When I hear people talking about Algarve, my first thought is always the same light and sun! It’s absolutely amazing to wake up every day and see blue sky and not a single grey cloud. Although hot and sunny place there was a pleasant breeze from the sea that kept us cool.

It’s a place with so many hidden spots that after a while, looking back at this holiday, I can’t believe how much we explored within just a few days. Algarve is simply great! Full of white houses, cobbled paved small towns and villages with STUNNING beaches everywhere!

Food

Food is absolutely to die for with the freshest fish and seafood served daily. Restaurants are kept stylish, in a simple and adorable way, showing what’s the best in this region. You are not overwhelmed by the fancy design, but once the food is served - yuuuumy, you can’t get enough of squid and octopus, sardines and other fish.

Even though Portugal is very popular with tourists, somehow you don’t feel it. Maybe it’s the friendly and welcoming locals, who act naturally as there wasn’t any holiday season? They are polite and calm and if they open their business at 11am, then don’t expect them to rush any earlier. Just simply enjoy a sunny and relaxing morning!

Albufeira

Algarve’s most famous town Albufeira is quite a touristy place, to my taste a bit too much, you can easily find fish and chips and obviously a full english… Still with a nice beach, visit it as a one-day trip for its little shops. On our way back from Albufeira we picked up a few leaflets about Zoomarine, which we visited the following day. It’s located in Guia and we enjoyed a whole day there. Well-maintained facilities and good organisation, you can visit one show after another. The dolphin and pirate show are very entertaining but can be a little overcrowded though. Afterwards just hop in their water park and have fun in its pools.

During our stay in Portugal we lived in Salgados Village which is not far from Albufeira but is definitely less crowded. It has got conveniently situated supermarket, where a lot of holidaymakers stock up on various local foods and snacks. It’s quite common to see families buying plenty of food, to keep them going and survive all day on the beach. We have taken a flight from Gatwick to Faro found using take.world. As of transport we decided we want freedom to visit places daily and need a car of our own, rented through autoeurope.

Carvoeiro

As we always aim to explore the area around, we drove to other towns to make sure we check their beaches and attractions. We spent one day in Portimao with a nice viewing spot and Carvoeiro which offers plenty of great restaurants next to the conveniently located beach. We spent a few hours on the beach and then took kids for delicious ice cream. Most of the places have sunshade canopies so you can comfortably appreciate local delicacies, hiding away from the burning noon sun.

Boat trips - Praia de Benagil

What’s worth recommending is booking one of their superb boat tours to see caves around Benagil beach. The views are breathtaking and the boat tour operators are very friendly, making sure they show all the caves from the best angle. They explained many interesting facts about the area and told children some spooky pirate stories. The boat tour also gives you the chance to explore beautiful beaches that are accessible only by boat.

At the end of the world

Another day we went to Cape St Vincent, which is the most southwestern part of Europe. We were told that the best time to visit Cape St Vincent is late afternoon because of its sun sets. We arrived there a little before midday and still found it a great place to explore with wonderful views.

There are plenty of vendors selling their products as well as a little caravan selling authentic German Wurst called ‘Letzte Bratwurst vor Amerika’. Although I’m the last one to buy not local food it turned out to be a great geography lesson for kids, who were very keen to see the map and check where Germany is and how come they eat the last German sausage here :).

Portugal

To sum up we had a great time with children. Hot and sunny place with a pleasant breeze from the sea helping to stay cool in warm days. Lots of places to visit and wonderful beaches to appreciate. Portugal. Perfect holiday!