I’ve always dreamed of visiting the famous Portuguese coast. These dreams came true over the summer when my mom and I spent a couple of days in Algarve, Portugal’s southernmost region. In order to explore this area, we stayed in the small coastal town of Faro. There isn’t a whole lot to do in the city, but it’s a good jumping-off point for exploring other parts of the southern coast.

Day 1 – Faro’s Old Town

We arrived in Faro early in the morning and dropped our bags off at our hotel, the Ibis Faro Algarve. The hotel was pretty basic, but it had a 12 PM check-in time and was located near the rental car pick-up that we were going to be using the next day. We arrived so early that we still had a few hours to spend before checking in, so we took a short Uber ride to Faro’s Old Town.

When we got to the city, we were surprised to see that it looked mostly deserted! We later learned that this was because it was Sunday; lots of businesses are closed on Sundays and Mondays in Portugal, so I would recommend visiting on the other days of the week if possible. We wandered around the empty city and stopped at the Igreja de Santa Maria and the Arco da Vila, enjoying the Portuguese Modernist architecture along the way. We had lunch by the water and then headed back to our hotel to get some much-needed rest.

A picturesque street in Old Town Faro

It’s very easy to visit all of the attractions in Faro in half a day. If you’re looking for other things to do, however, you can take a wildlife boat tour or a catamaran tour to Ria Formosa. There are also several churches and museums within the city’s Old Town.

We ventured back into the city for dinnertime, where we found a restaurant serving Portuguese-style dishes. I ordered a fish that came mostly whole (thankfully the skin and eyeballs were gone!), and mom ordered the lasagna. Afterwards, we stopped at Vanilla Gelateria for some amazing gelato. It was a slow-paced and relaxing day.

My Portuguese-style fish

Day 2 – Algarve Coastal Drive

Today was our main reason for visiting this part of Portugal – a day of scenic driving along the beautiful Algarve coast. I had previously booked a rental car online through Sixt so that we could get a car with an automatic transmission. We arrived at the rental kiosk and picked up our car for the day, which was a black Renault Clio. Some reviews mentioned that the company charged them for damages that existed before they picked up the rental, so we made sure to take note of any imperfections on the car. I also took a video all around the exterior as backup. Soon, we were on our way!

Our cute little rental car

Our first stop was Albufeira, which is a relaxing coastal town with a pretty beach. This portion of the drive took about 45 minutes along the A22 motorway. It took awhile to find parking in the town, and some of the streets were extremely narrow. I’m thankful that we had a backup sensor and that we rented a compact car instead of a larger model! We eventually found a parking lot, and then spent some time walking around the town and enjoying the ocean scenery.

The super-narrow streets of Albufeira

Next, we drove another 45 minutes on the A22 to Praia dos Três Irmãos (or “Three Brothers Beach”). The name is said to come from the three rock formations that sit alongside the beach. You have to walk on the sand to get to the rock formations, so bring sandals if you want to visit this area! We stopped for lunch at a restaurant along the beach and then headed to our next destination.

We drove around 35 minutes to Ponta da Piedade, only to find that the main road to the viewpoint was closed! To make matters worse, it started pouring rain the whole 45 minutes drive to our final stop, Praia da Marinha. When we arrived, it took so long to find a parking spot that we almost gave up and headed back to Faro. But, I’m so glad we didn’t! We finally found a spot, and the rain cleared up soon afterwards. We changed into our sandals, headed down to the beach, and had the most relaxing time. The spot was absolutely beautiful! If I visit the Algarve region again, I would love to stay in a resort in this area. The day was finally turning back around.

Gorgeous views in Praia da Marinha!

The most lovely beach in Praia da Marinha

After our relaxing time at the beach, we drove 50 minutes on the A22 back to Faro, filled up the car with gas (note – you fill up before paying, which was extremely strange to my American brain), and dropped it off at the rental place without issue. We then headed back to Old Town for one last meal, and before we knew it our time in the Algarve had come to an end.