Portimao holidays

Holidays to Portimao bring great seafood and shopping to the table, and put one of Portugal's best beaches just around the corner.

The biggest beach around

Portimao’s thick as thieves with Praia da Rocha, the pint-sized town right next door that comes with a stunner of a beach. The biscuit-coloured sand stretches out for around two kilometres, backed by huge, camera-friendly cliffs. The shoreline shelves into the gentle, clear waters, so families are well catered for. Everyone’s a winner, though – a little further out, the waves are primed and ready for windsurfers and bodyboarders.

A maritime heavyweight

This place started out as a trading post and small commercial port, thanks to its handy riverside setting.These days, it’s reinvented itself as a tourist-loving town. It’s put on a smart waterfront promenade, with palms, gardens and open-air cafés for wining and dining. And you can step on board boat trips from this very spot – some cruise the coast, while others trace the Arade River.

Close by Lagos

Take a 20-minute train ride down the coast, and you’ll find yourself in one of the Algarve’s most popular seaside resorts – Lagos. You’ll find a bevy of historical hotspots here, like the building which housed colonial Europe’s first slave market. And there’s a first-class collection of neon-lit, open-all-hours bars. Not to mention, the town’s right next to the four-kilometre-long Meia Praia – a sweep of sand that stretches all the way around the bay.