My guide to the Algarve region of Portugal, with kids!
The Algarve region of Portugal has been on my bucket list for YEARS, and we finally got to spend a glorious week there in October of 2022. It did not disappoint. Luke and I were actually researching what visa’s looked like for moving there one day while we were exploring the area. It was amazing. I hope its already on your bucket list, if not, add it stat! This post includes..
the extensive list of beaches and areas we explored, along with a custom google map with all the places pinned
Link to the amazing house we stayed at, heated pool, badminton court and rooftop deck included!
Travel with kids tips and tricks, our daily schedule and more
Our favorite town we explored in the area
What local famous dish you absolutely need to try at local restaurants
The boat tour we used and loved to see the coastline even better
An optional day trip add on to Spain for the day, which we did and loved
First things first, a little introduction to who I am. Hi - and welcome! I'm Eileen and in summer 2021, my family and I uprooted our lives and moved from Greenville, SC to a small city in central France for an expat assignment with my husband's job. We have three kids, all girls: 8 year old twins and their five year old little sister. My husband and I have always loved travel, and one of the main factors we considered when choosing to move to France was accessibility for trips to the rest of Europe. We were thrilled to be able to expose our children to different cultures, lifestyles, and world travel as well!
We headed to Portugal late October 2022, and it was gloriously warm compared to our home in central France. The temperatures hovered around mid-70’s, and imo it was an incredible time to be in Portugal.
It was warm enough to swim in the ocean a lot of days, and we saw lots of other people in the water as well. Our airbnb had a heated pool, so on the days the highs were 70, it was still super warm to swim in.
Below is a google map with all the places I mention in the post pinned on it, click the map to be taken to it and save for your trip!
Disclaimer! This is what we did in Fall of 2022. I can’t vouch for the state of these places when you go, so I recommend doing some up to date research before your trip. Parking spots may have changed or anything like that, so search the locations and then do some research! I’m not associated with Airbnb or any of these places, so check recent reviews.
We flew into Faro which had a great regional airport, rented a car and headed for the cute town of Carvoeiro, 45 minutes outside of Faro. We LOVED this town being our home base. It seemed like it was 5-25 minutes away from all the beaches we we wanted to explore. It had great grocery stores and restaurants, and the cutest downtown with lots of shopping, restaurants and a famous local beach to explore as well.
We spent our week hitting up beach after beach, waking up each morning and seeing what we felt like that day. We grilled at our amazing airbnb and swam all afternoon, took naps and read, and hiked the amazing cliffs.
LODGING:
I booked this airbnb 8 months before our trip and counted down the months and days until we got to go. It’s one of my top airbnbs of all times, and we have stayed in a LOT of airbnbs over the years. Heated pool (we paid extra for heating), amazing outdoor area with grill, outdoor shower and dining, seating, a badminton court, multiple decks and a rooftop deck, 4 comfy bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and great equipped kitchen. The yard had fruit trees and we had fresh oranges every day. It was laid out so well for our family of 5.
The airbnb had a recommendation for a local restaurant called O Escondidinho, and we LOVED it. (It’s marked on the google map). We did takeout twice from them, its cash only and filled with locals. While in Portugal, you HAVE to try their famous dish of Piri-Piri Chicken. We ate it like 3 or 4 times. It’s so good and fresh.
I also marked our favorite grocery store in the area on the map!
Instead of doing a day by day recap, I’m going to mention each beach and area we explored and what we loved about each one so you can plan your trip. Each one is relativiely close to each other so its easy to plan a great day. Some beaches had a lot of seaweed while we were there, so we didn’t spend a ton of time in those and others we spent hours at swimming, playing and exploring the cliffs.
NOTE: The Algarve is known for its stunning cliffs, and WOW they are amazing. But I did find that they very rarely had any safety railing at all, its miles and miles of them! So wander at your own risk. The beaches also have a safety sign at each beach with a map of safety areas, the cliffs can be unstable so they have a image showing where to sit to avoid falling rocks. With our young kids at the cliffs, we kept them close, didn’t get close to the edges at all and kept our distance, but I saw so many people scaling right to the edges!
A practical note. Most of these beaches have small parking lots. We wanted to make sure we got a spot so we did our normal plan of heading out early (around 8:30, we are up with our kiddos then anyhow!) and explore all morning. Head back to the Airbnb for a late takeout lunch and rest/swim time, and then back out to the beaches late afternoon. This allowed us to always get a spot. We were also in a shoulder season, although it was European fall break so it was still busy for sure!
I’m going to start from the Eastern most beach on the google map, and head west so its easier to follow along.
Praia do Castelo
Lots of little coves to explore and swim in. We loved this one so much we went back twice and spent hours here. Cliffs to walk on and clear water in swim in? I’m sold.
Marinha Beach
Famous for a reason! Unbelievable cliffs to wander and a good beach to swim in too. This one had a lot of trails wandering the cliffs to get « that famous » shot (see below). These cliffs made us nervous with our kiddos so we didn’t get near the edge at all. We went here twice as well and loved it in the morning morning and at sunset!
Marinha had vendors outside with fresh fruit and lots of picnic tables to sit and enjoy those gorgeous views on.
Benagil Cave is super famous in the region as well, only accessible by boat or swimming. We did boat tour and got to go up in the cave, and it was so cool. Gorgeous spot!
Praia do Carvalho
A really cool beach with a secret tunnel with stairs to get down to the beach!
Algar Seco
A really gorgeous spot for walks along the cliffs and down into a natural swimming pool cut into the cliffs. People were swimming and cliff jumping here, it was so fun to watch! Was too low a tide for us and our young kids to swim in but I would have loved it at high tide or without the kiddos!
Praia de Carvoeiro
This beach is in the center of the town of Carvoeiro, 5 minutes from our airbnb. We loved wandering the town and shopping and getting ice cream, the beach was beautiful and we took a boat tour to see the caves (Benagil included). We loved the tour, the guide was so nice and knowledgeable, it was fast and fun and our kiddos loved it too.
We used Carvoeiro Tours for the boat ride.
Praia do Paraiso
A little jewel of beach tucked in between two cliffs. You wind down a lot of stairs to get to it, but its worth it!
Praia dos Caneiros
One of our favorite beaches. Has a bar/restaurant right at the beach and a lot of space to run and explore, along with other coves to head into when the tide is down. We went 3 times!
Praia dos Tres Irmaos
A big beach with lots of room to spread out, many different coves and lots of caves to wander into!
Ponta da Piedade
We had heard a lot about this spot, its more touristy we felt like. Gorgeous walk along the cliffs but we were happy to head back to Marinha, which we liked much better. It was gorgeous though!
Whew. You guys still with me?? That wraps up all the beaches we explored, and we only scratched the surface!!
Bonus day trip. From our airbnb, Seville Spain, was only 2.5 hours away. So we took a road trip one day over there and it was so fun! There is so much to do and see in Seville so its a fun destination. We parked near downtown and took the tram into the old city, and it was easy peasy.
We spent a rainy day at Zoomarine park and it was delightful. An aquarium, carnival rides, wave pools, dolphin shows and swimming with dolphins, a pirate show, a dinosaur river ride, and more. We had a great time!
Portugal, we love you. Your people are so kind, your food is amazing and your views are unparalleled. We can’t wait to go back!
I have a saved instagram highlight (eileenandco) that follows along with this blog post with more videos and tips for trip planning, so don’t forget to follow along!
Xoxo
Eileen