11:00
Timeline
Four days: Tavira and its island beach, the Benagil cave and the cliff trail, Ponta da Piedade and the sunset at Cape St Vincent, a last morning in Lagos.
Day 1 · Mon
Tavira and the Ilha de Tavira
Taviraland 10:00👟 ≈ 8,000 stepsLand at 10:00, the car, 30 minutes east to Tavira. Lunch by the river, the old town, then the ferry to the island beach until evening.
🗺 The whole day in Google Maps →12:00
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Tavira's old town📍 in Google Maps
A fishing town on the Gilão river with a bridge of Roman origin, a ruined Moorish castle and some twenty churches among whitewashed houses.
freeday's highlight
Lunch by the river, then cross the old bridge and climb to the castle's garden walls for the view of the hipped roofs, a style the town is known for. The Santa Maria church beside it holds the tombs of crusader knights.
An hour and a half on foot.
15:30
walkphoto ↑
Ferry to the Ilha de Tavira📍 in Google Maps
A long sand island across the lagoon, with miles of beach, dunes and a few beach bars.
ferry about €2.50 return
Drive or taxi five minutes to the Quatro Águas pier; the ferry takes ten minutes and runs until about 20:00 in June. Walk away from the landing for an empty stretch. Sunbeds can be hired.
20:30
food
Dinner in Tavira📍 in Google Maps
€25–40 each
Grilled fish or polvo, octopus, the local catch; Santa Luzia, five minutes away, is the octopus village. June is the start of the sardine season.
If you fall behind
- Skip the island and swim at the river beach.
Day 2 · Tue
The Benagil cave and the Seven Hanging Valleys
Benagil to Lagosout 08:00👟 ≈ 10,500 stepsLeave at 8 for Benagil, an hour and a quarter west. The cave by boat at 9:30, the clifftop trail to Praia da Marinha, a swim there, and on to Lagos.
🗺 The whole day in Google Maps →
09:30
tourphoto ↑
The Benagil cave by boat📍 in Google Maps
A sea cave in the golden limestone cliffs whose domed roof has a round hole open to the sky; light falls through it onto a hidden beach.
€20–30 eachday's highlightbook
Boats leave from Benagil beach itself and take 30 minutes past several caves; the big one is two minutes away. Landing on the cave's beach is no longer allowed, so you see it from the water.
Book the first trip: the sea is calmest early, and by 11 the cave fills with boats and kayaks. Park above the village; spaces are gone by 10.
10:30
walk
The Seven Hanging Valleys trail📍 in Google Maps
A marked clifftop path of about 6 kilometres between Praia da Marinha and Vale Centeanes, past sea arches, sinkholes and coves.
freeno shade
From Benagil walk east to Praia da Marinha, 2 kilometres, 45 minutes. On the way, the fenced hole above the cave looks down into it. Take water and hats; the path is exposed and unfenced at the edges.
11:30
walkphoto ↑
Swim at Praia da Marinha📍 in Google Maps
A cove under ochre cliffs and a double arch, often named among Europe's most beautiful beaches.
free
Down the steps from the cliff car park. Clear water for snorkelling round the rocks. Walk back to the car at Benagil after, 45 minutes.
14:00
food
Lunch in Benagil or Carvoeiro📍 in Google Maps
€20–35 each
Grilled fish above the beach in Benagil, or ten minutes west in Carvoeiro. Then 40 minutes on to Lagos and check in.
20:00
food
Dinner in Lagos's old town📍 in Google Maps
€25–40 each
Cataplana, seafood stewed in a closed copper pan, for two. Bars in the lanes stay open late.
If you fall behind
- Skip the trail and drive to Marinha.
- If the boats are not sailing, swap with tomorrow.
Day 3 · Wed
Ponta da Piedade, the beaches and Cape St Vincent
Lagos and Sagresout 08:30👟 ≈ 8,000 stepsPonta da Piedade's cliffs at 9, its grottoes by kayak or boat, lunch and Camilo beach, then Sagres and the sunset at Cape St Vincent.
🗺 The whole day in Google Maps →
09:00
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Ponta da Piedade from the cliffs📍 in Google Maps
A headland of sandstone arches, stacks and grottoes in green and turquoise water, with a lighthouse on top.
freeday's highlight
Five minutes by car, or 40 minutes' walk along the cliff boardwalk from Dona Ana beach. Take the 180 steps down to the little jetty at the water. Morning light is best before the boats crowd in.
10:30
tourphoto ↑
The grottoes by kayak or boat📍 in Google Maps
Small boats and guided kayaks go through the arches and into the grottoes that the cliffs above hide.
boat €20–25, kayak €35–45 each
Boats leave from Lagos's riverfront, an hour and a quarter. Kayak tours from Batata beach take two and a half hours and go further in. Book a day ahead in June.
13:30
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Lunch and Camilo beach📍 in Google Maps
A small cove reached down 200 wooden steps, between rock walls, with a restaurant at the top.
lunch €20–30 each
Lunch at the top, then the afternoon on the beach. It is small and full by noon in summer; Dona Ana next door is larger.
18:00
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Sagres Fortress📍 in Google Maps
A fortress on a flat headland where, the story goes, Prince Henry the Navigator ran his school of navigation; a giant stone compass rose is set in the ground.
about €3 each
Forty minutes west of Lagos. Walk the loop round the headland's cliffs, an hour. Closes at 20:00 in summer.
20:30
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Sunset at Cape St Vincent📍 in Google Maps
The southwest corner of mainland Europe: cliffs 75 metres high and a lighthouse, once thought the end of the world.
freewind
Ten minutes from Sagres. Sunset is about 21:15 in mid-June; come early for a spot on the walls and bring a layer. The van selling the 'last bratwurst before America' is a fixture. Dinner in Sagres, 45 minutes back to Lagos.
If you fall behind
- Skip Sagres Fortress and go straight to the cape.
Day 4 · Thu
Lagos's old town and the drive to Faro
Lagos to Faroout 09:00👟 ≈ 4,000 stepsThe gilded church of Santo António and Lagos's walls in the morning, a swim at Dona Ana, lunch, and an hour's drive to Faro for the 17:00 flight.
🗺 The whole day in Google Maps →
09:30
sightphoto ↑
Santo António church and the museum📍 in Google Maps
A plain little church whose inside is covered in 18th-century carved and gilded wood; the town museum is next door.
about €3
Then the walls by the sea and the square where the Mercado de Escravos stands, a small museum on Europe's first slave market, opened here in 1444.
11:00
walkphoto ↑
A last swim at Dona Ana📍 in Google Maps
Lagos's best-known beach, a bay of golden sand between rock stacks.
free
Fifteen minutes' walk from the centre. Lunch at the beach bar.
14:00
getting there
Drive back to Faro airport📍 from 🏁 Faro Airport
about an hour
The A22 east, an hour. Fill the tank before the airport. Car back by 15:15, at the desks by 15:30 for the 17:00 flight.
