Around Porches

Closer to Porches there are a number of coastal towns worth a visit. To name a few:

Armacao de Pera - has one of the largest beaches in the Algarve. It's not a great looking resort, with a large number of high rise apartments, but there are some great places to eat ranging from cafes with snacks along the beach area and a variety of restaurants offering a set price 'tourist menu' which is usually 3 courses with bread/olives and wine.

Praia da Marinha - one of the most beautiful and emblematic beaches of Portugal, considered also as one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in Europe and one of the 100 most beautiful beaches in the world by the Michelin Guide. There are some great caves which would suit any explorer, and even more exciting is you can only access them at low tide without a boat!

Carvoeiro - an over touristy resort with expensive eateries. This is a nice place but too touristy and expensive in comparison to everywhere else in the nearby area, at least in my view.

Sadly, after a lovely few days with friends, we had to start heading East and onto Spain. Typically, after a few days of cloud and windy weather finally its almost warm enough for shorts, so we are hoping for good weather over the border too.

Stopping overnight, for our last night in Portugal, we chose Tavira as our final destination. En-route we ticked off:
 
Albufeira - this has an escalator and lift to the beach! There is a beautiful square but it's crammed with restaurants.  

Vilamoura - Upmarket hotels and exclusive leisure facilities including a marina a golf courses. This isn't for the budget traveller, so we stopped for a photo and exited!

Tavira

What a lovely end to our visit to the Algarve. This is definitely my favourite town along the coast of the Algarve. 

Tavira warrants a visit of at least a full day, but could easily fill two or three, with its Roman origins and castle ruins. This little town was largely rebuilt after the consequential earthquake of 1755 and now houses some almost elegant buildings and a cute little square. It's probably the least touristy place in the Algarve, or perhaps it feels that way because it is out of season and the only beach is situated on an island just out of town.

Walk along the river, hang out in cafe's and restaurants on the square, explore the castle ruins and check out the Camera Obscura located in the water tower close by, there is an abundance of things to pick from to fill your time here.

I loved it and would recommend basing yourself here if you want to avoid the tourist traps in this region, or if you just want to take a day trip (assuming you are reasonably close by).

Sadly, as I have already mentioned, we need to move on to Spain now.

Crossing the border

Just as we approached the Spanish border however, we stumbled across the little town/village of Castro Marim. This is worth a stop - there's a large fort here and if you're also heading into or out of Spain it's a great place to stretch your legs.

The Schengan agreement means there are no borders, so it was a easy exit and entry over the bridge.
 
Note that crossing from the Spanish side you would immediately see an area to pull off with a tourist office where you can set up the auto tolls for Portugal on you credit card if travelling by car, which can come in handy if heading out and about and along toll roads.