We spent 9 days in the Algarve with the family in August this year – see the main post here – , the first 4 days being in Vale do Lobo (find out everything here) and the last few days walking around Ferragudo, Carvoeiro, Alvor and Portimão.
Hosting
We rented with the family the Lucas House (rated 4.76 out of 5) through Airbnb and stayed there from August 25th to 29th. We really wanted a house with an outdoor area and a pool, but since we left it to the last minute to book, the prices ended up being above our budget and we had to rent this ground floor apartment that at least had a terrace.
The apartment is very spacious, with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms on the main floor and a renovated suite on the lower floor. To get to the main floor, you have to climb a considerable staircase and this was not very practical for us with all our baby/child stuff and grocery shopping. On the other hand, the outside area is nice and gets sun almost all day long, so we were able to put Paddy's inflatable pool there for him to have fun.
There are things that need to be improved, such as the bathrooms on the main floor, the tables, lounge chairs and chairs that are outside, the towels that were few and very rough, and some kitchen utensils. I mentioned all of this to Veronica, who manages the property, and I hope she makes adjustments to make the stay more comfortable for future guests.
Oh, another important piece of information is that This apartment is located on a very quiet street in a hill in Ferragudo, so it's a bit of a hassle to walk to the beaches or the town center. We did everything by car and often had to stress to park the car, because in the middle of summer everything was full.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 – 08/25/2021 (Wednesday)
We left our resort node Wolf Valley around 11am – read more details here – and we drove for 1 hour until Ferragudo. Our family was already there having lunch at a restaurant in the center, Portarade, and we joined them at the table in the square. I thought this area was really cute with the square, restaurants, shops, the Arade River, the view of Portimão across the river, the bridge…
We had some delicious lunches, walked around the streets a bit and then went on to do the check-in We arrived at the apartment before the time announced on Airbnb, as Verônica said it was ready. We took advantage of the rest of the day to rest, have a leisurely dinner and go to bed early for the next day.
Day 2 – 08/26/2021 (Thursday)
We had breakfast and some people went out to do some shopping. Then we had lunch and got ready to go to the beach when the sun was starting to fade. When we finally arrived at Praia Grande, we saw that the two little ones had fallen asleep in the car and we decided to keep driving to see the other beaches in the area. We passed by Infanta Beach, for the Molhe Beach, then I went down to walk in a part of the Headlands Path, where is the Ponta do Altar Lighthouse, which has a spectacular view of the Arade River and Portimão on the other side of the river.
We continued driving until the Caneiros Beach, which was quite full and seemed very interesting to me as it had a tidy bar/restaurant.
Then we stopped in front of the restaurant Outer Sea, which has a wonderful view of the Paradise Beach and it seems to be very good and competitive. Just look at this:
We continue to Coal miner, which is a village we already knew from our trip in 2016. We drove around the place, got out to take some photos and enjoy the sunset, and surprisingly, the boys continued sleeping...lol.
After they woke up, we went back home to have dinner, take a shower and get ready for bed.
Conclusion: traveling with kids is like that! Of course I would have preferred to stop at a beach to enjoy the sun and play with my 2 chicks, but we change plans quickly when they both nap at the same time! It's precious time to rest for us, right? 🙂
Day 3 – 08/27/2021 (Friday)
We had a nice breakfast and went to enjoy the Big Beach, the most recommended for children by our host Verônica. We managed to park the car in a relatively good spot, but it was pure luck, because everything was already getting crowded around 9 am. We walked along the wooden path to the left corner of the beach and set up our tent very close to the lifeguard, as that was where it was emptiest.
We spent hours enjoying the calm sea, playing in the sand, taking naps (in Ju's case) and when we were really hungry, we went back home. I thought the beach was really nice, with a view of Portimão in the distance and important infrastructure near the entrance/exit stairs, with showers, bathrooms, etc.
We took the opportunity to have lunch in peace at home, rested and at the end of the day we went out to explore Alvor and Portimao. Since the two of them fell asleep instantly in their car seats, we did some sightseeing from inside the car. I thought Alvor was really cute, with a historic center that reminded me of Cascais. Portimão is a really big city, the largest in the Algarve, with beaches, restaurants and shops packed full of people. I ended up not even taking any pictures of it… Here are some pictures of cute Alvor:
We went back home when they woke up, had dinner and went to bed!
Day 4 – 08/28/2021 (Saturday)
My best hubby's birthday!! <3
We spent the day at home barbecuing and we really missed a little pool to take a dip in…lol. At least Patrick enjoyed his! Nothing interesting for you, right? Sorry!
Day 5 – 08/29/2021 (Sunday)
We did checkout around 11am and we drove to Cascais, arriving home around 3pm. I confess that during these 9 days away from home I even missed our little corner and as always, Paddy missed his toys. Fortunately my plants survived the heat and our absence thanks to many makeshift solutions with punctured PET bottles. Long live human creativity! 🙂
