One week in the Algarve with kids
Algarve itinerary for families - with downloadable Google Sheet and Map
The Algarve is a top family travel destination in Portugal and after visiting, I understand why! The Algarve’s beaches, stunning natural beauty, quaint towns, and family-friendly activities make this a perfect spot for a family vacation.
Our trip included a mixture of culture, beaches, and nature that I have never experienced in Europe before! Like many place in Europe, children were welcome and accepted (more so than in our home in the US), and in many cases we were given priority access and allow to skip lines because we were traveling with children!
This itinerary will include day-by-day plan, tips, a Google sheet download and map. I’ll also share suggestions for how you could tweak this itinerary to make it perfect for your family and things you could do differently.
Quick Overview: our 7-Day Algarve Family Itinerary
Day 1: arrive in Lisbon and drive 3 hours to Sagres in the Algarve
Day 2: Sagres
Day 3: Wine tour/ kids club
Day 4: Algarve’s West Coast
Day 5: Lagos and Salema
Day 6: Relax at Martinhal Sagres Beach Family Resort
Day 7: Drive to Lisbon
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive in Lisbon and drive to the Algarve
Faro International Airport the largest airport in the Algarve, but we chose to fly into Lisbon since we were going to stay and explore there on the tail end of our trip. We arrived at the airport around 9 am after a relatively short 6 hour flight from Philly. After gathering our luggage and picking up our rental car, we were on our way!
It was an easy 3 hour drive to our hotel, Martinhal Sagres Beach Family Resort. Our room wasn’t quite ready so we had a late lunch on property (with a beautiful ocean view) before checking in. We got settled, relaxed at our hotel (there are TONS of places for kids to play.. my full review is coming soon) and had dinner at another restaurant on property that night. We were tired of course but overall it was an easy travel day!
Day 2: Sagres
As is tradition for us when traveling to Europe, we slept in on our first day of our trip. We got up in time to have lunch at A Sereia in Sagres Harbor. The fresh fish was delicious and the kids loved watching the boats!
That afternoon we hung out at the hotel pool and then did dinner at yet another restaurant on hotel property (there are so many options). However if you wanted to go back into Sagres for dinner, Three Birds is another delicious and friendly option (we ate there another night).
If you’re up for more exploration in Sagres, Sagres Fortress was another recommended activity that we didn’t get to on this trip. My overall impression of Sagres was that it is charming beach town and a nice home base from which to explore the Algarve.
Day 3: Wine Tasting/ Kids Club
My husband and I were supposed to on a wine tasting this day while our kids were at the resort’s kids club, however we ended up taking our oldest to the pediatric ER for an ear infection (I’ll do a separate post on this later). My daughter stayed behind with my mom and went to the kids club. She loved it and said she wanted to go back! I believe some of time slots fill up so definitely book the kids club in advance.
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to reschedule our wine tasting on this trip, but here is the one we were planning to do. You can’t go to Portugal and miss the vinho verde!
Day 4: The Algarve’s West Coast
This was one of our favorite days of the trip! We started the day by visiting the Praia da Bordeira. This beach features dunes you can hike up or a boardwalk which will take you directly to the views (keep driving past the first parking lot to get to the boardwalk), and also a shallow tide pool that turns into a river that kids (or adults) can wade in! We started our visit by hiking up the dunes and taking in the views and then splashed around in the tide pool before continuing on to our next stop.
We ran into a short rain storm at this point (a reoccurring theme on this trip - be prepared for every type of weather!), so we stopped for lunch we stopped at O Cultural, which is in the town of Vila do Bispo and conveniently located close to our next stop. We enjoyed their delicious burgers and ice cream! Ribeira do Poço is another recommended restaurant in the area (you could easily even do dinner at one of these places if staying at Martinal Sagres).
Next we continued on to Castelejo Beach! This is a MUST DO! The beach has beautiful rock formations and HUGE dunes for kids (and adults) to climb up. When we got there our son did not want to get his feet sandy (LOL). However after watching some older kids boogie board down the dunes, he began making his way to the top and encouraging all of us to join him! Once we got to the top we were rewarded with even more amazing views. It was so special to see our cautious boy try something new! If you are at the beach around lunch or dinner, Restaurante Castelejo is right on the beach and would be a great option! However, they only take cash so be prepared. After this active day, we went back to our hotel for dinner!
Day 5: Lagos and Salema
The next day, we experienced our favorite activity in the Algarve: a boat ride through the grottos at Ponta da Piedade. This was the most breathtaking boat ride of my life! When you arrive, there are a lot of steps to walk down, so be prepared with snacks and water. There is also no shade so I could see how this would be very hot in the summer. HOWEVER as you walk down closer to to the water, you will be rewarding with amazing views!
Once we arrived at the water, we only had to wait a few minutes for the next boat. I will admit, after seeing how small the boat was and how rough the waters were, I was a bit nervous about doing this with our 3 and 5 year old. However, we all strapped on life vests and went for it - and I’m so glad we did! It was truly such a special, once in a lifetime experience! A very important thing to note is that they only take cash. I want to say it was about 20 Euros a person for maybe a 30 minute ride? So a bit of a splurge but totally worth it! We tipped our captain on top of that as well.
Since we went in the spring, we had no issue getting a boat with no reservation. However, if you are visit during peak season in the summer, it would be wise to book a boat tour in advance to avoid long waits or running into availability issues. Here are few similar tours that I’ve recommended to my clients!
After the an exciting morning, we headed into Lagos to explore! This was by far the biggest town we went to in the Algarve. We found parking close to the water and then walked to Restaurante Eattico for lunch! They had kids meals as well as traditional Portuguese seafood options in a beautiful setting - I highly recommend! Then we walked to Old Town Lagos to browse the outdoor market and pick up a few souvenirs before heading home. I recommend starting at the Monumento aos Mortos da Grande Guerra and then head to market area from there. When we were done exploring Old Town, we made the 40 minute drive back to our hotel.
As if that wasn’t enough action for one day, we ended up driving 20 minutes to the small seaside village of Salema for dinner at O BÓIA that night. Our dinner overlooked the water and we feasted on delicious seafood! O BÓIA was maybe a little fancy for kids, but since we went early I felt fine bringing them, and there were other kids there as well. Salema was a quaint town with a beautiful beach and surprisingly few tourists. We would love to come back to Salema on another trip and see what else it has to offer!
Day 6: Relax at Martinhal Sagres Beach Family Resort
For us, this was Easter Sunday! We weren’t sure how much would be open outside of our hotel so we stayed close to home on this day. Even if you aren’t there over a holiday, I highly recommended having a hotel day if you’re staying at Martinhal Sagres so you can take advantage of all of the amenities! There are so many activities for families right on site, that I promise you won’t be bored.
We started our day at the breakfast buffet at O Terraço, and I would say this is a must-do at least one day if you’re staying there. The buffet itself is amazing, but it also has an amazing view overlooking the ocean. PLUS there is a SUPERVISED play area so once your kiddos are done with breakfast, you can your sip coffee (or champagne which is included) in peace while a staff member is keeping an eye on your little one.
I plan to do a full post on Martinhal because we had such an amazing experience there, but you could fill the rest of your day with any of the family-friendly activities they offer - beach, pool, multiple playgrounds, kids club, etc! We went to the pool and also to the onsite market so that we were already stocked up on the essentials when we left for Lisbon the next day!
Day 7: Drive to Lisbon
Fly home or keep exploring the city! Stay tuned for that post!
Alternate Activities
If you want to stay longer, a few activities that we didn’t get are Zoomarine and Slide & Splash, which are both water park and aquariums that are about an hour away from Sagres.
Spreadsheet and Google Map
If you’re like me and thrive with a spreadsheet itinerary and Google map, you can find those linked below. I’ve condensed everything mentioned above into a Google Sheet format and added everything above (and more) with my own notes in Google Maps.
I can’t recommend the Algarve enough for a family vacation. It is rare to find a place that combines culture, beach, luxury resorts, nature and outdoor activities. However, the Algarve checks all of these boxes! I hope this guide is helpful - please let me know if you have any questions. And if you’re interested in planning a trip to the Algarve, I’d love to help (hotel quotes are always free). Reach out via my form below.
If you’ve been to the Algarve, what was your favorite activity? Do you have any recommends to share?