A Guide To Algarve Beach Bliss

T he 60 miles of coastline        the cheap Algarve holiday          along the west of               resorts, but offers a delightful   Portugal’s Algarve region       getaway for families or couples.   offer some of the continent's                                            best bathing spots, with an           Amongst the area’s attractions     amazing variety of beaches for        are its vast uncrowded beach and   all kinds of holiday. Algarve’s       great restaurants along the        extensive coastline brings other      waterfront where freshly caught    attractions for the Portugal          bream, bass and cuttlefish are     holiday maker - with all the          fried on enormous barbecues.       amazing seafood on offer, it's no                                        surprise the Portuguese eat more      A short walk over the dunes from   fish than anyone else in Europe.      Alvor is Meia Praia, a four-mile                                         crescent of soft white sand        The Brits have been taking cheap      curving toward the city of Lagos.  Algarve holidays since the 1970s,     Meia Praia becomes a boisterous    but some areas have escaped           family beach near the town where   overdevelopment and are perfect       locals take a rowboat ferry        for lazy beach holidays and           across the narrow Bensafrim river  energetic surfing trips alike.        to reach the sands.                Here are some of the best spots                                          to lay out your beach towel and       Lagos                              picnic basket on a cheap Algarve                                         holiday.                              Lagos has something of a                                                 swashbuckling air with its river   Alvor beach, Algarve                  mouth fortress and medieval                                              walls. Its narrow streets fill up  The town of Alvor was once a          with Portugal holiday makers on    small fishing village. These days     summer nights and it has a         it is still quieter than most of      youthful, barhopping crowd who     use the city as base camp for                                            surfing trips.                        Surfing spots                                                                                               There's also culture to be found      Head to the west and the coast     in Lagos' art galleries or            begins to get wilder. The beach    open-air concerts beneath the         at Algarve’s Martinhal resort,     city walls. The church of Santo       near the town of Sagres, rises to  Antonio is lined with intricate       a mountainous sand dune that is    woodcarvings coated in gold leaf      exposed to powerful winds, and     plundered from Brazil.                this makes it a challenging                                              favourite for windsurfers.         Running south from Lagos is the                                          Costa d'Oiro - the golden coast -     North of Sagres, the coast has     a string of sandy coves tucked        some of Europe's best spots for    among crumbling sandstone cliffs      surfing. The rugged, wind-swept    leading the saltwater caves and       landscape here seems a world away  weird rock formations at the          from the gentle waters and almond  Ponta da Piedade headland - the       and citrus groves that can be      ideal place to watch the sun set      found in the centre of the         on a romantic Algarve holiday.        Algarve.                                                                                                    At the restored market hall in        The beaches here are remote and    Lagos, the array of freshly           undeveloped, but are great for     caught seafood is dazzling, from      those hoping to ride the waves,    tiny sardines and baby squid to       or simply to get away from the     the great snakelike silver            crowds to soak up the sun and the  scabbard fish or torpedo-sized        sound of the surf on a more        tuna.                                 remote and empty Algarve beach.    About the Author Daniel Eyre is the Product Manager of Search Travel Online. Search Travel Online is part of the Co-operative Group, specialising in cheap Algarve holidays. Published At: www.Isnare.com