Travel Itinerary: Portugal - Lagos; The algarve
We visited Portugal for 10 days, spending 9 of them in the charming town of Lagos, which is located in the Algarve region. By making this seaside town our home base, we were able to slow down and enjoy its culture, food and incredible beaches.
(FYI - At the time of this writing, there weren’t any COVID implications that made planning difficult for us to travel to/from the US, or to/from Portugal)
The coastline in the Algarve, and specifically Lagos, is lined with these beautiful rock formations
Arrival: Welcome to Portugal
At a glance: Welcome to Portugal! We flew direct from Boston to Lisbon on Delta airlines. Since we arrived early in the day, we decided to lump all of our travel into one day and head straight for Lagos.
Logistics: Upon arriving at the airport in Lisbon, we pre-planned a driver with Welcome Pickups. We chose to pre-plan the ground transportation because we needed a vehicle with car seats for the girls (Ubers and taxis with car seats are DIFFICULT to find and we actually were turned down by several Ubers when they found out we were traveling with kids). On the contrary, if you don’t need car seats, just grab an Uber when you arrive (its much cheaper).
Our driver dropped us off at the Entrecampos train station, where we had pre-purchased our train tickets. We usually try and pre-pay for these tickets when there is a large leg involved, in order to make sure we get seats (Lisbon to Lagos is an example of this). We don’t pre-pay for regional trains unless they are included in the fare (you can grab regional tickets right at the station). We booked directly with the Portugal trains booking service (Link here) instead of a 3rd party website, as 3rd party websites can sometimes charge unnecessary fees.
Upon arriving in Lagos, we used a taxi service to get from the station to our air bnb rental. Be advised, if you arrive late in the day, it is difficult to find a ride, especially if you are with young children. We ended up calling this company (Black and Green taxi) and someone finally came to grab us.
Accommodations: We stayed in an Air Bnb within the Iberlagos apartment resort. We would HIGHLY recommend staying here, either as a couple, or as a family. The resort is located 3 minutes walking from the famously beautiful Praia Dona Ana beach and 10 minutes walking from the city center. It also has a large pool and separate childrens pool (the pool is gated and entry is regulated, so make sure your rental comes with pool passes). There is a small restaurant and bar next to the pool for easy lunches.
When searching for an apartment in the complex, specifically look for the pool area pictured below, or a description that mentions Iberlagos as the resort. An example of the type of property on Air bnb can be found HERE, but shop around as this is just an example and not a recommendation (there are MANY different units that fit different travelers needs).
While you’re here:
To do: We spent the majority of our time exploring the coastline and town of Lagos. Since we were traveling with young children, we chose to keep our general itinerary loose and not over plan. With that being said, there are plenty of things to do in and around Lagos:
Ponta Da Piedade: This group of rock formations is just two miles from Lagos and is a must see when you are in the area. We walked the coast line and explored the many trails and vistas along the way. This is also the area where you can climb down into grottos and swim, or take a boat tour.
Beaches (other than Praia Dona Ana): Normally beaches don’t qualify as something “to do”, but in Lagos we feel they deserve a mention. You can walk from the city center to the harbor and then along the canal, where you will come upon the beginning of two beaches (right by Forte da Ponta da Bandeira). The first is Praia do Cais da Solária and it connects to Praia Dos Estudantes via two sets of tunnels.
Kayaking/boat tours/snorkeling: There are several vendors in town selling these tours. We did not experience any of them on this trip, but will probably do so in the future (especially kayaking through the rock formations).
Live music in the town square: This was a daily event for our family. We would walk down into town and get dinner, or drinks near Plaza Gil Eanes, where musicians would line up every evening. The girls loved running into the middle of the plaza and dancing.
Restaurants: We could probably go to Lagos for the food and restaurants alone. Not only are they really good, they are also extremely low cost compared to similar quality in the United States:
Arc’da Velha - Authentic portuguese tapas
Mullen’s Restaurant and Bar - Very well known for their Piri Piri chicken
Casa do Prego - Portuguese food with great service
Pinhão Restaurant - Portuguese food with amazing staff! Closest to Iberlagos
Don Giovanni - Italian, Pizza
Cafetaria Baluarte - Local cafe with excellent pastel de nata
Ol’ Bastards - Vintage bar with live music
Cafeteria Oceano - Easy access breakfast cafe near the Plaza Gil Eanes
Taberna Da Mo - Portugeuse cuisine right on the main drag
Other notes:
Grocery store: If you stay at Iberlagos, the best grocery store that we found was SPAR and was a 10 min walk from our apartment. The address is Estr. da Ponta da Piedade 2, 8600-513 Lagos, Portugal.