilis Gym at a cost of 65 Euros (USD $68.80) each for a one month unlimited visit pass.
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