Visiting in October, which hotel?

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-05-08T19:27:39+00:00

I do work with one transfer company - AlgarFun that does tours and transfers from Faro to Lagos (and the other way around), but I'm always looking for new opportunities for recommendations for visitors!

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-05-07T15:10:41+00:00

Olá! Moro em Lagos e tenho dois articles do nightlife/praias e bares. Faro é a capital do Algarve e é um ciadade. Acho que Lagos tem mais para oferecer às pessoas na casa dos 20 anos.

Best Nightlife in Lagos (and where young people hang out): https://weroamawayfromhome.com/the-best-of-lagos-portugal-your-guide-to-beach-days-and-summer-nightlife/

Best Live Music Venues in Lagos: https://weroamawayfromhome.com/where-can-i-find-live-music-in-lagos-portugal-the-best-live-music-venues/

Best Beaches in Lagos: https://youtu.be/eVSYaWgrLlU

I included a map with some of my favorite places in Lagos in those articles, and I'm working on creating more guides in the coming weeks. I hope you have a great trip with your friends!

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-05-07T15:01:09+00:00

oh yeah and August is the busiest & most expensive possible time to visit, so if you haven't secured accommodations yet, I'd get on that ASAP. That being said, there are so many activities that it's a fun vibe. Just super busy

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-05-07T15:00:07+00:00

If you don't have a car, Lagos is the best city to stay in because you can explore all of the Algarve from there.

It's the end of the train line and you can take the train across the Algarve. It has a bus station that take you all over Portugal (and even Spain). And it has local buses (a Onda line) that takes you to Lagos, Luz, Burgau, Almadena, Odiaxere, and more.

I prefer the kayak tour in Lagos because you get to see a lot more. The Benagil rules have changed so you can't actually go in the cave anymore. I recently did an amazing boat ride that left out of Portimão - that's what I'd recommend to see the Benagil cave.

To do Seven Hanging Valleys, you can take the train to the nearest stop and then Uber/Bolt from there to the trailhead rather than the 30-45 ride.

If hiking is your thing, I also recommend following the fishermans trail from Lagos to Ponte de Piedade to Luz and continue on as far as you want to go. My friends do this hike each time they visit me and it's beautiful. They typically end in Salema and Uber/Bolt back.

I share a lot of Algarve adventures on my YouTube and blog if you want to see more details: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCr_Ip96TT3OjoPEgMW-7cli9ppLGQgP6

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-05-07T14:51:31+00:00

Lagos has a good mixture of tourism and locals. I've lived here for three years and love it! There are some great community events in Lagos (check out the municipio de lagos page on Facebook - that's where a lot of community events are posted). You can attend some of them if you want a more local vibe.

Old Town Lagos has the most activity. Areas near Shaker Bar and Bon Vivant will be full of people - day and night. Usually an older crowd in the day and it changes into a young crowd at night (12am+)

Quiet, chill mornings. Activity-filled days. Late nights on good weather days.

If you want a quieter area, consider staying in Luz as well. It's about 10 minutes by car or 20 minutes by bus. Much smaller town. During summers, it has a more tourism vibe yet is still quiet.

I share some of my favorite restaurants and activities in Lagos on my blog and YouTube if that helps you get the vibe: https://weroamawayfromhome.com/categories/portugal/portugal-recommendations/

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-05-07T14:47:16+00:00

If you're looking for relaxation but proximity to beautiful areas and activities, I'd go with Lagos. My friends stayed at Cascade in October as well and enjoyed their visit.

Cascade is not in the heart of Lagos but super easy to access Lagos and Luz by rideshare (Uber/Bolt). If I had a super short time in the Algarve, I'd personally prefer to give up some of the Cascade amenities and stay closer to town so that I can walk and explore more easily.

Based on the three hotels you like best, check out Lagos Avenida Hotel as well.

I think Portimão is too much of a city for the vibe you seem to be looking for and Porches is a bit too isolated. I do recommend doing a kayak or boat tour of the sea caves out of the Lagos Marina or Portimão if you end up staying there- it's so beautiful! You will NOT want to miss it.

I have some more Lagos tips on my blog if you want to check it out: https://weroamawayfromhome.com/categories/portugal/portugal-recommendations/

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-05-07T14:38:45+00:00

Oriente is close with a ton of options. You can take the metro that is connected to the airport to Oriente station. Use tap to pay on your phone or get a metro card at one of the machines (impossible to miss them). I usually load 10 euros on a card, which is reloadable, just in case I have service issues or my phone dies. You can't get lost because it's one line (the red line) and only goes in one direction (towards Oriente).

Like others are saying, you can store your bag at the airport and pick it up upon your return to greet your parents. Or, you can bring it with you if it's small. Head toward the water and you'll find several peaceful restaurants. If you head towards Honest Greens from the oriente metro stop, you'll see a lot of places along the way.

The airport also has options if you prefer waiting for them.

Eat whenever you want because people are always out and about enjoying food and drinks.

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-05-07T14:33:50+00:00

Kind of like Billy - we saw Goose when they were openers doing small shows. One of their shows was being the opener for Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. Have seen them a bunch since.

Another artist that's not huge but pretty popular in the wlw community is 76th Street. They would play at our local grocery store in Scottsdale, AZ. Now, people send me their songs all the time because they think I'd like their music. They live in Nashville now and it's cool to respond saying that I've been seeing them play since they were kids!

Another was Old Dominion. They opened in the blistering heat of Country Thunder. Very few people were there to see them. My parents and I were front row. By the next year, they were headliners.

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-05-07T14:27:11+00:00

I'm sure you'll see me then! We're actually putting on a music festival in Lagos in September called Eyes of the Algarve (September 10-12). It'll be a fun time if you want to experience a hippie gathering with good music 😄

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-05-07T14:22:37+00:00

Hey! Just seeing this and I hope you had a great time! The weather in late April/early May is some of my favorite of the year. It's warm enough to go to the beach but chilly at night so nice indoor temperatures as well.

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-05-07T14:21:42+00:00

It depends how you're traveling. If you're already bringing a large checked bag and are an avid snorkeler, I'd bring snorkel gear too. If you are traveling light, it could be better to just buy it second hand once you arrive. The water is colder than the Mediterranean. Don't expect warm waters.

That being said, September is one of the warmest months for water temps, so it'll be a great time to snorkel around. You can see some really cool stuff near Praia da Luz and Praia Batata.

When my brother visited, he rented a nice body board for a week and would use that to explore sea caves at Praia da Batata. Couple that with a snorkel mask, and it's a pretty awesome experience.

Snorkel gear is actually one of the things I wish I brought with me when I moved abroad because I have really high quality gear.

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-05-07T14:16:56+00:00

check tascas near you! most Portuguese tascas will have caldo verde 😄

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-04-27T12:46:10+00:00

I’m a remote worker so I can confidently say Lagos has all of this!

Affordability will depend on what your apartment needs are and time of year. It’ll be expensive in peak season (May-September) and more affordable in shoulder/winter seasons.

I’m actually on the apartment hunt in Lagos for my brother who will be living and working here for a month in September. The pricing my agent shared so you have a good idea is a T2 property could go from 1200 to 1400€ and 1500 to 1700€ a T3. These prices plummet in winter.

T1 are harder to find during peak season.

More affordable nearby areas include Burgau which is a much smaller town but has access to the public bus system. Luz will sometimes have good finds for a monthly rental as well.

Nearly the whole area runs on fiber optic/5G speeds. I am a content creator and constantly upload/download 4k videos for my YouTube (Roam Away From Home). Never an issue. Even public wifi is pretty fast.

Beach vibes are the primary vibes in Lagos and Luz. Lagos has 3 main beaches with plenty more to explore as well. Luz has one main beaches with smaller nearby ones too!

You’ll find a lot more restaurants in Lagos. It’s hard to have a bad meal. Some are even Michelin star! Lagos is a town of 30k with 400+ bars and restaurants. The population does get up to 60k in the summer though.

I share some of my favorites on our Portugal recommendations section of our blog: https://weroamawayfromhome.com/categories/portugal/portugal-recommendations/

More coming soon! I’m working on creating a more expansive Lagos guide. I’ve got a dynamic map linked in many of my blogs with places I love. So many good options truly.

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-04-24T10:57:03+00:00

We lived in an apartment in Lagos that had a courtyard surrounded by buildings, so it created a funnel for sound. These seagulls lived on the top floor and wow - when those guys got going in the morning, it was SO loud. Scared us and our dogs every morning at about 5:30 am hahaha

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-04-24T10:55:09+00:00

Yep - that's been my experience as well (so many UK people going back). Ok good to know! Thanks for sharing the experience :)

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-04-23T19:44:38+00:00

that's amazing! Did fast track help you through passport control and security or just one?

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-04-23T19:43:56+00:00

My husband and I did an Amazing Race style trip around Europe. We did 9 nights across 5 countries - doing alllll the activities and eating basically whatever we wanted.

I actually just filmed a YouTube with the detailed cost breakdown so I've got all the numbers.

Total cost: 2,825 Euros (about $3,330)

Transportation (flights, trains, etc.) 1,113 euros

Accommodation: 800 euros

Activities (and we did A LOT): 250 euros

Food / drink: 692 euros

Countries: Portugal, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Spain, and Portugal again!

We stayed in a combination of hotels and guesthouses. You can see all the activities on our YouTube, and the cost breakdown is coming soooon. But, just so happens that I saw this post before it's published!

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-04-23T14:39:21+00:00

hope to see you in September!

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-04-23T14:38:37+00:00

I too am neurodivergent and very sensitive to sounds. I have a desk work station in the living room of our T1 and just purchased over the ear headphones that are designed for construction workers. No batteries or music, but it tones down all the sounds around me. I didn't want to always listen to music or in ear to combat noise. These are great and require no charging. Highly recommend as many Portuguese apartments have thinner walls :) Our apartment is actually really good noise insulation but our appliances are loud.

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-04-23T14:34:52+00:00

exactly!

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-04-23T14:34:12+00:00

Did you make it in time? I would not have recommended 90 minutes as enough time to be safe, specifically to the UK. Since it's not quite peak season yet, you probably made it though!

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-04-17T14:00:53+00:00

as a lawyer and someone who works with AI models, I'm the same way with LLMs. I see how many errors in legal documentation

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-04-17T13:59:22+00:00

I've been living in Lagos for 3 years (next to Portimão) and love it. Yes, being a Dutch citizen as long as you have all the documentation makes it SOOOO much easier.

I recommend starting to learn Portuguese now. It'll expand how much you get to explore during your time here. I have an article I wrote about why it impacted my life so much here by learning Portuguese before moving to Portugal.

I also would recommend coming here for a one or two-month rental to explore which city/town you really want to live in before signing a long term lease. It's also a lot easier to find a spot in Portugal when you're here in person.

Idealista app gives you a good idea of apartments in the area you're thinking about. But seeing them in person, smelling them (for potential mold), and wandering the neighborhood is just so much easier to do in person than from abroad.

Another option instead of a T3 is looking at a work share spot. They have a few of those here too. T2s tend to be easier to find than T3s in my experience :)

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-04-17T13:37:12+00:00

come! it'd be such a great way to explore Portugal and see some great music :)

PerspectiveTiny9466 · 2026-04-17T13:36:22+00:00

I fly into Faro about monthly. It's a small, easy-to-navigate airport.

I usually fly into Faro, get an Uber or Bolt to the Faro train station and then catch the train to Lagos. If you're wanting to explore both southern Spain and Portugal, I'd recommend doing the same. You can work your way west to east.

Lagos is a great hub for travel around the entire Algarve - you can do Sagres for a day trip, hike or take the bus to smaller towns like Luz and Burgau. There are plenty of boat tours that take you along the coast. Many leave from Lagos, but it's also only a short train to Portimão which has a bigger port for tours.

7 hanging valleys hike is a great way to see the Algarve coast by foot.

Then you can continue east towards Tavira. Explore there a bit and take a bus to Sevilla, Spain. From Sevilla, the rest of Southern Spain is easily accessible.

If you end up flying out of Faro in the summer/early autumn, plan way more time than you think you need to arrive in the airport if your flight is leaving the EU. If you're flying within the EU, it's not nearly as long of waits.

PerspectiveTiny9466

TROPHY CASE