Lagos, Portugal feels like the ideal place on the Algarve to take a break and enjoy so many of life’s simple pleasures we often forget make us feel good. The things to do in Lagos, Portugal provide that feeling repeatedly.
We visited for around a week in January, and we admittedly went with just a few loose plans, mostly loving the idea of slower days and just seeing how things unfolded.
Through our days there, we seemed to fall on this beautiful cadence of exploring the stunning coastline combined with exceptional coffee, soulful and unexpected food as well as culture, creativity and very, very good wine. The combination of breathtaking nature alongside beautiful old town charm and culture through food, drink and art felt rare.
It’s been a long time since we’ve experienced a place in Europe that gives you the best of from pretty much every angle you may want for a break. Lagos has it and then some.
Our Lagos, Portugal travel guide is perfect for you whether you’ve already booked a trip and are planning things to do and places to explore or simply want to scan through to get a feel for whether Lagos is your kind of place.
The difference here is that we’ve included everything you need to know to actually experience it rather than vague suggestions that still need a lot of further research.
We’ve also included all the information we wish we’d known before we planned our trip to help make your planning easier. So read on to discover all the best places to explore in Lagos, Portugal.
The Best Places to Explore and Things to do in Lagos, Portugal
The great thing about Lagos and the surrounding area is that it’s big enough to entice you but also small enough that it doesn’t feel overwhelming. We loved the pace this offered us, and came back feeling completely rested, relaxed and energized.
Our guide below covers our carefully curated ideas of things to do in Lagos, Portugal from our own experience of exploring this unique place that just has so much to offer.
We’re not going to bombard you with an endless, fleshed out list, instead, we’ve focused on the things we did that we felt made our trip what it was (and so memorable).
We’ve included a Google Map below with all the pins of places we’d recommend. We’ve covered food and drink, bakeries, coffee shops, shops, artist studios and coastal areas to check out.
Just click the top left box with the arrow to see all of the locations come up to scroll through. If you click through, you can save the locations to your own Google Maps to make things easier when you’re there.
Get Enticed by Lagos’ Beautiful Old Town
The thing that got us with Lagos Old Town was that unlike a lot of other historical centers, there weren’t really any notable or specific things to do by way of galleries or museums, and yet, it felt like it had so much to explore.
Lagos Old Town is more about wandering than sightseeing, exploring the streets, azulejos and old architecture that has this kind of slightly shabby, but chic, loved and unique Portuguese feel.
Whilst Lagos is absolutely touristy, it feels more like a lived-in town than a tourist attraction as such. By that, we mean that you won’t find every single shop selling the same thing. There is a sense of uniqueness and identity in the food, artists spaces, cafes and everything in between.
We came to think of Lagos Old Town more as a base to explore the shops, find new places to eat, people watch, get coffee and spend time in some of the artsy and makers spaces that exist here. Think of Lagos Old Town more like a cool base from which to explore, and you’ll fall for it’s charm just like we did.
We’ve included our pins in our Google Map above for all the specific places we’d recommend exploring when it comes to the things to do in Lagos Old Town, Portugal.
These are categorized by cafes, places to eat and spaces to visit that include ceramic studios, smaller artist shops and even places to pick up traditional Portuguese tiles (they have a great, but small selection in Mar d’Estórias (location above).
We came home with some beautiful ceramics and homeware on this trip in Olaria Nova, from actual makers rather than large run production as well as a lot of beautiful olive oil and port.
We’d recommend giving yourself a couple of afternoons to just look around Lagos Old Town and then explore more in the afternoons and evenings for food, coffee and anything in our pins that interests you.
Explore the Iconic Algarve Coastline Around Lagos
The Algarve coastline is truly iconic. It’s well known for its rugged cliffs and rock formations that carve out the shapes of the bays, the turquoise waters and colored rocks that give this area it’s unique feel.
One of the key reasons to visit Lagos is to explore the incredible coastline this area has to offer either on your doorstep or within about a 40-minute drive. What’s best to explore will really depend on the time of year you visit, but whatever time you do, there is something utterly breathtaking to see.
We’ve divided up this section into some of the key things you can explore on the Lagos coastline around this section of the Algarve, but whatever time you visit, the coast has this constant presence which is hard to explain and not easy to forget.
Hiking Near Lagos
One of the main reasons we decided on Lagos, was the hiking. All along this section of coast in Portugal are long distance hiking trails that you can do as much shorter routes in specific areas.
The hiking in Lagos is absolutely incredible, and staying in Porto de Mós, we had hiking trails on the rugged cliff tops literally a few minutes’ walk from our apartment. In one direction we had Rocha Negra, and the other direction, we were able to hike to Ponta da Piedade, Lagos along the dramatic coast path. Incredible!
A 30–40-minute drive and we were able to reach the pretty well known 7 Hanging Valleys Trail, which is close to Benagil. This trail allows you to do as much or as little as you like as it’s a linear hike, so you can base this on how you feel on the day, and what the temperature is like.
This was one of the most stunning trails we’ve ever hiked, with walks down from cliffs to the beaches that felt almost dreamlike and out of this world. We also loved that there was a sense of intimacy that this hike offered, where you could, in sections get close to the booming sound of water hitting the caves under the rock surfaces and see all of the different rock formations up close. Though be mindful this hike does get busy! (more on this later in the article).
Another trail we loved was from Alfanzia to Farol de Alfanzina. This was one of the most beautiful, quiet trails we did that got a beautiful combination of coastal forest, steep cliffs, incredible rock formations and an iconic lighthouse. It was just beautiful.
Honestly, there is so much detail we could go into here about all the truly breathtaking sections of the hikes we did, but that would be a whole other article entirely. Just know that if you go hiking, you will not feel short changed here!
We’ve put the hiking routes we did together in a collection on AllTrails here, so you can save and download them and use yourself. These are just a drop in the ocean (no pun intended) as to the hiking available in this area and we are already talking about planning another trip to explore more.
The thing we also loved was that the hiking was accessible in that most of the trails we did were under 10km. This meant we could go hiking and still have time to explore Lagos, chill out, drink coffee, eat good food and relax too. So it doesn’t feel like you need to commit the whole trip to it, unless you want to.
The hiking in Lagos and surrounding is also fairly accessible. There are some areas where you need a head for heights, but most of the trails are limited in the amount of up and downhill you’ll do and have rails around areas that have steep drop offs.
We visited in January, and the temperatures were about 15c most days, which was perfect for hiking. Some days were a little windy, but we just made sure to wear our windproof jackets and we were absolutely fine!
In summer, given it can reach about 35c, we think this would be too hot to take on some of these trails. The trailheads will also likely be very busy when it comes to parking. So if hiking is one of the main things you want to do, we’d recommend visiting in shoulder months like January to March and October to November.
Lagos, Portugal Beaches
The beaches in around Lagos, Portugal are absolutely stunning. If you visit in winter, you’ll likely love them for the beautiful hikes we’ve just covered. If you’re visiting in summer, you’ll probably enjoy them firsthand with sand between your toes and crystal-clear, turquoise waters straight ahead of you.
When we visited, it was too cold and the ocean was a little too lively to really make the most of the water and beaches, but even so, we explored so many gorgeous beaches.
We’ve included the beaches we particularly loved in and around Lagos in our Google map above, so you can save them for yourself. Though these are just a starting point of what is around. So be sure to look at what else is around too. Wherever you explore beach wise, we know you’ll love it, they’re all gorgeous in their own way.
Depending on what your interests are, there are beaches that will suit pretty much all trips. There are several beaches surrounding Lagos itself that you can reach directly from central Lagos and the old town.
There are also quite a few more secluded beaches in and around (and within a 30-minute drive) that you can walk down the cliffs to. These are often lined with stunning rock formations and coastal forests.
Likewise, there are also plenty of even more secluded beaches you can reach either via boat or paddleboard/kayak. The best way to find these is to look on Google maps and see if there are any paths down to them. If there aren’t, this would be your only way.
One of the things we loved about the beaches in Lagos, Portugal is that the rock formations that are so iconic of the area create some amazing spots for just exploring and scrambling through the rocks. Of course, you’ll want to keep an eye on tide times for this, but it can really turn a day exploring into something really personal and you can feel like you’ve almost discovered something new.
Getting Out on the Water Around Lagos
Lagos is a big hub for watersports, be it surfing, swimming, paddleboarding, kayaking or boat trips. The coast is one of the main draws of the area and this influences a lot of what there is to do here, especially in summer.
That said, if you love taking boat trips, you can do these at all times of year. Some of the most popular ones are to visit some of the more secluded beaches you can really only reach by boat.
These generally include Benagil Caves, so this can be a great way to see the caves if you don’t fancy hiking the trails we talked about earlier. We didn’t actually go on a boat trip when we visited Lagos, as we wanted to explore on foot, but we had a few recommended to us on GetYourGuide that we’ve included here for you to explore.
You can also go kayaking and paddleboarding around the coast, with rental being pretty cheap and easy to get hold of. This is easy to do through GetYourGuide here as well, and you can book it in advance for peace of mind that you’ve secured a board, especially good in peak season.
Surfing is incredibly popular in Lagos in winter as the area often experiences waves that are perfect for getting out on the water this way. We saw some incredible surfers out on the water when we visited in January. So this is a big option too especially if visiting in winter.
We were told by a local that in summer, the bays are much calmer and better for swimming, so this could be another great addition to a winter trip if you love the sport. There’s also plenty of surfing experiences and lessons you can join too, and we had this surf school recommend to us which you can book through GetYourGuide here.
Get Seriously Impressed by Lagos’ Coffee Scene
If you’re anything like us, one of the first things you’ll search for is where to drink great coffee. Is it over the top to say this can make or break a trip? Well, whether you agree with us here or not, the good news is that Lagos has its fair share of incredible coffee shops.
If you’ve spent any time in Portugal before, you’ll know that coffee is taken pretty seriously. Lagos is no different and the coffee shops here form a part of a daily rhythm.
We were really happy when we discovered just how many independent cafes and roasteries there actually are in Lagos. There is a huge focus on not just exceptionally good coffee, but the atmosphere offered by the café too.
Staff want you to stick around, get a table and enjoy the atmosphere, and it’s one of the best things to do in Lagos, Portugal. We loved exploring and testing out the best coffee in Lagos, and there were some pretty amazing contenders up there.
We’ve included our favorite Lagos, Portugal coffee shops above in our overall Google Map with all our pins, but the ones that deserve a special mention are DOT and also Everyday People Coffee.
Why did we love these two in particular? DOT just had a great vibe. It was small, and the barista, who was also the owner, really knew his stuff. He was great at making recommendations, and his cortados were the rocket fuel that was needed to get us going a few times on the trip.
Everyday People Coffee got us on a different level. It was a bigger space, with more people hanging out or working there for the day. It was busy, with great food and a lot going on.
They also had an interesting menu, and some things, like pour over cocoa that we didn’t even know existed before we tried it (and subsequently brought home a bag). We think one of the most stunning carrot cakes we’ve ever had came from here too. So don’t discount the bakes and pastries here!
Everywhere else was incredible in its own right, but these two really stood out to us. What we loved was just how much variance between the different feels of the places. There was so much variance on offer in Lagos when it comes to coffee, that you could choose your spot for however long you want to spend just on vibes alone.
Often when we visit somewhere that has great hiking and nature to explore, the coffee can feel a bit lacking. Lagos, Portugal impressed us massively. Having both just made it feel like one of best decisions for somewhere to visit we’d made in a while.
Fall in Love with Lagos’ Diverse Food Scene
It probably comes as no surprise that Lagos has a strong food scene. Portugal is well known for its love of food, and Lagos surprised us in the best way here.
The thing that actually surprised us the most was the strong diverse nature and the fusion scene that we didn’t expect. Lagos will surprise you in that way, and you can expect modern takes on traditional Portuguese food, Asian crossovers in the form of delicious bao buns, sushi and Thai as well as a very strong focus on Nepalese and Indian food.
We learned that Portugal has had a notable connection to Asian food from the 15th and 16th centuries, with the Portuguese being the first Europeans to establish spice routes. This resulted in a whole combination of different flavors that were introduced into Europe, and something that Portugal still references in some of its own cuisine today.
The feel of the food in Lagos was something else, we loved exploring the whole range of different places on offer. Every one gave something a bit different whether it was a sit down restaurant, street food or a café serving pastel de nata and other pastelaria goods.
We’ve covered all of the places we’d recommend for where to eat in Lagos, Portugal in our Google map above. There are options for everyday dinners, some a little more upmarket and some gorgeous cafes with small, seasonally changing menus.
We personally found the best food in Lagos, Portugal was at Goldig Café & Take Away, which was more of a lunch time option. Their quiche and carrot lox bagel were both incredible. As was the peach crumble tart which had a thick layer of the same kind of custardy cream you get in a pastel del nata. We still think about that desert now. Perfection.
Immerse in Lagos, Portugal’s Artist and Maker Scene
We were honestly taken aback by the number of great places to explore when it came to shops, artists studios, makers shops and also good grocery stores where organic and local produce was paramount.
It’s so rare to find a great mix of nature, food, drink coffee, culture and design all in one place, but Lagos does it so well. This is the balance we spoke about at the beginning of this guide, and when you visit, you’ll know exactly what we mean.
Wandering Lagos Old Town and further afield around Lagos, you’ll find makers studios and smaller homeware shops which have such gorgeous ceramics, art and little mementos for your home which are so far away from the kind of traditional tourist items you might expect to see that they’re not even in the same world.
We’ve covered all our favorite places to explore when it comes to the individuality of Lagos in terms of shopping and exploring in our Google map above. There are a number of locations in each section of this, so we’d advise having a good look through.
Our particular favorites here were Olaria Nova (linked above), a small ceramic shop in the center of Lagos Old Town which houses the affordable works of a family of potters. We had to restrain ourselves with how much we bought. So you may want to allow for extra weight on the way home.
A small run place that we loved when it came to shopping in Lagos, Portugal was Mar d’Estórias (linked above). It was full of beautiful homeware, interior items, Portuguese tiles, ceramics and some stunning clothing. It just felt like a lovely place to spend some time.
The natural, organic and bio food scene in Lagos is pretty good too. We found a number of shops that were excellent for picking up local produce, but also for sourcing exceptional olive oil, balsamic and port. We’ve linked to these organic and bio farm shops above too.
The food shops and supermarkets are generally a great experience in Portugal. If you have any time to spare on your way to or from the airport in Faro, we’d also recommend checking out Apolonia Supermarket (linked above). You won’t regret it if you like boogie food.
These small pleasures really just added to the trip for us, this sense of abundance, of good quality ingredients and people who care about food really shone through. We think experiencing this is absolutely one of the best things to do in Lagos, Portugal.
Lagos, Portugal Travel Tips and Firsthand Planning Notes
We’ve included all the things we wish we’d known in advance here to help make your planning easier. Whilst Lagos is a pretty chilled out place with plenty to do year-round, there may well be a best time to visit Lagos, Portugal depending on what you’re interested in.
We’ve covered that below, along with our other Lagos, Portugal travel tips and things to be aware of.
When is the Best Time to Visit Lagos, Portugal
The best time to visit Lagos will depend heavily on what you’re interested in doing and experiencing. We decided to visit in winter because we wanted a quiet break, mild temperatures that felt like spring for hiking and making the most of the coastal cliffs over a beach holiday.
Winter worked perfectly for this, only having a couple of days of light rain and the rest being mostly sunny. We got a lot of hiking in, and it felt perfect for this.
The months of November through until April are typically the best for hiking, it’s cooler, the trails are quieter and there is a clarity to the light that we just loved (and was really evident in the photographs we loved the most from the trip).
The downside was that several of the shops and restaurants we had wanted to visit in Lagos were closed until spring. Google Map shop and restaurant hours aren’t always accurate, so you could find yourself heading somewhere that said it was open, and getting there to find it closed with no indication of when it would be open again.
That said, we did not have a short-changed experience because of this, not even in the slightest!
Summer would be better for you if you want to make the most of the beaches, watersports and a relaxed holiday. Though it’s important to keep in mind that Lagos is one of the busiest spots on the Algarve.
We were told that you often need to make restaurant reservations 3+ weeks in advance by a few locals we chatted to while there. That isn’t unheard of in the height of summer in any destination, and can work if you know this in advance, but that does give you an indication of how busy it is.
Summer also gives much higher temperatures: anywhere between 25c and 35c can be pretty normal. This also brings with it beach exploring, more things open in town and more of a buzzing atmosphere. It really depends what you’re looking for.
In a nutshell the main pros and cons are:
Winter Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Cheaper flights, car hire and accommodation
- Better for hiking
- Less overcrowding on trails
- Really clear skies when exploring (can see for km’s)
- Quieter town, no reservations needed
- Amazing time for surfing
Cons:
- Some shops and restaurants will be shut, or with irregular hours
- Probably too cold to enjoy the beaches or many watersports
- Coast is rough, so swimming is limited
- Chance of rain is higher
Summer Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Everything will be open, often with extended hours
- Lively feel
- Best time for beaches and watersports
- Hot, reliable temperatures with much lower chances of rain
Cons:
- One of the most popular places on the Algarve
- Can be incredibly crowded, making parking much harder
- Flights, car hire and accommodation more expensive
- Too hot for hiking and exploring the coast this way
Coast, Cliff Paths and Access
If you’re interested in exploring the coast when you visit, we don’t blame you, it’s one of the best things to do in Lagos, Portugal, and one of the main reasons we visited.
However, it’s worth noting that some of the cliff top paths can be very close to the edge of the cliff and feel very precipitous, especially if you have any kind of a thing for heights.
Most of the trails are really well looked after and have guard rails over any sections that are particularly precipitous or have experienced coastal erosion, but some sections don’t. There can be steep steps down in certain sections and some of these can feel really exposed.
Don’t let this put you off, because these are mostly very short, but we say this just to allow you to have as much information as you need. With most trails, there is generally a trail that cuts right onto the cliff and one that is a little further back, so you can decide what you feel comfortable with.
With some of the beaches, especially the more remote or secluded ones, the only way down is via steep staircases where you park at the top of the hill and walk down. In many of the hiking trails, you will find yourself going up and down quite a lot in line with this.
7 Hanging Valleys Trail (One of the Most Iconic Hiking Trails on the Algarve)
If you’ve been searching for things to do in Lagos, Portugal or anywhere along the Algarve, there is a pretty good chance you’re going to come across the 7 Hanging Valleys Trail at least once.
It’s one of the most popular hiking trails in the area, and a short drive from a lot of the coastal towns around it, and rightly so, it is utterly jaw dropping.
Having done it, we wanted to include a few notes about it to make your experience of it easier. When we did it in January, it was by far the busiest hike we did, even on a weekday. In fact, we probably still saw more people on this trail than we’d seen the entire of our trip.
That didn’t take away from the experience as there was still plenty of space to explore freely and not feel like we were just going through the motions with everyone else.
One of the most important things to keep in mind about this hike (details on the version of this we did above in our coastal hiking section) is that the car parking can be extremely busy. Even when we visited in January, we had to drive around a few times to find a space. In summer, we could imagine it would be much harder.
There are various points you can start the 7 Hanging Valleys Trail along the coast, as it is a linear hike. However, this does make it longer.
There are some public transport options, but you will need to plan in advance and be prepared to make it work in a slightly different format. We had the Vamus website recommended to us to help you find what buses are available.
The closest we found you could get was Lagos bus station to Lagoa and would then need to get a taxi from Lagoa to the start of the trail. So you can see why the car parking gets busy!
Do You Need a Car to Visit Lagos, Portugal?
Even in context of what we said above, you don’t actually need a car in Lagos, but it might improve your experience, depending on the things that interest you.
If you’re feeling more like time spent at the beach, water sports, some short hikes and spending time in town, then you could easily make your trip to Lagos work without a car.
Uber works well in Lagos, and it’s really well used so you can pick up a car pretty much anywhere in the main town area and beaches without a problem. Though this may of course be harder in summer.
There are quite a few of the coastal hikes that you can pick up from the town and beaches really easily. If you’re up for a longer walk, they’re also reachable by just extending your walk from town too.
If you’re not hiring a car, we’d recommend you stay fairly close into the center of Lagos so that you have access to restaurants, cafes and shops easily.
In terms of getting from Faro Airport to Lagos without a car, the easiest way would be to book a direct transfer. We’ve actually been booking things like this for other destinations recently through GetYourGuide and found it really useful (it’s a site we use and trust anyway).
We’ve found a couple of options here for either a bus transfer or a private transfer, depending on the times you arrive and what your budget allows, as a private transfer does cost more than the bus.
We hired a car for Lagos, and we’re glad we did. It made it easy for us to get around and have the freedom to go hiking and explore a little further afield, to places like Faro as well. However, we could imagine in summer, finding parking, whether at our apartment or in town, would be much harder. So that’s something to of course keep in mind.
We rented our car from Europcar at Faro Airport and it was really reasonable at the time of year we visited. We always book in advance through Booking.com’s car rental section. We used to use Rentalcars.com, but this is now mostly part of the same group, so we find it easier to go through Booking.com.
Where to Stay in Lagos
If you have a car, we’d recommend you stay in one of the beach areas that surround the old town Lagos. We stayed in Porto de Mós. We decided to go for a self catered apartment because of the time of year we were visiting (as we were unsure of how many places we wanted to eat would be open). This also allowed us to stick to a reasonable budget.
Vrbo has lots of self-catered options in this area for amazing apartments, which we’d really recommend looking at. You do need a car ideally for this area, but you’re right near the beach and it’s absolutely gorgeous.
We’d also recommend having a look at Marina de Lagos on Vrbo too. We spent quite a lot of time around this area through some of the coffee shops and pastelarias we tried, and thought it had such a great feel.
This is more central to Lagos itself, but there is also more parking in this area too than the old town. This also still puts you in a good position for exploring everything walkable and being able to take your car and go a little further afield.
Lagos Old Town itself would be great if you don’t have a car and want to have access to everything on your doorstop, which will make things easier if this is the case, as you’ll spend less time getting taxis.
Why Trust Our Lagos Travel Guide
Every single guide we write is based on our own experiences. This means that we are only recommending things to you that we know first-hand are worth your time.
We don’t make vague suggestions. We’ll tell you how to do it, where to go and all the main information you need. Not just give you an idea and then expect you to have to open 10 other tabs to get everything together you need.
We believe this is one of the things that matters most when it comes to helping you actually plan a trip that feels good. We’re incredibly grateful that you trust us to be part of one of the most important parts of your trip, and we don’t take it for granted.
Enjoy Lagos, Portugal
We had one of the most stand out trips we’ve had in a while when we visited Lagos. We hope this guide has made it pretty easy to see why. That combination of incredible beaches, hiking, watersports, culture, old town feel, good food, good drinks and amazing artisans just makes the place feel alive.
Whether you came to this guide on the things to do in Lagos, Portugal after booking your trip or are still on the fence about getting it planned, we hope we’ve given you some inspiration through our recommendations and pictures as to just how stunning this place really is.
One day, we were sat in one of our favorite coffee shops of the trip and Matt said ‘I love this. Going hiking in the morning, exploring the town and getting food at lunch and then getting pretty caffeinated in the afternoon…kind of feels like my idea of heaven’. This line pretty much summed Lagos up for us: happy memories.
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