Road trip to the South

When my boyfriend was here to visit, we decided to spend part of his stay on the road by driving down to Algarve to enjoy some beaches, touristy towns and the former end of the world. We visited the towns of Tavira, Lagos and Sagres, and although the trip was only for one night we managed to do quite a lot and find places that would be great to come back to. 

We rented a car from Lisbon's airport which was an easy place to begin the trip. After having sat in taxis and experienced the traffic within the city, I definitely wanted to avoid having to drive through the center. Instead, we headed straight to the Vasco da Gama bridge that took us to the highway towards Algarve. Renting a car was not expensive, but naturally came with some extra expenses that were not mentioned in the reservation price. However, as my family well knows, I'm a bit obsessive with insurances so I did not mind paying extra for an insurance that let us off the hook if anything happened to the car.  Driving on the highway and in Algarve was really relaxed - roads were in great condition, traffic was light and there was luckily no sign of the hectic, wild driving that you see in the city.

Foggy morning while driving on Europe's longest bridge, Vasco da Gama.

Our first stop on the trip was a small town called Tavira, which is to the east from Algarve's capital Faro. Within the town itself there is not much to see but it is a nice place to stop for eating and walking around. After a great lunch, we headed to the beach and after a little GPS mix-up, found ourselves on a short boat ride that took us to Ilha de Tavira with its long sand beaches.

Great sea food in Tavira.

Ilha de Tavira

After Tavira, we headed towards a hotel that we had booked in Lagos. This city was a lot bigger than the first one and packed with German and British tourists. Still it was a pretty place with a marina, lovely old town and so many restaurants that it was impossible to choose where to eat. The next morning we strolled more around Lagos to see it in day light, and if we would have had more time we would have probably gone on one of the many boat trips to grottos that are being sold on the boulevard.

Old Town of Lagos

The last destination  of our trip was Sagres. We first found a few beautiful beaches to enjoy the sun and clear water. Although Tavira's long sandy beach was great too, I was really amazed by the beaches that were surrounded by high cliffs. Even though beaches were full of people, they still felt somehow isolated and peaceful. These types of beaches seem to be quite common in many places around Algarve.

Local specialty - Grilled sardines

Our last stop before heading back to Lisbon was Cabo de São Vicente, the former end of the world and Europe's most South-Western point. This stop I was most excited  about - I had visited the place on my first abroad trip as a baby almost 25 years ago, and although I naturally have no memory of it, it was quite nostalgic to go. And quite truthfully it was also the most breath taking place I have seen during my whole stay in Portugal so far. The way the ocean looks from there is indescribable, and the view over cliffs are amazing. I can only imagine what sunsets look like there. 

Famour lighthouse at Cabo de São Vicente

Out of all the places we visited, especially Sagres and Cabo de São Vicente I would definitely want to go back to. However having a car in Algarve is great because on a longer stay you can visit any place because everything is so close to each other.