Faro vs Lagos nightlife
Almost everyone arriving in the Algarve lands at Faro, and almost everyone leaves within an hour of clearing customs. Sometimes that is a mistake and sometimes it is exactly right. It depends what you want from the evening.
Two completely different scenes
Faro is a working Portuguese city with a university, which means its nightlife is built for people who live there. Small bars in the old town and around the marina, cheap drinks, Portuguese being spoken, and a rhythm tied to term time rather than the tourist calendar. It is the only place in the Algarve where you can go out properly in February.
Lagos is the opposite: a small town whose nightlife exists almost entirely because of travellers passing through. Hostels, bar hopping, drinking games, a crowd from twenty countries who all arrived in the last week. Bigger and louder than Faro in summer, and effectively closed in winter.
Side by side
| Faro | Lagos | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is out | Students and locals | Backpackers and travellers, 18-30 |
| Language in the room | Mostly Portuguese | Mostly English, many accents |
| Peak season | Term time, year round | April to October, peaks in August |
| Bar prices | Lowest in the Algarve | Low, slightly above Faro |
| Clubs | A few, small | A handful, busy in season |
| Ease of meeting people alone | Harder unless you speak some Portuguese | Very easy |
| Daytime | City, islands by ferry | Cliffs, grottoes, surf beaches |
Getting from Faro to Lagos
- Train. The regional line runs Faro to Lagos in roughly 1h40 and is the cheapest option. Services are limited in the evening, so check the last departure before you plan a night in either town.
- Bus. Similar duration, sometimes faster on the express services, and it goes from the airport as well as the city.
- Transfer or taxi. About 90km. Fine split between four people, expensive alone.
Whatever you take, it is not a same-night round trip. You go out where you are sleeping.
Which to pick
- Arriving in summer, travelling solo: go straight to Lagos. Faro will not give you the social scene you are after in July.
- Visiting off-season: stay in Faro. Lagos in January is a beautiful, silent town.
- Want actual Portuguese nightlife rather than the traveller version: Faro, and give it two nights.
- Late flight, early start: one night in Faro is genuinely pleasant and saves you a transfer at midnight.
Doing both properly
The efficient trip is a night in Faro at the start or end for the city and the islands, and the bulk of the trip based in Lagos. That gives you the Portuguese version and the backpacker version without commuting between them, and the train ride along the coast is worth doing in daylight anyway.
First night in Lagos?
If you have just come off the train, our crawl is the fastest way to meet people before you have even unpacked properly.
Friday, Saturday, Monday nights, April to October. Meet at Banana Beach House, Estr. da Ponta da Piedade 23, 8600-544 Lagos, Portugal, between 20:00 - 20:45.