Max tells us about his Algarve Coastal Walk, which followed the most southerly section of the Rota Vicentina.
My Algarve Coastal Walk was something that I had been considering ever since Ian came back from his cycle trip and raved about the scenery and off-the-beaten-track feel. I decided to explore the southern end of Portugal’s west coast on foot, because it felt like the best way to fully immerse myself in the landscape of this region.
The Algarve we walked through is very different to the popular perception of this part of Portugal. Western Algarve has a very rural and remote feel, and the paths we walked were not overcrowded. Far from it, we were the only ones on the trail, particularly inland. The varying geology of the coast has two things in common across the rock types: steep cliffs and gorgeous golden beaches. Beyond the coast, there are low rolling hills with pine and cork forests, and rural pastures.
Our week of walking took us through the rural Algarve that many tourists don’t get to see. We enjoyed empty golden beaches, varied coastal and cliff scenery, paths bordered with a rich variety of plants and flowers, fascinating coastal limestone pavements, hidden valleys, serene forests, and sleepy towns. Some of the path followed the clifftops, dipped up and down across an undulating landscape. We loved walking along the breezy tops because the views were fantastic, but also enjoyed the sections along the beach. If you want to cool off in the sea, there’s ample opportunity for a refreshing dip.Heading inland for some parts of the trail meant that we saw even more variety of scenery, passing cork forest and farmland.
The route is definitely for people who are used to walking day-on-day, with distances around 18-20km per day. We organised our trip with luggage transfers and the local team we worked with were very friendly and efficient. The walking paths have plenty of variety, from sand to loose gravel, and baked mud to limestone pavement, as well as unsurfaced vehicle tracks. Each day we started walking at around 9:30 am and reached our destination by around 4pm, so plenty of time to relax and find dinner. We finished with two nights in the wonderful Memmo Baleeira in Sagres. This was supposed to be a rest day but, we organised an extra transfer so we could walk a little of the south coast back to Sagres. This was well worth it for extra miles with sunshine and smiles
I would definitely like to go back to see more of the Algarve, even to repeat the wonderful journey we had along the If you’re interested in a Walking Holiday on the Wild Algarve Coast.
