West Algarve Guide

Find out more about this part of the Portugal with our West Algarve guide

It is not clear where the Central Algarve finishes and the western Algarve starts. If you look at three different maps, you’ll get three different answers. For me, the western Algarve begins at the town of Portimao, opposite Ferragudo, on the western bank of the River Arade.

Portimao is a pretty western Algarve holiday destination, without being as geared to the tourist as other Algarve towns. It is a busy town and is in fact, the second largest town in the Algarve, after Faro. It is also an important commercial and fishing centre.

For a more traditional seaside resort, and practically an extension of the southern boundaries of Portimao, is Praia da Rocha. With its high-rise accommodation on the cliff-tops, it is not the most beautiful place on earth, but that’s not what attracts people here. They come for the great beaches, plenty of bars and restaurants and cheap accommodation.

A few kilometres to the east is the less commercialised, yet expanding, fishing village of Alvor. Alvor is next to a lagoon, with its shallow waters great for swimming. This is adjacent to the marshlands of the protected nature reserve, which turn into the sand-dune backed beaches.

Following the coast to the south-west, the west Algarve guide brings you to the historic town of Lagos, which is probably the best known of the western Algarve holiday resorts. It is a walled town with a natural harbour, has some great beaches and is rich with the history of Henry the Navigator. Praia da Luz is about 10 km west of Lagos, and is a quiet and peaceful place for your western Algarve holiday. This is changing as accommodation pops up all around, the area becoming more and more popular as a holiday resort. It has a great beach with plenty of watersports on offer, and plenty of opportunities to explore the wild and rugged countryside of the west Algarve.

Continuing along a few kilometres from Praia da Luz, you’ll come to Burgau & Salema. Bugau is quite a pretty fishing village with cobbled streets, while Salema is not quite as pretty. Just north of Salema, at Budens you’ll find the last west Algarve golf course at the Parque da Floresta Golf Resort

At the most south-westerly point of the Algarve is the village of Sagres and Cape St. Vincent. Here, as we approach the west coast of the Algarve, the landscape and the coastline become more rugged. Sagres is different from many other coastal towns. It is less commercialised and has fewer hotels and restaurants. It is popular with independent travellers and surfers. Despite its lack of tourist amenities, it has a devoted fan-club.

49 km north of Sagres along the west Algarve coast and in the Costa Vicentina Nature Park, is the village of Aljezur

Away from the coast and 22km north of Portimao is the charming little town Monchique, nestled in the pine-clad foothills of the Serra de Monchique mountains. It is famous for its curative waters, which are taken advantage of at the Thermal Spa, a few kilometres south at Caldas de Monchique.

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