Day trips from Albufeira, Portugal

Following my last blog post on a Winter break in Albufeira, here’s the details of few day trips from Albufeira that we made at that time.

Ponta de Piedade

I won’t be surprised if this is the most photographed place in Algarve. It could pretty much be a poster-place for all South Portugal tourism websites. The highlight are the stunning rock formations formed naturally, shaped by the elements into cliffs, arches and grottos. And they stand in stark contrast to the turquoise waters below. I was mesmerised by this place and glad that I convinced my friends to wake up early in the morning and drive here. It was worth the effort 😉

Natural rock formations at Ponta de Piedade

180-odd steps leading down to the beach

That arch!

Located just west to Lagos, it is barely a 45-minute drive from Albufeira. However, if the weather is good and the option is available (which wasn’t in our case), take a boat ride to experience the real beauty of this place. It is believed to be THE best way. I absolutely need to return to Ponta de Piedade in summer months. If you find yourself in Algarve, do not miss this place. Take my word on this, oh please do!

Tavira

Tavira is a city in the eastern part of Algarve and is known for its typical Portuguese charm. Unspoilt by tourism, it has a very slow and lazy vibe to it. A vibe that the time has come to a standstill. The almost empty cobbled streets and the not-so-shiny façade of the buildings exude an old world charm that one can only observe silently as a bystander. There was not much to do except to wander around, soak it all in and then leave. On hindsight, I wish I’d have avoided a special trip to Tavira and spent more time exploring Ponta de Piedade.

Pretty wall art – characteristic of Portugal

Rustic old looking buildings

Seville

So, Seville is only 2.5 hours away from Albufeira and we thought we would make it a day trip. We started very early in the morning to make the most of our time in Seville. While a day is not enough to truly experience this Andalucian capital, we definitely got a teaser. For more details, here’s how to spend a day in Seville.

Sagres

The south-westernmost point in Portugal. This is the historical place from where Portugal embarked upon the era of exploration. We went to see the Cape of St Vincent, around 6km from Sagres. The lighthouse here is considered to be one of the most powerful ones in Europe. The final few minutes before reaching the Cape were really exciting. The GPS showed that our destination was straight ahead at the end of the solitary road that we were driving on. And beyond it, just blue sea. Nothing else. End of the World! And in fact, the Romans did believe that this was the edge of the world. A magical place where the sunset was much larger than anywhere else. Rugged landscape, waves crashing against tall cliffs rising vertically from the Atlantic and a lone lighthouse bearing testimony to the wildness of the terrain! It was quite cloudy and we did not get to see the so-called magical sunset. However, the time spent here was magical indeed. We sat down on the rocks and simply watched the sky getting darker by every minute. It was windy, almost stormy – so much that the coffee in our plastic cups was swirling like a mini whirlpool. (Yes, there was a small kiosk selling coffee). Yet, all I wanted to do was to continue gazing into the deep blue infinity!

Lighthouse at Cape of St Vincent

Some useful links:

http://www.algarveuncovered.com/

http://www.visitalgarve.pt/

Algarve has such beautiful beaches and rugged landscapes to explore and Albufeira was a great base to do that. If you need any tips for planning atrip to Albufeira and around, feel free to drop me a question!

Did you enjoy my post on day trip from Albufeira? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Cheers,

Ameeta xx