The Details
You’ll be pleased to hear that we share a national pastime with the citizens of Portugal: complaining about trains. Like us, the Portuguese are never shy of venting their frustration over cancellations, overcrowded carriages, and exorbitant fares. However, for anyone making the daily commute in and out of a UK city, you’d look on the Comboios de Portugal rail system with more than a smidge of jealously – cancellations and overcrowding on our domestic scale are extremely rare, and we can only dream of prices at the low rate of a CP train ticket.
The slow speed of Portugal’s regional routes is an understandable issue for some – for visitors like us, it’s an unexpected bonus. Rather than racing from A to B, the Linha do Algarve railway meanders across the region, linking the smaller towns and villages which many visitors overlook. Granted, it’s not the most comfortable train ride you’ll ever take, but that rather misses the point – the journey itself is part of the experience: an unhurried, slow-paced perspective on the Algarve.
Your holiday begins in the east of the region at Tavira. As one of the Algarve’s most elegant towns, Tavira wears its history on its sleeve: its calcada pavements, decorative churches and riverside squares reveal layers of history left by Phoenicians, Romans and Moors. The Gilao River connects the town to the protected Ria Formosa – ‘the lagoon’, as it’s known locally. Its long stretches of sheltered beach are far removed from the busy sands of the central Algarve.
Heading west, the train brings you to Ferragudo on the banks of the River Arade. Despite its proximity to Portimao, Ferragudo’s cobbled streets and whitewashed houses have retained a traditional feel, whilst Portimao across the water has succumbed to modernisation. You’ll have the opportunity to head to sea on a dolphin watching trip, observing the Algarve’s resident pods in their natural setting. Back on dryland, our guide will take you to Silves: one of the Algarve’s oldest settlements and a former Moorish capital, dominated by its medieval sandstone castle.
Back on the train, you’ll arrive at the western terminus of the Linha do Algarve in Lagos. This historic coastal city played a key role in Portugal’s maritime Age of Discoveries – our guide will show you a more rugged and remote side to the Algarve at nearby Cabo de Sao Vicente: a dramatic landscape, shaped by the relentless sway of the Atlantic Ocean.
Your final train journey is your longest: from Lagos to Faro – the regional capital, with its popular mix of history and modernity. One last guided excursion takes you to the south coast fishing town of Olhao and the market town of Loule, ending your stay at the Quinta da Tor winery where you’ll sample the best Algarve wines.
