The Algarve

One of the most popular tourist destinations on the Algarve and certainly one of my favourites, Lagos is a bustling town full of activity, nightlife and modern attractions. However, it is also a town full of history and the monuments and architecture which take us back to the many different peoples who have settled here and the many maritime adventure which have started in Lagos' impressive natural harbour.

Surrounded by fertile fields of trees bearing fruit, olives and the almonds for which the Algarve is famous, Faro is a large town of over 50,000 inhabitants, the administrative capital of the province, lies at the heart of the Formosa Estuary. Under Moorish rule the port of Faro was of great importance but more recently it is the airport which serves as the entry point for millions of holidaymakers who flock annually to the south of Portugal.

Central on the Algarve coast and only 40 minutes away from the Faro airport, Albufeira has been the most popular holiday destination in the south of Portugal since the 1970s. Originally a fortified Roman town, and for centuries a typical algarvian fishing village awash with simple white houses and the smell of grilled sardines, this picturesque location is now a thriving tourist town offering activity and diversion day and night, and surrounded by a host of beautiful beaches.

Praia de Garrao is one of the principal beaches that serve a collection of high-end resorts known as the 'Golden Triangle'. Originally consisting of little more than sandy beach and pine forest, the Vale do Lobo was developed for tourism in the 1960s, closely followed by the neighbouring Quinta do Lago. The Vale do Lobo boasts a riding school, which offers fantastic rides along the beach, and the most famous tennis academy in the country, patronised by Tim Henman.

Just 8km west of Portimao, one of the largest towns in the Algarve, and within walking distance of Praia da Rocha's pumping late night party scene, Alvor with its huge sandy beach offers a relatively peaceful and calm alternative.

Faro's main beach is a long, narrow sandy bar reached by a road that crosses the lagoon just south of Faro airport. A typical 'ilha' beach, Praia de Faro is a long sweep of sand with both a sea-facing side and a sheltered lagoon-facing side.

Continue northwards along the coast from Praia do Castelejo for around ten kilometres and you will arrive at the village of Carrapateira, which is little more than a collection of surf shops, a grocery store, a small market, a pavement café and a bakery.

Sixteen kilometres north of Carrapateira lies the village of Aljezur, which is considerably larger than Carrapateira and probably one of the prettiest and liveliest towns on the western Algarve. From here buses run to a couple of outstanding beaches, the largest of which is Praia da Arrifana, ten kilometres to the south west.

The Ilha da Armona, on which the Praia is situated, is one of three islands off the coast around Faro that form part of the extensive Ria Formosa National Park, a small archipelago of lagoon islands that stretches east 50km from Faro to the Spanish border. Armona, Culatra and Farol, known as the sandbank islands, all feature long, sandy beaches, made peaceful by their relative inaccessibility.

Literally translating to 'half beach', this vast expanse of sand near the interesting old town of Lagos wraps itself around one of the biggest bays in Europe. The wide bay offers protection from rough seas, which makes this long beach of soft, white sand particularly popular with families.