Day 14 & 15 : Sunday and Monday Farewell Alentejo and Hello Algarve!
The Algarve is renowned for its sandy beaches and sunny skies. The climate is more mediterranean and landscape more North African. It is a tourism hub for Portugal which brings in up to 8 million visitors a year! Arriving at Praia da Luz, on the Western side of the Algarve we can immediately see why it is so popular, the climate is incredible, beaches magnificent, most people speak English and its very easy to get around.
We park in a prime camp spot (we are very happy with our find!) and setup camp. Will has even put in the Awning pegs to keep the legs down which means we are staying for a while 😉 We are at Orbitur Camping Park – Valverde which is a ten minute drive from Lagos and five minutes from Praia da Luz.
We head down to Praia da Luz for a bit of exploring and time at the beach. Ive noticed where ever we go there is a local Chinese shop and Chinese restaurant somewhere in the town. There is also atleast one Indian resturant in every town 🙂 They are everywhere!
This morning James and I took a really early run back into the sleepy town of Luz, no one on the streets yet and no cars on the roads. It was really peaceful and beautiful to watch the sun come up and fill the town with warmth another day.
Next stop, a trip into Lagos knows to be a very historic and lively city.
Starting at Praia da Batata we walked along the Marina and hopped on the local city train tour (7 stops covering the Lagos coastline) It really is a fantastic way to see a vast stretch in a short period (about an hour train ride)
We walked into the Marina, along the beach paths and took in the grand statues, monuments and castles along the waters edge! At lunchtime we stopped at a local resturant and enjoyed the seafood that this seaside town has to offer!
We decide to head home for the afternoon for a “Siesta” to find our neighbour has beat us to it 😉
• Parent Enjoyment Level: 8/10 (lunch was interesting with William spending most of lunch de shelling prawns for Daniel while James twisted his way around in the maneuver we have now coined “the pretzel”
• Kids Enjoyment level: 8/10 a train ride, refreshing ice cream and an afternoon playing Lego. What dreams are made of!
• Campsite Setup: Parque Orbitur Valverde is very chilled. Has two pools, one perfect for tiny tots with a slide and a big pool for adults.
• Overall Experience: 9/10 The Algarve is Magic! (It would probably get a 10 if we found a wave to ride…haha)
• Surf: Not even worth mentioning anymore 🙁
• Highlight: The beaches, beaches and more beautiful beaches
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