Madrid to Faro, Portugal by plane takes about an hour and a half. And Albufeira is about 30 minutes further by car. But it is a world away. Madrid is a beautiful, elegant city – built to last centuries. Albufeira is extremely touristy – but if you’re looking to lounge on a great beach, eat very good food and drink lots of beer and wine, its a terrific place.
Our Airbnb has two bedrooms, two and a half baths, a great view and thankfully, powerful air conditioning. The A/C is a godsend – and totally necessary since Portugal is experiencing a heat wave and temps, even near the beach, are 100 degrees. [https://www.tripadvisor.com/VacationRentalReview-g1190872-d12905925-Deluxe_Villa_D_by_the_beach-Olhos_de_Agua_Albufeira_Faro_District_Algarve.html]
The beach here in Albufeira is terrific. I’d give it an “8” as far as beaches go. But, being from Southern California, I have very high standards. It’s a very long beach with golden sand with some parts get really crowded. Especially by the large tourist zone with all the souvenir stores and restaurants. BTW, there are some really good restaurants in there as well.
The beach adjacent to our apartment – which was only a short walk from the tourist area, was a bit “skinnier,” and less crowded. There was a bar/restaurant right on the sand that rented lounge chairs and umbrellas. We had a couple of very nice meals, sangria, beer and wine right there. Also spent many hours playing a great card game Natalie taught us called “Cambio”.
One issue here, however – the water is super cold. Doesn’t look like it should be, but its frigid, even on a super hot day. But perfect for a short dip to cool off.
We had a car so we decided to take a road trip to a different beach town called Lagos – about an hour away from Albufeira on a very nice tollway. Lagos is cool. Not as touristy as Albufeira – but still full of travelers. We drove here because Condé Nast wrote that the beach in Lagos – Praia Dona – was rated as their number one beach in the world a couple of years ago. It was a really nice beach with very pretty with unusual rock formations rising out of the water. But I can’t give it more than an “8” (which means its still a really nice beach). Especially the day we were there. Very crowded, sand not super soft (but perfectly fine) and again, super cold water. Don’t misunderstand me, its very nice, but can’t agree that its the best beach in the world.
Also had some great meals! We went to the nearby town of Faro (about 40 minutes away ) to have dinner at the one-star Michelin rated Sao Gabriel [http://www.sao-gabriel.com/sao-gabriel-restaurante-algarve-eng.html]. We had a lot of fun – mostly cuz it was Natalie’s birthday dinner (23 – wow!). The food was good and the service was great – after we moved inside because we were getting bit by mosquitos on the very nice terrace – but the food was not spectacular. Again, a really nice place, but not sure it was worth the Michelin price tag.
The next two days were a bit sad. Natalie and Nikki flew home to Santiago and New York. Nikki had been with us for almost three months and Natalie for the past two weeks. So it was a bit of a shock to find ourselves alone with each other again. But I think we quickly found out that we might feel more connected when its just the two of us. Maybe we give each other more attention than focus on the kids? Guess it’s all about attention. Who knows? But we’re happy with them and without – as long as they are OK. So that is good!
Decided to take one more road trip to another beach. This time we drove out to a town called Sagres. It’s about an hour from Albufeira. Now this is a really nice beach. The town seems less touristy – which makes sense as it’s more remote. Driving in to town – in temps over 105 degrees – we saw a bunch of surf shops. So guessing the surf is pretty good here.
The beach itself was the nicest we’d seen. I’d give this one a “9”! We parked on the street above a cliff that overlooked the beach and walked down steps to a cafe on the sand. Had a couple of cold beers, but then took off cause it was just too hot! But I would recommend that if you come to the Algarve, this is a place to visit.
Now, off to Amsterdam to get out of the heat!!