1. Ponta da Piedade (Lagos)
This well-known location is well-known for its striking cliffs, unique rock formations and azure waters.
Visitors can use a boat, kayak or paddleboard to explore sea caverns and hidden grottoes. The vistas from the cliffs provide stunning panoramas of the Atlantic Ocean, making it a must-see for nature enthusiasts and photographers.

2. Benagil Cave (Carvoeiro)
One of the most well-known sea caves in the world is Benagil Cave.
This natural wonder, which can only be reached by boat, kayak or paddleboard, features a huge circular aperture in its roof that lets light stream into the sandy beach below.
Adventurers and beachgoers will find this place to be bizarre and breathtaking.

3. Tavira
Tavira is a charming town with a touch of traditional Portuguese architecture.
With its whitewashed buildings, ancient churches and Roman bridge, this Algarve village is less crowded than others.
Tavira Island, which is easily accessible by ferry, has lovely beaches that are ideal for unwinding.

4. Ria Formosa Natural Park
From Faro to Tavira, the enormous, protected lagoon system known as Ria Formosa stretches along the coast of the Algarve.
Birdwatchers, nature lovers and anyone interested in boat cruises through the park’s network of canals, islands and marshlands will find paradise here.
In this tranquil setting, chameleons, flamingos and other wildlife can be seen.

5. Sagres and Cape St. Vincent
Sagres is a mountainous and windswept hamlet at the southern coast of the Algarve, close to Cape St. Vincent, renowned as the “End of the World” during the Age of Discovery.
Adventurers and history lovers will love Cape St. Vincent’s dramatic vistas of the Atlantic and sense of isolation provided by the lighthouse and soaring cliffs.

These places encapsulate the Algarve‘s abundance of adventure, natural beauty and cultural diversity.
Savor the most thrilling experiences in the Algarve with your loved ones, always relying on Lagos Car Hire for top-notch car rental services anytime you need them and Faro Airport Transfers for simple, hassle-free transfers!

One of the 32 Portuguese municipalities, Tavira has won a medal, flag and diploma for its efforts in exceeding the ecologic goals set out in the previous year. By undertaking various projects, involving the public in educational activities and raising eco-awareness, as well as through a pro-active effort to improve the actual quality of the environment, Tavira managed to score an overall 61.7% in all 21 indicators required by the ECO XXI Award. Apparently the implemented actions, sustainability policy and activities involved were convincing enough for the EU.

Located on the southern coast of Portugal, at the heart of the sunny happy Algarve, between Faro and Seville in Spain, Tavira finds its origins rooted deeply into history, dating back to the Bronze Age (1000-800 BC) when it was one of the first Phoenician settlements in the Iberian West.

After the Roman conquest followed by the Moorish rule and the Reconquista, in recent years, Tavira became a proud municipality of Portugal, being most famous for its tourist potential. The sandy beaches as well as the premium golf courses attract thousands of enthusiasts to the sunny shores of the Atlantic Ocean. The city also presents particular interest from the point of view of architecture, harmoniously combining ancient relics, Moorish mosques and the Christian medieval style with modern-day buildings.

Only 17 miles away from Faro Airport and 110 miles from Seville, Tavira is easily accessible by car, following the A22 motorway.

So let’s all warmly salute the Municipality of Tavira for taking one step towards a cleaner, healthier world and put this beautiful Algarve location on our list of places to go for an unforgettable vacation.

The ‘Flor de sal de Tavira’ has now become a product with a protected origin having made the list of protected products from Brussels.

According to the now official status, the production of sal and ‘flor de sal’ is limited to three parishes in Tavira which now have the Protected Designation of Origin – PDO – status as a result of a request submitted to the European Commission back in 2011.

What makes the salt and ‘flor de sal de Tabira’ special is that it is hand-harvested sea salt from the salt pans of the Ria Fomosa national park and the activity is limited to three parishes of the Tavira county.

The request for the salt of the region to be recognized said that it is ‘obtained by manual harvesting from the natural process of evaporation of water from the Atlantic Ocean which circulates in a system of ponds where the final crystallization occurs’.

According to the document this salt is unrefined, nor is it washed after harvest and has no additives – such as iodine. The production is limited to the salt marches in the three Tavira parishes of Santa Lucia, Santiago and Santa Maria.

Tavira salt has different levels of minerals than other salts, and this makes it more fragile, a characteristic which allows it to dissolve into very small and lightweight crystal that is much in demand from both chefs and home cooks because the flavor of the salt can change the entire flavor of a dish to give it a very unique and refined taste.

We have talked about what makes Algarve wines special when compared to others, but today we’ll look at how the winemaking industry in Algarve evolved throughout the centuries to the award-winning industry that it is today.

It’s difficult to mark the beginnings of winemaking in the Algarve, however the first official documentation of the industry comes from 1272 when Afonso III granted particular rights to several towns and cities in the region – including Tavira – in regards to their wines.

Algarve really came into its own as a wine producing region during the Middle Ages when its wines became a large part of the commercial exchange that was taking place. It is interesting to note that even though Port wine stems from the Algarve region it posed and still poses serious competition to the other types of wines that the region produces. This competition started in the 16^th century and pretty much carries on to this day.

Algarve wines have stayed in the shadows mostly, nothing particularly notable taking place in recent times, even though they were highly satisfactory table wines, however that has changed quite drastically in the past decade or so.

The last ten years or so have seen a number of new and award-winning boutique vineyards establishing themselves thanks to a bunch of entrepreneurs who believed in their products’ capability of returning on the international agenda.

We’ll talk more about how the modern winemaking landscape of the Algarve looks in future articles, till then consider our Algarve car rental services if you’re planning a trip to the sunny region.

Tavira is described by many to be the prettiest city in the Algarve, and while that may or may not be a disputed notion, what cannot be disputed is its history, having been home to Phoenicians, Romans, Moors and then to many various Northern European settlers.

To the west of Tavira you’ll find Balsa, a large Roman-built town, unfortunately there was little to no political will to conserve its ruins, and allegedly the ruins were used as infill on a nearby road, a sad thought indeed.

Returning to Tavira however, it’s worth to mention that it acted as an important base for conquest and supply of Portugal’s North African garrison towns. This city also did not benefit from nature’s grace for long either, because the river silted up and as such the fortunes of the city changed since bigger boats could not access it any longer.

The place did become a major spot for tuna fishing, so much so that there is a Tuna Museum in the Vila Gale Albacora hotel to the east of Tavira. Then at the Barril Beach near Santa Luzia to the west of the city you’ll find the anchor graveyard, a truly interesting and slightly ominous place to visit. It came about when the fishing industry started declining during the ‘60s and hundreds of now useless anchors were buried here.

Employ our Algarve car hire services to take your own Algarve guide.

The town of Tavira has a very pretty little square, the Praca da Algoa, also known as the Bishop’s Square because of the statue of Antonio Maria Marcelino Franco that can be found there. Now the statue has been fully restored thanks to recent cleaning work that has been recently undertaken in the city.

The statue of the former Algarve Bishop was initially erected in 1981, is surrounded by picturesque gardens and small, intimate cafes and restaurants, a wonderful place to meet friends and hang out. He was a man that was born in Tavira, appointed Bishop in 1920 and then served the church and the people of Tavira till his death in 1955.

One other statue memorial that has received a much deserved makeover is the statue of Joaquim lopes, in Olhao. His claim to international fame is that he saved many people from the sea’s treacherous currents which are a staple in the area where the Oeiras and Tagus rivers meet each other.

For about forty years, he rescued may sailors including the crews of three British ships, French vessels and Spanish ones.

He saved so many different nationalities that many countries bestowed numerous awards to Joaquim Lopes and he was also honored by the British Government for saving the ship British Queen, and also received the top honor from Portugal’s government as well, the Order of the Tower and Sword.

However in 1890 he returned his British awards to the British government in response to the 1890 British Ultimatum, which has been seen by Portuguese historians and politicians of the time to be one of the most outrageous act of Britain against its oldest of allies.

But that was a long time ago, and Joaquim Lopes lived to the grant old age of 92, and his statue now stands to remind people of his achievements.

These Algarve monuments are just a few examples of what you can visit on your trip to the Algarve, so make sure that you employ our Algarve car rental services in order to see as many monuments as possible.

Those who will be heading here will notice how easy it is to get around the town thanks to it having been built on a grid system, which is something that not many other Algarve settlements can boast. With the help of our small Vila Real de Santo Antonio guide you should get a better idea of what it is that the town can offer you and whether or not you should seriously consider vacationing here.

The town’s grid system was designed by the Marques de Pombal who was rather keen on testing this new type of town planning after all the original settlements in the area were eroded by the beginning of the 17^th century. The Royal charter founding the town was signed on the 30^th of December 1773 and by August 6^th of next year, the Town Hall, Customs House and the barracks were already completed.

Towards the end of the 19^th century, the town was a major player in the canning industry, especially for sardines and tuna, and the port was constantly busy with the ships that sailed the river. As a sign of this very industrial focus of the town, Vila Real de Santo Antonio was the first town in the Algarve to be lit with gas, back in 1886. Nowadays the town thrives on a combination of fishing, agriculture and of course, tourism.

The main road of the town and of the region pretty much, runs straight from Monte Gordo to Vila Real and the Avenida da Republica runs along the front of the town, parallel with the Guadiana River. The river-front is very well developed featuring well laid out trees and water features as well as a marina which is great for watching boats.

The town’s grid system was designed to feature a large town square and the Praca marques de Pombal is truly a sight to see, being surrounded by orange trees and populated with low buildings, shops, cafes and outdoor restaurants. Behind the square you will find the Centro Cultural Antonio Aleixo – this used to be the old market, but the space is now used for temporary exhibits and various events. Nearby there’s a museum dedicated to Manuel Cabanas a local painter and wood engraver.

What it all comes down to is that Vila Real de Santo Antonio is a very relaxed and quiet town, an ideal holiday destination for those looking for a relaxing and peaceful type of vacation. Just like Monte Gordo the town is very flat, and this makes it idea for walking and cycling around it, however getting here can be arranged with the help of some Vila Real de Santo Antonio transfer from Faro Airport if you’re planning to spend your entire holiday around these parts. Otherwise you may want to consider some Vila Real de Santo Antonio car hire services.

The town features an absolutely lovely open sandy beach which is a couple of kilometers long, actually stretching close to Tavira.

Vila Real de Santo Antonio is part of a larger region, the Baixo Guadiana region, a place characterized by wonderful environment where the sun, sea, river, mountains and friendly inhabitants create a wonderful atmosphere to live and thrive in.

Related to this very laid-back approach to life, you can enjoy a boat trip along the Guadiana to Alcoutim for a special way of seeing the surroundings because it passes through some beautiful countryside and you’ll get to see the change in geography from very flat plains to rolling hills and lush vegetation.

Obviously this has been just a very short description of only some of the characteristics of Vila Real de Santo Antonio and its surroundings, rest assured that simple words and images can’t really do it any justice, once you’re there you’ll know that you’ll never be bored while on your trip here so you might as well focus on taking in as much of the place as possible.

Just like the rest of the region, Tavira spent quite a few centuries under Arab rule, in this case it was between the 8^th and 13^th centuries, after which it was conquered by the Knights of the Order of Santiago in 1242. Then between the 16^th and 18^th centuries, Tavira was the main trading port in the region. As you can plainly see, a very rich history, and we’ll try to give you a general overview on the place with this short Tavira guide.

What makes the town of Tavira stand out from most of the other Algarve towns is that it managed to somehow stave off the influence of mass tourism and preserve its unique traditions and handsome character. Part of this character is the seven arch bridge which spans the Gilao river; while its current appearance dates from the 17^th century, the bridge itself is believed to have been built by the Romans. Severe floods affected the bridge back in 1989 and ever since it has only been open to pedestrian traffic, so you can still get to cross it, only you’ll be doing it on foot and some might argue that this is a much better way.

The river is a major part of the town, Tavira’s river front being populated with a plethora of shopping, dining and other types of opportunities. For instance the market hall present here was re-vamped a few years ago and now plays host to many shops, cafes and restaurants with its central area being reserved for exhibitions and other special events.

The entire river front is a great place for a walk or for a sit at one of the cafes and enjoy the incredibly quiet and picturesque setting. The gardens located near the bridge are a particularly great place to sit down and relax in the shade and usually you’ll see quite a few groups of older men chatting away the day or playing some dominoes.

Before we go any further we should mention that the town isn’t very far away from Faro and in fact you can quickly reach it by using some Tavira transfer from Faro Airport services.

Back to what sets the town apart, the place has some of the finest churches that you’ll see in the entire region of the Algarve and that’s saying something. Not only are they very beautiful, but there’s also quite a few of them, more than twenty in fact, which can be found in and around the town.

The church that is usually mentioned to be the finest in town is the 16^th century Igreja da Misericordia; this might be largely due to its blue and white azuejos, and wonderful carvings and scenes from the life of Christ. Close-by you can find the older Igreja da Santa Maria do Castelo which dates back from the 13^th century; this is where you’ll find the tombs of seven Christian knights of the Order of St. James who were killed by the Moors during the many battles that raged in the region in medieval times. This church is called ‘do Castelo’ because it is located near the 13^th century castle which was rebuilt by King Dinis from what were Moorish fortifications. Nowadays it is used for tourist visits and to offer fantastic views across Tavira.

The churches, while there’s quite a few of them, are only a part of the architectural heritage of Tavira, the town showing signs of defensive structures dating from the Phoenician, Islamic and Portuguese eras of leadership and you can find out where yo look for these things in a booklet printed by the Tavira Municipal Council.

The have been only a couple of the major sights to keep in mind when visiting the town of Tavira, rest assured that there are many more than these, of a much greater variety as well. The best way of seeing the town and enjoying your vacation at the same time will be with the help of some Tavira car hire services, so make sure to keep those in mind when you budget for your trip to the Algarve.