PORTUGAL: BEACHES IN ALGARVE

This august we went to Portugal for nine days, and the weekend we spent in the Algarve was really nice. As well as visiting some lovely villages like Silves and the impressive Cabo de Sao Vicente, we enjoy the fresh, clear and turquoise water of its beautiful beaches, as you can see in the following pictures.

In the Algarve I strongly recommend visiting the beaches of Lagos, Lagoa and the surrounding villages and towns. 

Ponta da Piedade (Lagos)

From Ponta da Piedade you will enjoy one of the most beautiful views of the Algarve

The clear and turquoise water of the beaches in Lagos from Ponta da Piedade is really nice

Beach Praia do Camilo (Lagos)

You have to go down a long staircase to arrive at Praia do Camilo, probably the most beautiful beach I saw in the Algarve

Praia do Camilo was quite crowded but I was worth going down for a swim in the fresh water of this beach

A relaxing view from our spot in this lovely beach of the Algarve

Beach Praia Dona Ana (Lagos)

Praia Dona Ana is another fantastic beach in Lagos, located very close to Praia do Camilo

Beach Praia do Tonel (Sagres)

Located next to Sagres Fortress, Praia do Tonel is a surfers paradise because here it's usually windy and so, the waves are perfect for surfing

Beach Praia dos Tres Castelos (Portimao)

Praia dos Tres Castelos in Portimao, a large beach I didn't like as much as the ones of Lagos

Beach Praia da Rocha (Portimao)

Praia da Rocha is another large beach of Portimao, always crowded as you can see in this picture

Beach of Albufeira

 

Albufeira is one of the leading tourist resorts of the Algarve, with beaches like this one

The Algarve is a wonderful area of Portugal with beautiful beaches and a lovely weather, so I strongly recommend visiting it if you spend some days in this country.

Other beautiful places I visited in Portugal during this trip were:

• Tomar, Batalha, Alcobaça, Óbidos and Évora
• Lisboa
• Sintra

A year after visiting the Algarve in southern Portugal we have been in Valença do Minho, this time in the far north of the country. Valença do Minho was our starting point of The Portuguese Way of Saint James (Camino de Santiago Portugués) we did in August 2012.

Other great cities and countries I have visited are:

• Barcelona
• Berlin
• New York and Washington
• London
• Dublin in Irleland
• Istanbul in Turkey
• Saint Petersburg
• Rome and The Vatican
• Paris
• Florence in Tuscany
• Madrid
• Venezia
• Dubrovnik in Croatia
• The Greek Islands and Athens
• Bruges, Ghent and Brussels in Belgium

• Helsinki and Lapland in Finland

• Tallinn in Estonia

• Tortuguero, Caribe, Arenal, Monteverde and San José in Costa Rica

• Marrakech in Morocco

Other fantastic beaches I have visited in Spain are:

• Costa Brava and Costa Daurada in Catalonia
• Mallorca
• Cádiz and Costa de la Luz
• Beaches in Galicia (for example, Rodas Beach in Cíes Islands)
• Basque Country - Guipúzcoa and San Sebastián
• Cantabria and Santander
• Alicante

Finally, you can visit more beautiful places in Spain located near the Algarve:

• Sevilla
• Cádiz and Costa de la Luz

PORTUGAL: AROUND LISBOA, ALGARVE AND ALENTEJO

After visiting Portugal (Algarve and Alentejo) and Lisboa this summer, I would like to show some pictures of the fantastic days we spent in this country. I really liked Portugal and Lisboa.

We arrived by plane to Lisboa and we hired a car at the airport. After five days visiting beautiful places in Estremadura, Algarve and Alentejo, we came back to Lisboa to spend the last four days of our trip in Portugal.

Next, I show you what I visited each day:



Day 1

• Tomar - Convento de Cristo
• Mosteiros de Batalha and Alcobaça
• Óbidos

Day 2 - Alentejo

• Peniche - Cabo Carvoeiro
• Évora

Day 3 - Algarve

• Lagos - Ponta da Piedade, Praia do Camilo, Praia Dona Ana
• Sagres - Cabo Sao Vicente

Day 4 - Algarve

• Portimao - Praia da Rocha, Praia Tres Castelos
• Albufeira, Faro and Silves

Day 5 - Alentejo

• Mértola and Beja

Day 6 - Lisboa

• Baixa, Chiado, Castelo Sao Jorge, Miradouros Alfama

Day 7 - Lisboa

• Belém
• Miradouros Barrio Alto

Day 8 - Lisboa - Sintra

• Palacio and Parque da Pena, Palacio Nacional de Sintra

Day 9 - Lisboa

• Cacilhas, Cristo Rei, Chiado

and, now, the pictures (clicking on the next link, the ones of Lisboa):


Day 1

I really liked the Convent of Christ in Tomar

The impressive main facade of the Mosteiro de Batalha

Main façade of the Mosteiro de Alcobaça 


 
The really beautiful medieval village of Óbidos from the walls. Behind the white houses you can see the castle

Day 2

Cliffs in Cabo Carvoeiro, next to Peniche, are quite interesting. From here you can also see the Berlenga islands

With this black Renault Mégane we drove 1500 km on the road in Portugal

 

Roman Temple in Évora, a town which preseves its medieval walls and the aqueduct. I really liked its cobbled and narrow streets and its white houses

Day 3

 From Ponta da Piedade in Lagos the views of the turquoise and clear water of the Algarve beaches were fantastic

Praia do Camilo, probably the beach of the Algarve I like the most

 

Another beautiful beach in the Algarve is Dona Ana, also located in Lagos near Praia do Camilo

In the evening we went to Sagres. Behind this wild beach, the Sagres fortress appear. It was truly windy

From Sagres we could see cliffs like this one and the one of Cabo San Vicente in the background, where we went afterwards to enjoy a nice sunset. However, we couldn't see it because, there, it was cloudy

  Day 4

Here we had our apartment, in Oleandro Country Club (Albufeira)

Another view of the apartments in Oleandro Country Club

Praia dos Tres Castelos in Portimao. This beach isn't as beautiful as the ones of Lagos

  

A typical street of the old quarter of Albufeira

This small park next to the walls of Faro was the only place I liked of this town, together with the Cathedral Square. It was a pity that we couldn't enjoy the views from the bell-tower of the cathedral (we arrived a bit late), because I have read they were beautiful

In the evening we drove to Silves, where there was a medieval fair. The village is really nice but it was really crowded because of the fair

Gothic cathedral of Silves

 Day 5

Our first stop after leaving the Algarve was Mértola, a beautiful medieval village of white houses located on top of a hill and next to the Guadiana river. In this picture, the church, which was a mosque during the arab past of this village. It was monday and all was closed. It was a pity that we couldn't visit the church

Overview of Mértola from a near viewpoint, where you can see the castle and the city walls

In Mértola I enjoyed the portuguese cuisine with this "Potage a la Alentejana" in the restaurant Alengarve (Avenida Aureliano Mira Fernandes, 20)

After visiting Mértola we arrived at Beja, where we spent the afternoon visiting its really well preserved castle

  

During the nine days I spent this summer in Portugal I have seen more beautiful places than I expected: beautiful medieval villages, impressive monasteries and castles, fantastic beaches and great cities visiting:

• Tomar, Batalha, Alcobaça, Óbidos and Évora
• Beaches in the Algarve
• Lisboa and Sintra

A year after visiting Portugal, we have been in Valença do Minho, this time in the far north of the country. Valença do Minho was our starting point of The Portuguese Way of Saint James (Camino de Santiago Portugués) we did in August 2012.

Other great cities and countries I have visited are:

• Barcelona
• Berlin
• New York and Washington
• London
• Dublin in Irleland
• Istanbul in Turkey
• Saint Petersburg
• Rome and The Vatican
• Paris
• Florence in Tuscany
• Madrid
• Venezia
• Dubrovnik in Croatia

• The Greek Islands and Athens
• Bruges, Ghent and Brussels in Belgium

• Helsinki and Lapland in Finland

• Tallinn in Estonia

• Tortuguero, Caribe, Arenal, Monteverde and San José in Costa Rica

• Marrakech in Morocco

Besides, you can visit more beautiful places in Spain located near Portugal:

• Sevilla
• Cádiz and Costa de la Luz

• Tui
• Beaches of Galicia
• Santiago de Compostela in  Galicia