The Untravelled World: Walking in the Algarve

Algarve

I knew that the western part of the Algarve coast was still relatively unspoilt and retained much of its original beauty. So, when I saw an inexpensive flight to Faro, I decided to buy a couple of guidebooks (see Books) and walk the Algarve coast between Lagos and Cape St Vincent. My original trip was planned for April 2010 but was cancelled due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland (a full refund was obtained), so I headed off in June instead.

Costs. Flight £72. Car parking £18.99. Lagos hotel (B&B) €40. Salema hotel (B&B) €65. Sagres hotel (B&B) €50. Faro hotel €49. Faro–Lagos train €7.30 each way. Sagres–Lagos bus €3.85. Total cost of trip £400.

Places I stayed and was happy with. Hotel Lagosmar, Lagos (Day 1, Read my review); Hotel Residencial, Salema (Day 2, Read my review); Aparthotel Navigator, Sagres (Day 3, Read my review); Hotel Ibis, Faro (Day 4, Read my review).

Books. Algarve: Car Tours and Walks by Bryan and Eileen Anderson (Sunflower Books, 8th revised edition); Walking in the Algarve by Julie Statham (Cicerone, 1st edition).

Maps. I used the ones printed in the above guidebooks (rather too sketchy in the case of Walking in the Algarve).

Day 1: Travel to Lagos. Left home at 8 am, drove to Prestwick, and caught 10.15 am flight to Faro, arriving 1.25 pm local time. Caught bus into Faro and had lunch in city. Caught 4.17 pm train to Lagos, arriving 5.55 pm. Walked into the town (the train station is some way outside the centre) and found a nice hotel. Had dinner and watched some football (the 2010 World Cup was in progress).

Day 2: Walk to Salema. Had breakfast and left hotel about 8.45 am. Walked south along coast, following a mix of coast path and road, to lighthouse at Ponta da Piedade. Headed west along coast to Luz and then Burgau, where I had lunch. carried on west along coast and reached Salema about 4.25 pm (so 7 h 40 min walking). This walk was a combination of Walks 1, 2 and 3 in Algarve: Car Tours and Walks (see Books). Found hotel, had dinner, and watched England being rubbish against Algeria.

Day 3: Walk to Sagres. Had breakfast and left hotel about 9.30 am. Vaguely following Walk 8 in Walking in the Algarve (see Books), walked inland to Figueira and then returned to coast at Praia das Furnas at about 10.30 am. Continued west along coast, having lunch at Praia da Ingrina, and reaching the beach at Foz de Benaçoilãu. Then turned inland a bit, getting rather lost, before returning to coast near Martinhal. Walked into Sagres and (finally) found hotel about 4.30 pm (so 6 h walking). Had a swim in the pool and then had dinner in an Indian restaurant (!).

Day 4: Walk to Cape St Vincent; travel to Faro. Had breakfast and left hotel about 9 am. Had a look at the Forteleza de Sagres and then continued west along coast, using a mix of paths and road, reaching Cape St Vincent at about 10.45 am (so 1 h 45 min walking). Feeling rather cheeky, I then approached a British couple with a hire car and asked them for a lift back into Sagres. Caught 12.05 pm bus to Lagos and then 2.00 pm train to Faro, arriving 3.45 pm. Walked to hotel (30 min) and had dinner.

Day 5: Travel home. It was a very early flight and I asked the hotel to book me a taxi to nearby airport. It did not turn up at the time requested – nerves were jangling. Talked to another anxious-looking man waiting in reception and we agreed to share first taxi when it arrived. He asked me where I was going. “Prestwick,” I said. “You won’t miss your plane,” he said, “because I’m your pilot.” Caught 6.45 am plane, landing 9.55 am, and was in work for 11.30 am.

Kit notes. This was an ultra-light trip and I took only my 20-litre rucksack, doing lots of washing as I went along.

Wildlife seen. Ocellated Lizard, Southern Gatekeeper, Painted Lady, Small Copper, Speckled Wood, Little Egret.