I just came back from a week of hotel inspections across southern Portugal. Some places surprised me. Some were lovely but not what I expected. Here is what I would tell you over coffee.
Golden limestone cliffs and dramatic rock formations at Ponta da Piedade in Lagos, Algarve, Portugal.
Photo©: Anna Fishman / Olegana Travel Boutique
This October I drove from the Algarve all the way up to Sintra, with a stop in Comporta on the way. I walked through ten hotels, sat down with the people who run them, and ate more pastries in Faro than I will admit to.
I’ll be honest with you, because that’s the whole point of having someone go first. One of these three places stole my heart. One is beautiful but not quite what I pictured. And one is the quiet place I’ll be recommending for years.
Algarve, Sintra or Comporta: the short answer
Choose Sintra if you want fairy-tale palaces, history and a calm resort base that keeps Lisbon within easy reach.
Choose Comporta if you want barefoot luxury, long empty beaches, rice fields and real quiet.
Choose the Algarve if you want a classic resort holiday: pools, golf, boat days and dramatic cliffs. It is especially good for families.
Most of my clients end up combining two of the three. I’ll show you how below.
The Algarve: beautiful, easy and not quite what I pictured
The golden limestone cliffs and sea stacks of Ponta da Piedade in Lagos, Algarve, Portugal.
Photo©: Anna Fishman / Olegana Travel Boutique
This was my first time in the Algarve, and the coastline is every bit as striking as the photos. The golden cliffs and rock arches near Lagos are extraordinary, especially from the water. There is hiking, biking, boating and some of the best golf in Europe.
But here is my honest reaction. In places, the Algarve reminded me of Florida: big resorts, golf communities, marinas and beach towns built around visitors. Some of the towns felt busy and a little dated. That isn’t a reason to skip it. It’s a reason to choose your hotel carefully, because in the Algarve the hotel really is the destination.
A word about the water
This is the Atlantic, not the Mediterranean. The water is cool and often wavy, even on warm days. I found the beaches more for walking and looking than for long swims.
Anna Fishman and Olegana Travel Boutique team with the traditional Portuguese building decorated with blue-and-white azulejo tiles
Photo©: Anna Fishman / Olegana Travel Boutique
The south-facing beaches are the gentlest, and every hotel I recommend has heated pools. If swimming matters to you, tell me and I’ll plan around it.
What I loved doing in the Algarve
A traditional Portuguese building decorated with blue-and-white azulejo tiles, wrought-iron balconies, stone-framed windows, and a dark wooden entrance door.
Photo©: Anna Fishman / Olegana Travel Boutique
Lagos from the water. A private boat along the cliffs and grottos is the single best way to see this coast. It’s a full boat day in my Lisbon, Algarve and Cascais itinerary.
Faro on foot. Most people land in Faro and leave. Don’t. We did a food walk through the old town with pastries, local beer and grilled sardines, then heard Fado and climbed the cathedral bell tower for the view over the rooftops and the Ria Formosa lagoon.
The eastern Algarve. The lagoon side near Fuseta and Tavira is calmer and less developed, with sandy barrier islands you reach by boat.
Something unexpected. For thrill-seekers, the Algarve International Circuit near Portimão offers hot laps with a professional driver and half-day driving courses. It’s a hit with teenagers and with anyone who has done every boat trip.
A last-morning tip. If you fly home from Faro, there is a designer outlet ten minutes from the airport with luggage storage and European labels that are hard to find at home.
Where I’d stay in the Algarve, by traveler
The sandy-bottomed pool at Domes Lake Algarve, Autograph Collection, in Vilamoura, Portugal.
Photo©: Anna Fishman / Olegana Travel Boutique
For couples who want history and calm: Bela Vista Hotel & Spa. This 1918 seaside mansion, now a Relais & Châteaux boutique hotel, sits above Praia da Rocha with private access to the beach. It’s three houses filled with original woodwork and hand-painted azulejo tiles, and it feels more like a private home than a hotel. The restaurant holds a Michelin star.
It’s adults only, and there are a lot of stairs, so it isn’t right for anyone with limited mobility. The surrounding town of Portimão isn’t where you’ll want to wander. Stay on property, enjoy the pool and the beach, and take a boat to Lagos for the charm.
“A true 5 star experience.”
- Lauren and Kevin, honeymoon clients, Portugal
The pool and ocean views from the outdoor dining terrace at a resort in Porches, Lagoa, in Portugal’s Algarve region.
Photo©: Anna Fishman / Olegana Travel Boutique
For a quieter, countryside Algarve: Octant Vila Monte. In the eastern Algarve, this farmhouse-style retreat sits among pines and citrus trees a short drive from the lagoon. There is an adults-only building and an adults-only pool, many suites have their own plunge pool, and families are welcome in the rest of the property.
In summer the hotel runs guests out to a near-empty island beach with umbrellas and picnic lunches. You can also cook with the chef or shop the Olhão market together. I loved it.
For food lovers and spa time: Vilalara Grand Hotel Algarve. This clifftop resort near Armação de Pêra has a salt-water thalasso spa, mid-century modern style and pickleball. The highlight is a chef-hosted sharing dinner where the chef comes to every table to tell the story of the meal. The grounds are beautiful. Some rooms are due for a refresh, which is already planned, so I’ll steer you to the best ones. Children of all ages are welcome.
For families who want everything on site: Vila Vita Parc. This grand clifftop estate near Porches has about a dozen restaurants, including one with two Michelin stars. It is so large it feels like its own town. The service is excellent. There is a crèche for ages one to three, a kids’ club for four to eleven and a teens’ club. It’s a classic big resort, ideal for families who want everything in one place and never need to leave the property.
A Portuguese pastel de nata on a white plate, featuring a golden, caramelized custard filling and a crisp, flaky pastry shell.
Photo©: Anna Fishman / Olegana Travel Boutique
For easy, happy families: Domes Lake Algarve. This Autograph Collection resort sits on its own lake in Vilamoura, a short walk from Falésia beach and the marina. There is a sandy-bottom pool, a heated pool, an indoor pool in the spa and a kids’ club. Family suites include the Haute Lounge, with wine, beer, coffee, soft drinks and light bites at lunch and dinner. With kids in tow, that lounge is a gift. I loved this one.
For young families who want space: Martinhal Sagres. Inside a protected natural park on the wild western tip of the Algarve, this family resort has houses and villas that come with full kitchens, washer and dryers, high chairs and connecting rooms. There are five pools, clubs from babies to teens, and swim sessions for the very little ones. Beaches with and without waves are five minutes away. It’s the most kid-friendly resort I saw. There’s a high chair at every table, and every restaurant has a supervised play area, so kids can play while parents actually enjoy their meal. The food is genuinely good too. We had dinner at the seafood restaurant and breakfast at the buffet, and both were excellent.
For active couples who don’t need the beach: Viceroy at Ombria Algarve. Inland in the hills north of Loulé, this whitewashed resort is designed like a hilltop village, with huge rooms, soaking tubs and terraces with a view to the water. It is beautiful. Know that the paths are steep and the beach is a drive away, so it suits travelers who love to walk and don’t need the sea outside the door.
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Sintra: the fairy tale I didn’t want to leave
The historic buildings of Penha Longa Resort and Igreja da Penha Longa, surrounded by lush green hills in Linhó, Sintra, Portugal.
Photo©: Anna Fishman / Olegana Travel Boutique
Sintra was my favorite part of the trip. It’s a small town in green hills, crowned by palaces that look like they belong in a storybook. Every turn of the road reveals another tower or garden.
The heated infinity pool overlooking the rolling green hills at Penha Longa Resort in Sintra, Portugal.
Photo©: Anna Fishman / Olegana Travel Boutique
Here is my big recommendation: stay in Sintra, not Lisbon. Just outside town, inside the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, Penha Longa Resort, a Ritz-Carlton hotel, is built around a 14th-century monastery. You get golf, a spa, indoor and outdoor pools, beautiful grounds and real quiet.
Lisbon becomes an easy day trip instead of the place you sleep, and the beaches of Cascais are close by. Families will find a kids’ club and a playground. For a group of women traveling together, it is high on my list.
Visit the palaces early, before the tour buses arrive.
Make time for Monserrate, one of the calmest and loveliest gardens in Sintra.
End the day with dinner in Cascais, by the water.
Sintra already appears as a full day in my Lisbon, Algarve and Cascais itinerary and my Portugal family itinerary. Either one can be rebuilt around a Sintra base.
Comporta: the quiet one
Praia da Comporta in Portugal’s Alentejo region, with golden sand, turquoise water, and iconic straw umbrellas.
Photo©: Anna Fishman / Olegana Travel Boutique
Comporta sits about an hour south of Lisbon, among rice fields, umbrella pines and dunes. There are no high-rises and no crowds. It’s where people who could go anywhere quietly choose to go. I wrote about it in my hidden gems of Portugal guide, and now I’ve seen it for myself.
I spent time at Sublime Comporta, an eco-certified resort with an original wing of just fourteen rooms and a newer collection of villas. Villa bedrooms lock off, which makes them easy to share with friends without sharing space. The interiors are earthy and beautiful.
The standout is an intimate dinner in the organic garden, where a chef cooks over fire for no more than fourteen guests. There is also a chemical-free natural pool, and a shuttle to the hotel’s beach club on Carvalhal beach, reached by a wooden boardwalk through the dunes. Children are welcome, especially in the villas, and there is a kids’ club.
Don’t miss lunch at the beach club restaurant on Carvalhal beach. It looks straight out over the Atlantic, the seafood is wonderfully fresh, and it’s exactly the kind of long, lazy lunch Comporta was made for. It’s open in the warmer months, roughly June through October.
Rent a car. Comporta is spread out and the village is a short drive away.
Save it for the end. After busier days in Lisbon or Sintra, Comporta is the place to exhale.
Add Évora. The Roman temple and old town are about an hour and a half inland, an easy day trip.
The drive south: what nobody tells you
Between Lisbon and the Algarve, the landscape is mostly fields, forest and rice paddies. It’s pleasant, but there isn’t much to see for two and a half hours.
The historic cityscape of Lisbon, Portugal, with its distinctive architecture and terracotta rooftops.
Photo©: Anna Fishman / Olegana Travel Boutique
So I plan it one of two ways. Either you fly from Lisbon to Faro, which takes under an hour, or you break the drive with a few nights in Comporta, which sits right along the route. The second option turns a long transfer into one of the best parts of the trip.
How I’d put it together
For couples, about ten days: four nights at Penha Longa with a day in Lisbon, three nights at Sublime Comporta, then three nights at Bela Vista in the Algarve.
For families, ten to twelve days: four nights at the Sintra resort with its kids’ club, then six nights at a family resort in the Algarve with a boat day and a Lagos visit.
For second-time visitors: Comporta, the eastern Algarve and an afternoon in Faro, with Évora on the way.
If you would rather see the full day-by-day version, start with my luxury Portugal itineraries. Wine lovers can add the north with my Lisbon, Porto and Douro Valley itinerary, and island lovers can add Madeira.
Who this trip is for
Couples celebrating something.
A palace morning in Sintra, a garden dinner in Comporta and a boat along the Lagos cliffs. Romance is built in without trying.
Photo©: Anna Fishman / Olegana Travel Boutique
Families who want a real vacation.
Kids’ clubs, heated pools, villas with kitchens and laundry, and a pace that lets parents rest too. More ideas are in my Portugal with kids guide.
Photo©: Anna Fishman / Olegana Travel Boutique
Repeat visitors to Portugal.
You’ve done Lisbon and Porto. Comporta and the eastern Algarve are the second chapter.
Photo©: Anna Fishman / Olegana Travel Boutique
Women traveling with friends.
A calm resort base, spa time and beautiful days out, without the bustle of a city hotel. If you’d rather travel with a small group, take a look at our women’s trips.
Photo©: Anna Fishman / Olegana Travel Boutique
Why work with us
Anyone can book a hotel online. What you can’t see online is which rooms look over the parking lot, which resort has steep paths your knees won’t enjoy, which beaches are for looking rather than swimming, and which drive is worth breaking up.
I walk these places so you don’t have to guess. Then I build the route, book the drivers and guides, and handle the reservations, so all you do is arrive.
“Like having another tour guide.”
- Lauren and Kevin, on their private driver in Portugal
Anna Fishman, founder of Olegana Travel Boutique, designs custom trips and women’s small-group journeys across Europe, and she inspects the hotels herself.
Photo©: Dania Sander / Unique Focus Photography
Ready to plan your Portugal trip?
Whether it’s Sintra, Comporta, the Algarve or all three, I’ll design it around how you like to travel.
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Keep planning your Portugal trip
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Portugal family vacation, 12 days: the Algarve, Lisbon and Sintra with kids
Lisbon, Porto and the Douro Valley, 10 days: cities and wine country
Hidden gems in Portugal: five places most visitors never reach
Madeira, Portugal: the luxury guide to Europe’s most underrated island
Frequently asked questions
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You can swim, but this is the Atlantic. The water is cool and often wavy, even in summer and early fall. The south-facing beaches are the gentlest. Most people enjoy the beaches for walking and the heated hotel pools for swimming.
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For a first visit focused on the city, Lisbon makes sense. For a calmer trip, or a second visit, I prefer a resort base in Sintra, and Penha Longa is my pick. If Lisbon and the north are your focus, start with my Lisbon, Porto and Douro itinerary. You get palaces, gardens and quiet nights, and Lisbon is an easy day trip.
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Yes, if you want quiet. It’s about an hour south of Lisbon, with long empty beaches, rice fields and pine forest. It works best at the end of a trip, and you will want a car.
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Ten days covers all three at a relaxed pace: about four nights in Sintra, three in Comporta and three in the Algarve. With seven days, I’d choose two of the three.
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The drive takes about two and a half to three hours and isn’t especially scenic. Flying to Faro takes under an hour. If you drive, stop for a few nights in Comporta along the way. Both options are built into my Lisbon and Algarve itinerary.
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For young children, I like Martinhal Sagres, with villa kitchens, laundry and clubs from babies to teens. Domes Lake Algarve in Vilamoura is great for an easy beach and pool holiday. Tell me your children’s ages and I’ll match the club and the room. My Portugal family itinerary shows how a week like this flows.