What to see in Faro and a day trip to Lagos: tips from Milan Bez Mapy

Faro isn’t Portugal’s biggest star, but in the end I liked its slow, sleepy atmosphere. What I’d recommend most is a trip to the Ria Formosa nature reserve, a day on Ilha Deserta and fresh oysters in the evening. If you have time, add a day trip to Lagos.

Quick factsby Milan Bez Mapy

Ria Formosa

In the morning I bought a day ticket for the yellow water taxi at the harbour; the boats run about once an hour

What I’d do differently

Next time I’d skip the water taxi and spend the whole day on Ilha Deserta

For dinner

I went to Vivmar every evening; the owner buys oysters from the fishermen every day and taught me how to open them

Getting around

Faro is small, so you can walk across the whole centre in under an hour and won’t need public transport

Day trip to Lagos

The train took me a good two hours; I saw the cliffs from a boat I chose at a stall in the harbour

I wrote this article in 2021. Prices, opening hours and connections may have changed since then, so check them before you travel.

What is there to see in Faro? The town isn’t one of Portugal’s big tourist destinations, and I’d say it sits a little in the shadow of Lisbon and Porto. Perhaps rightly so. When I posted on my Instagram, @milan_bezmapy, that I was off to Faro, lots of you wrote to tell me not to hang around there for long. I decided to give it a chance anyway, even though I’m always glad of advice from my readers.

In this article you’ll find my modest tips on what to see in Faro and what I liked there. I’ll take you on a trip to Lagos, and we’ll hire a boat to cruise around the area and the nature reserve. You might also like my article on what to see in Porto, in the north of the country.

If you have more time in the Algarve, make sure you also get to the fishing village of Albufeira and to Portimão, with its lovely marina. Sadly, I didn’t have time for either, but I’d love to come back for them one day.

What to see in Faro and a day trip to Lagos: Milan Bez Mapy’s tips

What to see in Faro: practical tips

• Stroll through the historic centre and the harbour, and stop at the great restaurants I recommend further down
• Take the hop-on hop-off water taxi out to the islands of the Ria Formosa nature reserve for a full day, and don’t miss Ilha Deserta
• Go on a day trip to Lagos and see its famous cliffs

Weather in Portugal

The weather in the south is pleasant all year round, but don’t expect the tropics in winter. You’ll very probably get sunshine, but remember that the sea here is the Atlantic, and it stays cold even in the heat of summer.

Cheap flights to Faro

Getting cheap flights to Faro isn’t rocket science. The flight takes just over three hours. I’d recommend buying your tickets about six weeks before departure: that’s when I’ve noticed they tend to be cheapest. If your dates aren’t fixed and you can be flexible, have a look at my guide to Ryanair Fare Finder, which searches for flights by price rather than by date.

Where to stay in Faro

Finding somewhere to stay in Faro was no problem at all. I usually go for Airbnb, but this time I wanted breakfast included, so I picked a hotel in the town centre. Still, Airbnb is my usual choice. There are plenty of flats in Faro, and my standard advice applies: the more central, the better. Faro is a small town and you can walk everywhere.

If you have a spare room yourself, you could start letting it to tourists too. Honestly, you can stay anywhere in Faro: in a town this small it makes no difference.

Getting around Faro, from the airport to the centre, and car hire

As I said above, Faro is a small town and you can walk everywhere. Buses from the airport cost under €3, and if there are several of you, definitely take an Uber: it costs very little here. If you stay in the centre, you won’t need public transport at all, as you can walk across the whole centre in under an hour. I like compact places like this, with everything close together.

For getting between towns I used the train, though there aren’t that many departures. If there’s a bigger group of you, a car is your best bet. Parking can sometimes be a headache, but the whole Algarve is easiest to explore if you hire a car.

Cape Sagres and Benagil Cave, for example, are dozens of kilometres from Faro, and there’s no train to either. I compare car hire prices at Faro airport on Discover Cars. If you don’t have a credit card, see my guide on how to hire a car without a credit card or a deposit.

Here are some trips around the Algarve:

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The Algarve region: Faro, Lagos and the most beautiful places in Portugal

I’ll admit that before I bought cheap flights to Faro and landed at FAO airport, I had no idea what the Algarve region was or how Faro fitted into it. It’s southern Portugal, and it’s often called the most beautiful part of Portugal. I haven’t seen the rest of the country yet, but the islands around the town alone were so beautiful that my jaw dropped. In Faro itself, I’d recommend seeing:

• Arco da Vila, one of the main town gates, rebuilt after the great earthquake of 1755. It looks beautiful today, and you’ll spot it even if you’re just walking past on your way to breakfast.
• The golden church, Igreja da Nossa Senhora do Carmo: much of it is gilded, especially the inside.
• The Parque Natural da Ria Formosa nature reserve, which is without doubt one of the most beautiful places in Portugal. Stretching for 60 km, it is one of the largest nature reserves in the country and a natural habitat for a great many birds. Even so, you can swim here and get around by motorboat.
• The walls of Faro’s old town, Cidade Velha, have a laughably low entrance fee: I think it was only 30 cents. And if you buy vegetables at the market right next to the entrance, your ticket is free. From the ramparts you get lovely views over the rooftops, so do stop here. The entrance is a short walk from the square Largo Dom Afonso III. I’d go at sunset.

A day trip from Faro to the Ria Formosa nature reserve and the best beaches

For me, the best thing to do in Faro, apart from eating oysters, was a day trip to the Ria Formosa nature reserve. It’s a group of islands with endless beaches where you can swim perfectly legally, even though it’s a nature reserve. The best way to see as much as possible in the shortest time is to take the hop-on hop-off water taxi from the harbour in Faro. They’re yellow motorboats that run regularly between the three main parts of the reserve: the deserted island of Ilha Deserta, the little town of Ilha do Farol and the town of Culatra. I hadn’t really planned any of it in advance.

In the morning I turned up at the harbour, bought a day ticket and got on the first boat that was leaving. They run roughly every hour, so I had no trouble fitting in all three places, with time for a swim, something to eat and a walk. So in one day you can see:

1. Ilha Deserta
2. Ilha do Farol
3. Culatra

Visiting Ilha Deserta, Faro’s deserted island with a nudist beach

Just between us, if I went again, I wouldn’t bother with the hop-on hop-off water taxi and would spend the whole day on Ilha Deserta. But as it was my first time, I wanted to see all three. Ilha Deserta has everything I want from a relaxing holiday: long beaches and a café-restaurant where you can pay by card. I’m not sure whether you need to book the restaurant, but they served me a coffee at the counter with no fuss.

The whole island is one big grassy steppe with a single wooden boardwalk running from one side to the other. At the far end there’s also a nudist beach. Apart from that, there’s nothing here at all, and that’s what I liked most about the island.

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Ilha do Farol and Culatra

The other two stops are on the same island, but far apart. On Ilha do Farol, I’m sending you straight to the À do João restaurant. They serve fresh seafood, with tables on an outdoor terrace a few steps from the sea. Take a stroll through the lanes too. The little white houses with cactus front gardens look like something out of a storybook. One day I’ll buy one and spend my summers there.

Owning a house on an island with a sea view is every guy’s dream. Culatra didn’t do much for me, maybe because it was the last stop and I was pretty tired by then. There are shops, a beach and plenty of restaurants.

Where to eat in Faro: breakfast, lunch, dinner and fresh oysters

• Hands down, the best breakfast spot I found in Faro was Chelsea Coffee and Brunch. For a coffee, also pop into ‘O Castello’. The terrace at the back has a beautiful view over the whole Ria Formosa nature reserve, and you can watch the planes coming in to land: the runway points straight at the café.
• For dinner or lunch, Vivmar is the place. I spent every evening there. I’d recommend the fresh seafood, along with the oysters. The owner, a Portuguese man I later got to know, buys them from the fishermen every day, and he even taught me how to open them. Drop in for great wine, oysters and a terrace on a pleasant lane in the old town.

A day trip from Faro to Lagos

I only managed a quick day trip from Faro to Lagos, and I went for one thing: the cliffs. It’s a fair way from Faro by train: I think it took me a good two hours. So if you’re not staying the night in Lagos, plan the day carefully. The cliffs are probably among the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, but I have to say the town itself didn’t impress me much. It’s a bit of a mass-tourism spot, a Portuguese version of Bibione, the Italian beach resort. Oh well. Apparently Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt once wanted to buy a house here too, but in the end they changed their minds. The most beautiful cliffs and beaches include:

• Ponta da Piedade
• Praia do Camilo
• Praia de Benagil

I’d recommend taking a boat and seeing the cliffs from the sea. On my way from the railway station I stopped at one of the many stalls in the harbour and chose a trip. If you have more time, though, do visit some of the beaches by land as well and have a swim. They’re among the most beautiful in Portugal.

The best known is Praia de Benagil, or Benagil Cave. It lies near the village of Benagil in the municipality of Lagoa, so not in Lagos itself but further east. Under rules in place since 2024, you’re not allowed to swim into the cave or land on the beach inside it. You can look into it from a boat, or from a kayak or paddleboard if you go with a licensed guide. It’s famous for its open roof, through which you can see the sky. On your way back to the train, stop for a drink at the marina: it’s right next to the railway station.

Is Faro worth visiting?

This part of the Algarve, Faro and Lagos, really won me over. Even though you advised me to get out of Faro quickly, I quite liked its slow, sleepy atmosphere. If I came back, I’d spend a whole day on Ilha Deserta and treat myself to good oysters in the evening. Albufeira and Portimão are still on my list of things to see in the Algarve, so at least I have a reason to come back.