We just completed a short 5 night stay in the Algarve with our boys (ages 24, 21 and 16). Husband and I have traveled to Europe several times (England, Spain, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium). We wanted to expose our boys to European travel before our oldest son marries in September. A sunny holiday in the Algarve was the perfect choice for us as we like to be active on holiday. Of all our European trips, this has been the most loosely scheduled. I know my kids do better with a healthy dose of down time. Here is how the trip turned out:
Monday 3/27 - left Dallas 5pm, flew American. Arrived Madrid 9am, Tuesday, 3/28. Flew Iberia to Lisbon, arrived 11:30am. Picked up our rental car from Sixt and began our drive to Benagil, Faro district, Algarve. Husband never sleeps on flights so he was pretty sleepy and we made use of the wonderful rest stops on the way to nap a bit. We couldn't check in to our Airbnb until 4pm so it worked out fine.
Tuesday 3/28 - 4pm, checked into our Airbnb in Benagil. A wonderful place just a 5 minute walk from the beach. We all took naps and then husband and I drove to the Carvoeiro, Intermarche' for groceries. It was open until 9pm. Eating most of our meals in our Airbnb is how we stay on budget when we travel. This night had to be easy, so we simply cooked frozen pizzas and then tried to sleep.
Wednesday 3/29 - jet-lagged, we slept in. Then lazy beach morning. Lunch in our Airbnb. Naps and then an early dinner at the top of the hill in Lagoa, at O Litoral. We parked across the street in the lot at the beginning of the coastal trails. We all enjoyed the food and it was a very pleasant atmosphere as we sat outside under the awning. After dinner, we hiked the nearby trails. The boys all love to hike and climb and so this was perfect for us. Gorgeous views! This is the rugged beauty that made me choose the Algarve.
Thursday, 3/30 - half of us took a morning walk to the beach and half of us slept in and had a late breakfast. We took the Benagil boat tour with Taruga tours at 1pm. The guides were great and they are right on Benagil beach so it was easy to set up. It was an awesome experience! Due to the waves, they couldn't let us out of the boat to swim as advertised so the tour was a tad shorter than normal, but I was ready to be on dry land so I wasn't bothered ;) After the tour we returned to our Airbnb for lunch. Then we drove back to the lot opposite O Litoral to walk the coastal trail again. We went farther north this time, still in Lagoa but also hit Caramujeira. We should've carried water bottles with us instead of just packing them in the car. It was some rough terrain in places but oh so worth it! Our relaxing evening involved dinner and watching The Office on Netflix.
Friday, 3/31 - we drove to the lovely town of Loule'. We visited the Capela de Nossa Senhora da Caonceicao Chapel. It was so beautiful (free). We had trouble finding the Islamic Bath House, but enjoyed it once we did (free). We also stopped at the Castle of Loule' (inexpensive - must have Euros - no cc accepted). The castle and its museum are worth the price and the time. Lunch was burgers and fries at the Hamburgeria on the main street. Sooooo good for a good price. I would've walked around the town more but I was outvoted. We drove home for another night of The Office :)
Saturday, 4/1 - a lovely, relaxing, beach day. The water is jarringly cold so the guys didn't spend long periods in the water; mostly just in and out and letting the waves crash into their legs until they went numb from the cold. I loved sitting on the beach and people watching. Husband and I took another walk along the coast in the opposite direction, toward Carvoeiro by ourselves that evening. All meals were at the house that day.
(rest of the trip report in comments)