Discovering the magic of the Algarve

A touring trip through the Algarve, discovering the sea and endless beaches. Departure from Bologna with a Ryanair flight to Seville. We stayed in Vila Real de Santo Antonio at the Arenilha Guest House, in Loulè 4 nights at the Dom Fernando, in Silves 4 nights at the Quinta do Rio Country Inn and the last Portuguese night in Tavira, at the Residencial Mares. Everything booked with Booking.com at very competitive prices. We chose inland locations for the 8 central nights to savour less touristy areas and have more freedom of movement in discovering the coast and, of course, also for the lower prices. Car hire with Rentalcars. First stop in Vila Real, where it's a must to taste an astonishing salt cod.

Not to be missed nearby is Praia de Manta Rota, long and lonely, spotlessly clean, with wooden walkways over the dunes that we would discover to be a pleasant constant on the Algarve beaches. Continuing towards Loulè, a stop at Praia do Barril, crossing a lagoon on foot (but there's also a little train); the waves here are spectacular. In the centre of Loulè there are quite a few restaurants where you can eat well while spending little. Vale de Lobo surprises us with the colours of the green of the golf courses merging with the blue of the sky. More beaches......Praia Falesia....Praia Galè.....then a stop in Olhao, where you can taste the cataplana (a big black pot full of every kind of seafood). An unmissable outing is to the island of Culatra, then on to Praia do Farol. Ferry from Olhao and an hour by boat for only 4 € return in the middle of the Rio Formosa Nature Reserve.

The beach at Farol is very long, almost deserted even though we are in mid-August. We change accommodation......and aim for Praia da Rocha, a stop in Portimao for a fabulous ice cream. In Silves the "quinta do Rio" is run by a couple from Bologna....the language brings us a bit back home!. Excellent restaurants here too. On Ferragosto (15 August) we head towards Punta Sagres, the sun is shining (it looks like the colours of Brittany)... but on the other side of the bay, Cabo San Vicente is wrapped in fog. We have lunch in Sagres and then down to Praia Zavinal. At Praia Dona Ana we take a boat trip to glimpse the inlets from the sea, the admirable Praia Camilo. In the evening we delight ourselves with arroz de marisco. Praia de Marinha, Praia Centeanos, Praia San Rafael......not to be missed.

The only regret in the area, having found the cathedral of Almancil closed; there were supposed to be spectacular azulejos! The last night in Portugal is in Tavira, right next to the ferry boarding point that will take us to the island of the same name for the last beach of the Algarve. We didn't see all the beaches of the Algarve, it would have been impossible. In any case we appreciated the cleanliness, the free car parks, as well as, often, beach showers, the ratio of equipped beach/free beach.....less than a tenth of the Algarve beaches are equipped.....and the stretches of free beach are spotlessly clean! We have much to learn from the Portuguese too. It was a DIY trip....very successful, fabulous climate, we didn't suffer from the heat, ate very well, appreciated a friendly and helpful people; taking home a pleasant memory is the dream of every holiday