Algarve in October

Posted by isabellebergeron514 on 07/27/17 12:28 AM

We're planning a trip to Portugal from September 22nd to October 8th 2017. We really want to take the time to live the "local" life as much as possible, so we really don't want to jam pack different locations. Do you think that the Algarves are a key destination if traveling to Portugal in this specific time of year?

Here is what we would have in mind:
Sept. 23 - 24: Lisbon
Sept. 25 - 26: Coimbra (stop by Sintra and Obidos on the way)
Sept 27 - 30: Porto and Douro Valley
Oct. 1 - 2: Evora
Oct. 3 - 4: Lagos
Oct 5 - 8: Lisbon

Any advice or pointers are very welcome!!!

Posted by Jennifer

Tunbridge Wells

07/27/17 06:09 PM

6113 posts

IMO it's not worth travelling all the way to the Algarve just for 2 days and there are many better places to spend time than the Algarve in October.

Posted by isabellebergeron514 OP

07/27/17 09:40 PM

2 posts

Thanks Jennifer! Any suggestions?

Posted by christinejackson

08/25/17 01:26 AM

4 posts

My husband and I did almost that same exact itinerary in July 2012!! In the same order too! Except, we stayed in Porto but did not explore the rest of the Douro valley, and we skipped Evora. I'm very glad we went to the algarve because I love a bit of beach when I'm on vacation! We stayed in Salema, but took a day trip to Lagos. If I were to do it again I would stay in Lagos, it's more fun where Salema is more quiet (we were 27 at the time and liked the night life). Lagos had an amazing beach too, with gorgeous rock formations. The algarve is all about the beach. But if the weather is not going to be very warm, then I would maybe skip the algarve and spend more time up north. My husband and I loooooved Porto. I only wish we stayed closer to the river (we stayed up in like the business district). Coimbra was not worth more than a two night stay. Spend the most time in Lisbon and Porto. We spent maybe 3-4 nights in Porto and like 6 total nights in Lisbon (we had relatives to stay with in Lisbon)

Posted by kathrynj

Cascais, Portugal

08/25/17 08:18 AM

1824 posts

You can definitely find beaches without traveling to the Algarve. But, you aren't going to find the rock formations elsewhere. IMO you are traveling way too much and only spending 1-2 nights in a lot of places isn't very enjoyable.

That said, a lot of posters have written the Algarve isn't good in October. That was not my experience. I was there for a week last October and the weather was lovely. It was still warm enough for the beach but the huge numbers of tourists from the summer were gone.
Since you wrote 'stop by Sintra and Óbidos on the way', I'm assuming you are driving. You don't want to drive to Sintra! I would encourage you to see Sintra as a day trip from Lisbon. It's very easy by the train.

Posted by Jon Wesley

PT & UK

09/04/17 03:30 AM

8 posts

IMO you should definitely not miss the Algarve if you have time for that. October is usually a pretty decent month. Most of the times the weather is warm enough (temps from 24ºC to 30ºC) and in recent years it has also been a time of the year where the south winds were more likely.

South winds in the Algarve means warmer sea temperatures (sometimes 23.º/24.º even in October), hot nights a fantastic days.

I remember that in the last 2 years people were still going to the beach with hot water and pretty warm days until the 1st week of November (5th or 7th) when then the weather starts changing a bit more rapidly towards the winter.