We travelled from Lisbon to the Algarve in 20 days

Some 18 per cent of the practically three million motorhome homeowners in Europe will journey to Portugal this summer time, based on Tenting-Automobile Park, the European community of Motorhome Service Areas (ASA).

The nation, with 13,000 registered motorhomes, is attracting increasingly European vacationers who need to journey on this manner. They spend a mean of €52 per evening.

They’re primarily Spaniards, French, Italians and Germans who spend at the least three weeks touring the nation from June to September.

We spent 20 days travelling round Portugal in a motorhome, beginning in Lisbon after which alongside the southwest coast, together with the Costa Caparica and Costa Vicentina, and the Algarve, within the south of the nation, to indicate you what it is like.

The place to begin in Lisbon

After greater than six hours of journey from Madrid, we arrive in Lisbon to begin the route. The doorway to town is sort of chaotic, with loads of visitors and little persistence on the a part of the drivers.

If driving a motorhome in massive cities is already sophisticated, right here it looks as if mission unimaginable. Parking comparatively near the centre and safely can be an odyssey. Within the park4night parking app, an app that each self-respecting motorhomer has, there are various factors, however few of them are convincing.

In the long run, we choose a pay-and-display web site close to the imposing and noisy two-kilometre-long 25 de Abril Bridge, an icon of town that rises above the Tagus River estuary below the watchful eye of Cristo Rei, the 28-metre-high (110 with the 82-metre-high pedestal) statue of the Redeemer with open arms.

One of the simplest ways to see the encircling space is by bike: the Monument to the Discoveries, the Belém Tower (below building), the Jerónimos Monastery, the historic quarter and the Belem Bakery the place you may style these heat cream pancakes with just a little sugar and cinnamon powder.

The centre of Lisbon can be straightforward to succeed in by metro or practice. It’s an open and welcoming metropolis and a melting pot of cultures. Much more so in summer time, and the sweltering warmth would not cease you from having fun with the place. Many individuals take a dip within the river to absorb the warmth. There’s a lot to see and go to.

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The panoramic view of town from St. George’s Fort is spectacular and strolling via the previous city is a delight. You will be carried away by the tradition and music of Chiado, essentially the most bohemian district with the historic Café a Brasileira, which homes the statue of Fernando Pessoa on its terrace. It’s intoxicating.

Its squares, corresponding to Praça do Comercio, the previous essential port for maritime commerce with stunning views of the Tagus, its cathedral or viewpoints corresponding to Graça or San Pedro de Alcántara are additionally properly value a go to.

A must-see for many of the virtually 19 million vacationers who go to town yearly is Tram 28, which crosses a number of neighbourhoods, winding its manner via slender streets and slopes, or the Elevador de Santa Justa, which connects Baixa with the higher district.

Costa Caparica, Lisbon’s seashore

Again on the highway once more, the concept is to journey alongside all the southwest coast of Portugal, beginning on the Costa Caparica, 20 minutes from the capital, south of the Tagus estuary.

There are 15 kilometres of golden sandy seashores and funky Atlantic waters, the place you may see households, surfers, naturists, locals and overseas vacationers.

Praia de São João or Praia Nova are Lisbon’s seashores par excellence, with seashore bars, reside music and sundown terraces. The additional south you go, the extra pure and wild it’s, as you attain some very massive and delightful stretches of sand.

After a few days, the subsequent cease is Setúbal, 50 kilometres from Lisbon. It’s surrounded by the Arrábida Pure Park, a protected space with essentially the most spectacular shoreline within the nation.

All through this space, motorhomes aren’t allowed to remain on the shoreline, though throughout the day, you may park your campervan and benefit from the breathtaking views. It will grow to be a standard theme all through all the journey alongside the coast of Vicenza.

Probably the most stunning seashores in Europe, Praia de Galapinhos, with its pure magnificence and turquoise waters, is situated on this space. The Setúbal area is good for itinerant travellers because it combines sea, mountains and authenticity, though parking generally is a bit difficult.

From Setubal, you may attain the Troia peninsula by ferry, a stretch of wonderful white sand, clear, calm waters and loads of wind. This can be a good place to begin to start the route alongside the Alentejo or Vicentina coast, as it’s linked to Comporta, our subsequent cease. This can be a in style vacation vacation spot for artists, designers and worldwide celebrities.

To not be confused with Sines, 55 kilometres additional down the coast, an industrial city recognized for being the birthplace of the explorer Vasco da Gama, the navigator who found the ocean path to India. Its medieval citadel and adjoining museum inform the story of this key determine within the Age of Discovery.

Wild nature and small villages

From Sines, the panorama modifications fully, with rugged cliffs, wild seashores and picturesque villages. The primary one which grabs you is Porto Covo, a small village of white homes with blue stripes and a quiet environment. It has a powerful native flavour, perfect for disconnecting from the city rhythm.

Its nice jewels are its coves nestled between cliffs. Praia da Samoqueira is essentially the most spectacular, with rock formations, cliffs and hidden corners. This can be a very talked-about spot with travellers on the highway and is good for having fun with the ocean and the breathtaking surroundings. The bigger Praia Grande can be value a go to.

Off the coast you may go to Ilha do Pessegueiro, a historic island with an historic fortress, by boat.

With the sense that it would surpass the whole lot we have seen up to now, we attain Praia do Malhão, between Porto Covo and Vila Nova de Milfontes within the municipality of Odemira. Framed by pure dunes, the panorama is unspoilt and breathtaking, with the fixed sound of the waves and the ocean wind. This can be a surfer’s paradise. It is like a forgotten nook of the world. Though the sight of two mounted gendarmes reminding guests to not park close to the seashore rapidly brings you again to actuality.

After a lot wilderness, Vila Nova de Milfontes presents itself as a extra touristy spot. It’s a in style vacation spot for the Portuguese who get pleasure from its quiet river seashores, corresponding to Praia da Franquia, perfect for households, water sports activities and secure bathing.

From wild cliffs to crowded shores

After some rest, it’s time for extra pleasure at Cabo Sardão, the place dramatic cliffs towering 40 to 50 metres excessive evoke scenes straight out of The Lord of the Rings or Sport of Thrones. That is a vital cease on the Vicentine coast the place you may see white storks, peregrine falcons, sea deer and different outstanding wildlife.

One other unmissable cease is Zambujeira do Mar, a fishing village that has retained its genuine attraction. Its small white homes with blue accents, a conventional cliffside port, and welcoming eating places serving recent fish all add to its attraction. The city’s large city seashore affords sweeping views of the Atlantic.

Persevering with our descent via southwest Portugal, we come throughout Praia de Odeceixe, one of the vital distinctive seashores within the nation, proper on the border with the Algarve. It’s located on the mouth of the Seixe River, which separates the Alentejo from the Algarve.

Right here, the assembly of river and sea creates a putting horseshoe-shaped sandbar. One aspect is washed by ocean waves, the opposite by calm river waters. At their junction, a playful present types, delighting kids and adults alike as they float downstream. Throughout, inexperienced cliffs rise excessive above, providing breathtaking views of the place the place river and sea grow to be one.

Within the western Algarve, within the municipality of Aljezur, we spend a morning at Praia de Monte Clérigo, a really accessible seashore on the foot of a small assortment of white and pink homes with a seaside really feel. Within the afternoon, one other of the jewels of the Algarve and the Vincentian coast, the seashore of Carrapateira or Praia da Bordeira.

Greater than three kilometres lengthy, it is without doubt one of the largest seashores within the Algarve and a favorite vacation spot for surfers resulting from its fixed waves. The truth is, the shore warns that it’s harmful for bathers. Earlier than reaching the seashore, there’s a lagoon of calm water the place kids play. Behind the sandy space, there are massive pure dunes the place a whole bunch of seagulls flutter about.

On this space, there’s an abundance of motorhomes and the automobile parks should be booked prematurely in any other case you will not be capable to discover a parking area.

“Everywhere in the Algarve, there are issues in terms of parking and spending the evening due to the massive variety of folks,” a motorhome camper from Seville warned me, saying that this yr, there are extra restrictions on spending the evening than up to now.

We are going to witness the vacationer overcrowding that, right now of yr, at all times happens within the Algarve and we are going to see that the pure and wild surroundings, with spacious and uncrowded seashores of the Vicentine coast, has been left behind to provide option to mass tourism.

The tip of the world

Cape St. Vincent, one of the vital emblematic locations within the south of Portugal, is simply as touristy. This is without doubt one of the most westerly factors of continental Europe, thought of for hundreds of years as “the tip of the world”.

It boasts imposing cliffs over 60 metres excessive, panoramic views of the open sea and one of the vital stunning sunsets in Europe. Right here, the wind blows strongly whereas dozens of vacationers immortalise the second.

Very near Cabo de San Vicente is without doubt one of the finest seashores on this space, Praia do Beliche. It’s a secluded and steep cove, protected by excessive cliffs that give it a hotter microclimate. It’s a image postcard seashore. It’s accessible by way of stairs carved into the rock which might be straightforward to descend however pricey to climb. Proper within the rocks is a wood seashore bar with grilled sardines and grilled rooster.

Mass tourism on the Algarve

Persevering with our route via the Algarve, we attain Lagos, a city in style with vacationers from throughout Europe. A go to to Ponta da Piedade, a rock formation well-known for its cliffs, grottoes and turquoise waters, is a should. It is without doubt one of the most photogenic coastal landscapes in Europe.

It’s, after all, additionally crowded with vacationers looking for shade among the many rocks of the crowded cove, whose waters are stuffed with seaweed on our go to.

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Subsequent cease is Portimão, one of many Algarve’s largest cities with a harbour perfect for boat journeys alongside the southern coast. We embark on one to go to the caves and grottoes on a two-hour tour that passes via Algar (Carvoeiro), Praia da Marina, Praia do Carvalho and on to the well-known Benagil cave. A skylight right here permits daylight to enter, making a magical impact inside, illuminating the golden sand and orange partitions.

After the go to, a well-deserved swim within the sea simply in entrance, with a dip from the boa,t is our reward. On the best way again, the full of life Praia da Rocha awaits us.

After 45 minutes, we attain Albufeira, the mecca of tourism on this space. Tranquillity and calm give option to hustle and bustle and mass tourism. The English have principally taken over this city, which has stunning seashores, together with the city Praia do Túnel, which is accessed from the previous city via a tunnel carved into the rock.

After the storm comes calm within the type of Faro, the Algarve’s quieter, extra relaxed capital, with an previous city centre surrounded by Moorish and Roman partitions. The city is adjoining to the Parque Pure da Rea Formosa, one in every of Europe’s most necessary wetland areas with islets, marshes and canals to discover.

Tavira: The unknown jewel of the Algarve

Within the final two days, we found an actual gem of the Algarve: Tavira. Not as famend as different cities, the city is ideal for a calming cease on our highway journey. It’s historic and chic with a powerful Roman, Islamic and Christian previous. Its white homes with gabled roofs, cobbled streets and squares with orange bushes give it a really distinctive air.

One in all its most iconic landmarks is the Roman Bridge, a stone footbridge that crosses the river Gilão. The citadel and the greater than 20 church buildings scattered all through town are additionally excellent. Its seashores are paradisiacal and never overcrowded. A very pleasurable exercise is taking the vacationer practice to Praia do Barril.

The eight-minute experience, with 1000’s of crabs waving as they go via the marshes, is a pleasure for the senses. As quickly as we attain the seashore on the left-hand aspect, the anchor cemetery, with greater than 200 previous anchors, reminds us that it is a seashore with historical past.

They function a reminder of the seashore’s storied previous: from 1841 to 1966, this was an energetic hub for tuna fishing. When the fishing operations had been dismantled, many sailors left their anchors behind, and the practice that after transported items was repurposed for vacationers.

The opposite must-visit seashore, Ilha de Tavira, is accessible solely by ferry from town. It’s a real island escape, with miles of white sand and a peaceable environment that hardly ever feels crowded.

Tavira is, for sure, the best place to get to know essentially the most genuine Algarve.

After 20 days on the highway, we discovered that the southwest and south of Portugal are good for these looking for to mix freedom and nature, particularly on the Vincentian coast and the coastal Alentejo. The wild panorama and tranquillity distinction with the hustle and bustle of the Algarve.

This journey, from Lisbon down via distant, unspoiled seashores to the bustling shores of the Algarve, captures the complete vary of Portugal’s coastal character. It’s the right highway journey for these seeking to mix uncooked pure magnificence with the mobility and spontaneity of life on the highway.