Lagos is a charming city with narrow streets located in one stunner of a region. Lagos, Portugal is located in the Algarve. An area known for its fresh seafood and stunning coastline. Lagos is a great base for exploring the Algarve and/or for making a quick trip to the region. Lagos, Portugal is filled with wonderful streets to explore and great food to eat. Plus it is in driving distance of some truly incredible beaches. The perfect 5 day travel guide below focuses both on rest and seeing some of the best of what Lagos and the surrounding region has to offer. You can use our sample plan or pick/choose your own adventure for creating the perfect 5 day trip to Lagos, Portugal. So keep scrolling for the perfect 5 day travel guide to Lagos, Portugal for 2024.
At Pragmatic Travelers, we only recommend what we have actually eaten, stayed at and experienced. So you know these recommendations are based on experience not a round up of internet research.
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How to get to Lagos, Portugal?
To start your perfect 5 day trip to Lagos, you have a few options:
From Faro: If you fly into Faro or take one of the high speed trains from Porto or Lisbon you have a few options. One, is to rent a car and drive the 60 minutes to Lagos. This would be my recommendation, so you can explore the rest of the Algarve region with ease. OR you can take the Comboios Regional Train from Faro to Lagos. It takes about 1.5 hours. You can also take a bus with Faro to Lagos with Eva Transportes. This will last about 2 hours and cost under $15.00
From Lisbon or Porto: I drove from Lisbon and it was a quick/easy journey down the highway. I do recommend this option as a car gives you more opportunity/flexibility to explore. You can also take high speed trains from both Lisbon and Porto but these will go into Faro. (See above for more details.) You can also take slower regional trains but you will have changes so not sure it is worth your time. Another option is take the bus from Lisbon with FlixBus. This will take about 3.5 hours and cost under $20.00
How to get around Lagos, Portugal?
Lagos is very walkable. You really don’t need a car. There are taxis/Ubers available.
How to get around the Algarve from Lagos?
The best part of Lagos is its proximity to wonderful sites in the Algarve. The perfect 5 day travel guide to Lagos includes leaving Lagos!
There are few different ways to get around the Algarve. My personal favorite is with a rental car. It was an easy, quick and flexible way to get around the region. I liked not having to wait for buses or trains. However, it is the more expensive way to get around.
Trains and Buses: Several towns along the Algarve are connected by trains but not all of them. Some of the train stops are outside of the towns but usually there are a few taxis hanging around. Most towns are connected through public buses. You can check schedules through Vamus Algarve or Eva Transportes.
Best Hotel NEAR Lagos
Palmares Beach House Hotel
Palmares Beach House Hotel: This amazing adults only small hotel is just 15 minutes outside of Lagos. It is a stunner of a hotel that overlooks Meia Praia beach and golf courses. Every room is massive with large balconies (big enough to hold two sunbeds) that overlook one stunner of a view. The view is seriously ridiculous. I could spend all day looking at the view with a a cocktail/coffee and a great book. The service was excellent and loved the welcome drink! The breakfast was delicious with amazing views of the ocean. The clubhouse had really a fantastic lunch. There is even a Michelin starred restaurant on property. The view, the wonderful rooms and service make this a must stay. If I ever get to the Algarve again, I will stay here.
I wrote a complete review of my time at this hotel. Check out the ultimate review of Palmares Beach House Hotel.
Map of Lagos Restaurants and Attractions
7 of the Best Restaurants in Lagos
Al Sud
We splurged and had dinner at Al Sud: a Michelin starred restaurant. Holy bloody bananas. It was absolutely phenomenal. It focused on local Algarve ingredients and seafood. It was so approachable and not pretentious. I ate so much food that I was basically a beach ball afterwards. It was a wonderful, immersive and unique experience. I highly recommend this BUT it is very VERY expensive.
Palmares Golf Club House
Now this was fantastic. The clubhouse is gorgeous and has wonderful ocean views. We had lunch there and it was phenomenal. One of the better meals we ate in the Algarve. The cocktails at the clubhouse were high end and delicious. The clubhouse is 100% worth a visit for the great food, cocktails and exceptional view.
Pro Tip: They close around 6pm so if you want to eat here make sure you plan accordingly.
Pearl Food Trailer
Excellent place for a meal. It is right on the marina with ample free parking. It is a small trailer serving mostly seafood. We loved our order of oysters, shrimp and chorizo. It went perfectly with the view and a cold beer. It is the perfect spot for exploring afterwards. Just cross over the bridge and you are in historical Lagos! Highly recommend.
Note: It is a small place with only outdoor seating. So you might have to wait for a table. It is worth it!
PIE Lagos
We didn’t eat at PIE. We did however, enjoy a great beer on their adorable patio. It was a nice spot to take a break and enjoy a pint. The food looked good and is definitely catering to a British clientele.
Travia
Travia is a very cool and trendy natural wine bar. I am a huge fan of natural orange wines and this place ticked all the boxes. It has a great outdoor seating area for people watching in the heart of Lagos. The food was decent with a great philosophy of using up food scrapes to limit food waste. Great spot for a glass of wine while exploring Lagos.
Marisqueira “O Perceve”
This was one of the best restaurants we ate at in Portugal. The seafood was just phenomenal, in particular, the barnacles. (Which duh, their name has barnacle in it.) The barnacles were fantastic and had so much flavor. The shrimp was great as well as the clams. Everything was fresh and so tasty. This is a small place so I would make reservations. It is also a bit further away from the center so might require a longer walk or a drive over. I highly recommend this restaurant.
O Lamberto
I am not sure if anything in Lagos is truly local since it is pretty touristy but I feel that O Lamberto is pretty close. It is located in a quiet neighborhood away from the historical center. There is a beautiful patio area to enjoy. We had a great bottle of white wine and excellent black pork that came with rice, French fries and salad. (Holy cow so much food!) It is also incredibly affordable for $50.00 we had two massive plates of food, bread and a bottle of local wine. Not a bad deal!
Best Things to do in Lagos, Portugal
Explore the city
Wandering the narrow winding streets of Lagos was an absolute joy. Yes, Lagos is a bit touristy but it is charming and quite beautiful. So ditch the map, put down your phone and just explore. Get lost. I mean that!
Check out the city’s stone walls at Jardim da Constituicao
Lagos has a fascinating and bloody history. Lagos has seen Romans, Phoenicians, Moors and Visigoths. The city walls were built (around the 16th century) to protect the historic center of the city. While exploring Lagos, take some time to walk along these historic stone walls.
Forte da Ponta da Bandeira
The fort (which you will find jetting out into the ocean) was built in the 17th century to defend the city of Lagos. When I visited, it wasn’t open but it is supposed to have gorgeous views of the water when you go inside. I enjoyed walking around it, while I was exploring the city walls.
Promenade on the waterfront
Lagos has this gorgeous waterfront promenade with people selling souvenirs, tours and artisan goods. It really is a gorgeous walk, watching boats sail by and the palm trees waving in the wind. If you walk to the end of the promenade you will find the fort and the city walls. Excellent way to combine all three.
Pro Tip: If you put into your GPS Pearl Food Trailer, you will be able find free, ample and easy parking. Then you just cross the pedestrian bridge and you are in the center of Lagos. Just a bit easier then navigating those narrow roads in the city center.
Rest on a beach
Make sure you slow down and just enjoy the natural beauty of Lagos. There are several beaches nearby for you to enjoy. Meia Praia is just across the waterfront and it is massive. So there will be plenty of space to spread out. The famous Praia da Piedade is very close to Lagos as well!
Walk the Boardwalk on Meia Praia
I absolutely loved this walk. You can see the massive boardwalk from the Lagos promenade and from Palmares Beach House Hotel. There are many points of entry along the boardwalk from different parking lots and from the beach itself. You will walk past several beach bars as well. The views while walking along the boardwalk are outstanding. I joined at the entrance near the hotel and walked the whole thing until we ended up in Lagos. It was beautiful and a great way to enjoy the views/beach all while getting some exercise.
Note: In the summer, I would avoid a long walk at midday. There is no shade and the sun would be brutal.
Best Things to do Outside of Lagos, Portugal
Explore the coastline
The Algarve coastline is breathtaking with soaring cliffs and gorgeous beaches. There are some great hikes and short walks that expose even more of this beauty! You will take hundreds of pictures. Plus the coastline is scattered with adorable small towns. The list below were my favorites stops along the coastline. You can lay out in the sun or do what we did and just bounce around exploring new places. We didn’t visit Benagil Cave. It was packed with people kayaking over and this was in April! Definitely, one of those places to go early. Please note that we stayed closer to Lagos so obviously there is so much more to explore in the Algarve. But as you know we only recommend what we actually liked and did.
- Praia dos Tres Irmaos: You take the stairs down onto the beach. It has towering rock formations and a nice beach. Lovely spot to enjoy and walk around.
- Marinha Beach: Gorgeous beach with soaring cliffs. Really just stunning to walk along the cliff edge. I so enjoyed how the views just kept getting better as we walked. This beach is popular and it was busy when I went in April. So in the summer, make sure to go earlier as there was only two parking lots.
- Albandeira Beach: This is a quieter, sandy beach but small. It is not as popular with tourists which is insane because it’s stunning. The only downside is because it is that small it feels busier.
- Two towns I enjoyed walking around was Ferragudo and Carvoeiro. While you are visiting Carvoeiro, make sure to have lunch at Restaurante Grill “A Marisqueira.” This place had excellent and fresh seafood. It is a bit outside of the main touristy area so we didn’t have to wait to sit down.
Sample Five Day Itinerary
- Day 1: Travel day to Lagos. After you check into your hotel and rest, explore Lagos. Get lost in its narrow roads. Have a drink at PIE then dinner at Travia. You could also get a snack at Pearl Food Trailer.
- Day 2: Enjoy a quiet morning sitting on a beach like Meia Praia or Praia da Piedade. If you are staying at Palmares, take advantage of that balcony and view. Then have lunch at Pearl Food Trailer and enjoy the waterfront promenade in Lagos. For dinner, splurge on a dining experience at Al Sud.
- Day 3: After breakfast, hop in the car and explore the coastline. Beach hop around to places like Marinha and Albandeira. Stop in Carvoeiro for lunch. Have lunch at Restaurant Grill “A Marisqueira.” Beach hop your way back to Lagos. Depending on when you had lunch maybe have a lite dinner.
- Day 4: After breakfast, get your walking in with the long boardwalk on Meia Praia beach. Enjoy all the views of the ocean while enjoying the walk. Then have lunch at the Palmares Golf Clubhouse. Spend the afternoon sitting by a pool or on a beach. Then have dinner at O’Lamberto.
- Day 5: Enjoy a few more hours of beach time before heading home or to your next destination.
Portugal Travel Guides and Tools
- Auto Europe Car Rentals
- Lagos, Portugal Hotels
- Lisbon, Portugal Hotels
- Porto, Portugal Hotels
- Best things to do in Lisbon and best restaurants in Lisbon
- Best things to do in Porto and best restaurants in Porto
Your Thoughts…
This is the perfect 5 day travel guide to Lagos, Portugal. Are you spending some time in the Algarve? Where are you staying? What are you excited to do? Share your thoughts below.
