pine cliffs at albufeira, portugal

our last stop in portugal was a fancy one thanks to adam and jackie who splurged with points and treated us with a two bedroom spot at the pine cliffs in albufeira. once we arrived it was obvious that we weren't going to leave the property during our stay. days were spent enjoying the red-rock cliffs, warm water and beach bar – nights were spent with dinner on the water and dips in the pool. 

thank you again, A & J, for joining us and for spoiling us on our last two nights in this lovely country! 
 

how to find this secret beach in lagos, portugal

on our first night in lagos we tried to hear from the locals what the best non-touristy beaches in town were. there are so many small beaches tucked into coves along this coast, and it's hard to figure out which ones are accessible by foot, and which ones are only available by boat. our cute bartender ended up telling us that her favorite beach in the area was "climb downs" ... which is a name locals made up because of the steep rocky path that takes you there. we were determined to find the beach and after some serious searching and luck, we stumbled upon a few people approaching what looked like a very dangerous hike down to a beach. this had to be it ... 

the hike down is actually quite easy and very safe. the scary looking rocks definitely weed out the tourists, but when we popped out there was just a small handful of people enjoying the sand and warm water. what i loved was the swimming here – just passed the waves you can actually swim into private caves with little tiny beaches inside of them. i've truly never seen anything like it! later that afternoon we grabbed lunch in town before hitting the road to albufeira [about 1 hour east back towards faro]. 

if you want to try and find this beach: it is right between the two spots i mentioned in this post: the lookout point [faro da ponta da piedade / lagos] and o camilo restaurant. you might be able to just ask around and see if anyone knows, or if you see people climbing down – follow them! good luck ;)
 

lagos, portugal [algarve]

lagos is a small town in the algarve, portugal's southern most region. known for its mediterranean beaches, walled old town, whitewashed fishing villages, rugged cliffs overlooking sandy coves, delicious food and of course a bit of nightlife. after spending almost 2 weeks exploring porto and lisbon we were really looking forward to slowing down our pace in this picturesque beach region. 

two of our SF friends [adam & jackie] were en route to iceland and decided to divert their path to add a stop to join us on their trip – and we're so happy they did. it was lovely to meet up with familiar faces and spend some international time together. our first two nights were spent in lagos, followed by two nights in albufeira [coming next]. we explored the beaches, ate a lot of fresh fish [for basically every meal], watched the craziest sunset with no one around, enjoyed wandering the town at night, playing paddles on the beach during the day, and so much more. here are a few photos from our first day in lagos, mostly at praia do pinhao.

some tips: watch sunset near farol da ponta da piedade/lagos [this should come up in google maps], and afterwards grab dinner at o camilo. they have a tasty spritz, fresh fish and a great view. 
 

photo journal: lisbon street vibes

as i mentioned in this post – lisbon was almost an impossible city to not take photos in. every turn, every street held it's own unique beauty. some with such an old, almost run-down feel  [in the most beautiful way] – some with a completely new, young and rejuvenated vibe. the tiles, the tuk tuks, the cable cars. the people sipping espresso or wine on the cobblestoned streets at all hours of the day. or drinking beers and laughing in the alleys well into the night – there is truly an addictive energy surrounding this town to make you never want to leave.

here are some of our favorite photos from walking around the city to inspire your next visit .
 

2 lisbon day trips: sintra & praia de galapos

lisbon reminded us of SF in a lot of ways, one of which being that there is a ton to do right outside of the city in less than an hour. we didn't have a rental car, so we relied on public transit [which is great] and our airbnb host to take us places. we decided to spend a jam packed day outside of the city, exploring sintra to the north & a local beach to the south. you can easily spend weeks exploring this region, but i'm so glad we got to see a bit more of the natural beauty that lisbon is known for. 

SINTRA, things to know:

• it's about 45 minutes on public transit from the city
• it's beautiful. really beautiful. & picturesque. but unfortunately, also a huge tourist trap. they charge you to enter the castle [which we didn't do, we just walked around] & prices for food and coffee nearby go way up.
• it's very crowded, tons of buses on the small roads that makes the visit overwhelming. if you're planning on making the trip – i recommend eating before you go and arriving in the morning before all the masses arrive. 

later that afternoon we hopped in the car for a beach day to beat the scorching summer heat. according to eduardo, typical portuguese way is to have a relaxing morning and hit the beach around 1-3pm. he took us to his favorite spot about 30-40 minutes from the city, praia de galapos. it was the perfect little place to spend the afternoon. we sipped cheap beers, enjoyed swimming in the crisp clean water, and later had fresh fish with live music at a sea-shack restaurant. this is something we never would have found without a host like eduardo. #livethere

some other notable places we wanted to make it to but didn't:

• ericeira the entire town is painted white and is known to be portugal's surf hq (& yoga) with fresh seafood
• aldeia de mata pequena a rural village that you can stay in, half way between lisbon and ericeira, our good friends stayed here and say it's like stepping back in time
• cascais a popular beach for lisbon locals just south of lisbon, public transit takes you there in 35 minutes