Backpacking the Algarve

The Algarve is small enough to cross in a morning and varied enough that the towns twenty minutes apart feel unrelated. Here is a route that works, roughly what it costs, and where the evenings are worth staying up for.

A route that works

Most people arrive at Faro and travel west, which is the right direction: the coast gets wilder and the crowd gets younger as you go. A ten-day version looks like this.

• Faro, 1-2 nights. The city everyone skips. Old town bars, cheap drinks, and the Ria Formosa islands by ferry.
• Tavira, 1 night (optional). East of Faro, quiet and beautiful. No nightlife at all.
• Albufeira, 1-2 nights (optional). Only if you want to see the Strip. It is a specific experience rather than a general one.
• Portimão / Praia da Rocha, 1 night. Clifftop beach bars and the best big beach on the central coast.
• Lagos, 3-5 nights. The backpacker hub. Hostels, the old town bars, boat trips to Ponta da Piedade, and the best chance of leaving with people you will message later.
• Sagres, 1-2 nights. The end of Europe. Surf, cliffs, wind, and a couple of bars.

Getting around

• Regional train. Runs the length of the coast from Vila Real de Santo António to Lagos. Cheap, slow, scenic, and the backbone of any car-free trip.
• Buses. Fill the gaps the train does not reach, including Sagres, which has no station. Book long-distance coaches ahead in summer.
• Nothing runs late. Assume the last useful service is early evening. You go out where you sleep.

Rough daily budget

A hostel dorm, food from supermarkets and markets, one activity every couple of days and a few drinks a night is a manageable daily spend for the region — noticeably cheaper than Spain's coast and much cheaper than France. August pushes bed prices up sharply; May, June and September are the value months and the weather is still good.

Where the nights actually are

Realistically there are three: Lagos for the traveller scene, Albufeira for the big-club strip, and Faro for actual Portuguese bars. Everywhere else is dinner and a drink. If your trip is nightlife-led, weight it heavily towards Lagos and treat the rest as daytime.

Days worth planning around

• Ponta da Piedade by kayak or grotto boat, from Lagos.
• Benagil sea cave, from Portimão or Carvoeiro.
• Surf lessons on the west coast beaches near Sagres.
• Ria Formosa islands by ferry, from Faro or Olhão.
• The Costa Vicentina cliffs north of Sagres, if you can borrow wheels.

These matter for the evenings too. Almost every good night in Lagos starts with a group that formed on a boat or in the water that afternoon.

Season

April to October is the window. Outside it the hostels close, the coast empties and the nightlife disappears from everywhere except Faro. Plan around that rather than hoping.