Lagos and exploring the Algarve in Portugal

Lagos, Portugal 3 March 2017 – 5 March 2017

I was in Lisbon for a week on our annual legal training week for all the European, Russian, Middle East, and South African lawyers to catch up and discuss the next 12 months facing the team. It was an intense training week but also lots of fun with some team events and drinks each night. It was great to catch up with the lawyers that I don’t get to see very often and meet some of the extended team. A few of the global team lawyers from the US also made the trip out which was great!

I was in no rush to get back to London so had booked my return flight for the Sunday so I could spend some more time in Portugal. I had been to Lisbon and Faro previously and head fun things about Lagos so thought I would head south on the Friday afternoon when the week came to a close.

I caught a bus down to Lagos in the afternoon, it was around a 2-hour bus ride down. It was nice to see the Portuguese coast and countryside despite it being early March.

I booked a private room at JJ’s Yard (http://www.jjsyard.com/about-us/). A nice guesthouse/backpackers in central Lagos. Juisney and Joao have a great set up and were so nice when I arrived. It was their first week opening as March is still low season in Lagos. The old town was full of English and Irish bars, so were not open at all due to low season however there were a few nice small bars and restaurants open. I hit up a couple of local bars and met some fun English people working at the bars who lived in Lagos. As the bars were quite I just chatted to the bartenders before having an early night.

Lagos is famous for its beautiful beaches and rocks along the Algarve. It was a sunny winter day around 20 degrees so I set off to explore the Algarve. It was only a short walk through the old town before I hit the beach. It was stunning! The water was bloody freezing so no swimming today though it was nice to take my shoes off and just walk along the sand to explore the Algarve.

Luckily it was low tide so I was able to wonder around and through some of the caves and rock formations that would usually be flooded at high tide. I met a few other travellers along the walk and it was nice to just chat and get some tips on where to go.

I followed the beach around the coast and limestone cliffs, at some point I couldn’t work any further so I headed up to walk along the cliffs over to Miradouro da Praia do Canavial where I was able to walk down to the beach again. One of the people I met mentioned I needed to go to Restaurante O António for lunch as it had amazing seafood and views over the beach. It was located on Praia de Porto Mós (beach). It was nice to just take my time and enjoy the walk.

I made it to Restaurante O António to enjoy some local seafood and prawn cocktail for lunch. The atmosphere was really cool, relaxed beach vibe and the views over the beach were great! It was nice to just enjoy a cold beer and watch the waves roll in. Some surfers were out enjoying the waves which were fun to watch. I kept walking Praia da Luz where the beach ran out and only a cliff walk continued.

Being late afternoon I headed back into JJ’s to freshen up. It was just as beautiful walking back as the sunset over the Mediterranean. The water was so beautiful and I could see why thousands flocked to Lagos each when the warmer weather arrives. It was just beautiful along the Algarve.

I headed back to a few of the local pubs I was at on Friday night and caught up with some English people that I met as well. It was crazy how quiet the city was though they said in a few weeks it would just be flooded with travellers for surfing lessons and beach parties.

We checked out some clubs though they were pretty dead so we called it a night.

I went for a morning swim and one last walk before catching up my bus back up to Lisbon for a late afternoon flight home. It was a shame I missed all the beach parties and crazy Lagos atmosphere during the warmer weather though it was so beautiful to see the Algarve in the winter sunshine.

JJ’s was a simple but fun guesthouse/backpackers and Juisney and Joao were so much fun. If you are looking for a fun beach holiday that is affordable definitely get to Lagos and the Algarve. I can imagine it gets very busy and a bit messy in summer as it is a popular young backpacker beach town so be wary of that.