Portugal Roadtrip: Tavira and the Eastern Algarve

For our final part of our Portuguese road trip we were excited to explore the area around Tavira. I remember hearing about this part of Portugal, which is just East from Faro airport and very close to the Spanish border, from an acquaintance years ago who told me about the seafood, the pretty cobbled, traditional towns and island beaches. It had been on my radar ever since and it has such a different feel to the rest of the touristy Algarve. It’s far removed from the large resorts the rest of the region is often known for. In the eastern Algarve, daily life still revolves around the sea, with fishing boats in the harbours, salt flats stretching across the landscape, interesting Moorish architecture and miles of countryside. It’s also a lot cheaper typically for accommodation and the beaches are huge and almost empty which is meant to be true even in peak summer!

Much of the coastline is part of the Ria Formosa Natural Park, a protected lagoon system dotted with salt pans and barrier islands. You’ll see fishermen tending nets, salt being harvested, and tonnes of birds - you can even see flamingos at certain times of the year.

This is Part 5 of our Portuguese road trip from last Easter {we started in Porto then went to Lisbon and then Comporta then Lagos/The Western Algarve}

Where We Stayed

We stayed in an Airbnb - this one - at the Golden Club resort in the small fishing town of Cabanas, just east of Tavira. It cost just under £300 for three nights, which felt like great value for the facilities included. Our apartment was a nicely decorated studio with a balcony and three beds — comfortable rather than luxurious, but perfect as a base.

The resort has large outdoor pools, sports grounds and an indoor heated pool (but do be aware that it requires swim hats for the indoor one only) and it also had restaurants and a kids club on site. It’s a resort that a lot of people book into as an all inclusive type package so we were basically staying in one of the owner’s apartments compared to the hotel bit. Our children were desperate to go to the kids club one afternoon as they have a big schedule of activities but it was fully booked with priority to the hotel guests on site. Luckily they were happy to play some games on the sports courts instead as it was a bit too cold for swimming during our stay in April. The real highlight of staying here was the little boat that runs across the lagoon to a huge, beautiful beach island — a great extra and one of the reasons we chose this location.

Cabanas itself is very quiet, a sweet fishing village with a few small shops, fish mongers and restaurants but Tavira is only a 10-minute drive and easy to reach.

We booked it for the facilities of having the pools for the kids but I think if we were going again I’d actually book somewhere which was walkable into Tavira town.

These are the photos from our boat trip and beach trips at Cabanas:

Where We Ate

The food in this part of the Algarve was a real highlight, especially the seafood.

• Restaurant Três Palmeiras
  This was such an experience. It’s very traditional and nothing fancy, but extremely popular with locals. Get there before it opens at 12pm to put your name on the blackboard — the queues last all afternoon, even when we were there on a weekday in April. For €16, you get a huge plate of grilled fish, salad, potatoes, bread, a drink and a basket of fruit. Simple, local and excellent value and we loved watching them grill it on the bbqs in front of you.

• Santa Luzia (the octopus village)
  Santa Luzia is known for its octopus fishing, and it really lives up to the reputation. We ate at Casa do Polvo Tasquinha and had the best octopus I’ve ever tasted. Book ahead or arrive early — we just managed to get the last table. The village itself is small, traditional and well worth a visit.

Where We Explored

• Tavira
  A beautiful town with Moorish architecture, an old castle, gardens and a lovely riverside walk. It’s compact, easy to explore and one of the prettiest places in the eastern Algarve. We got ice cream here after our seafood lunch at Tres Palmeiras. You can get a ferry from here to Ilha de Tavira beach for just 2.50 a trip and takes just 15 minutes.

• Praia do Barril
  One of our favourite beach trips and known as one of the most beautiful beaches in the Algarve. You can reach it via a little tourist train or walk along a scenic boardwalk across the lagoon for around 20 minutes. The beach itself is wide, open and unspoilt with a couple of cafes, a beach bar, sunbeds to rent and a museum. We parked along the main road.

• Ria Formosa Natural Park
  This whole area is shaped by lagoons, salt flats and barrier islands rather than cliffs. There are miles of cycle paths (we planned to hire bikes but ran out of time), and people often spot flamingos around the salt pans — we may have been a few weeks too early.

Good to Know

• This area is very close to Faro Airport, but most people drive straight past it to the busier resort towns further west. We actually could have flown home from here but flights were so much more expensive than from Porto - and we would have had to pay extra for our car rental return etc - that we opted to drive all the way back up to Porto instead! We loved our big road trip but there’s definitely so much to do you could have an epic holiday all around Tavira or the Algarve from just flying in/out of Faro if you can find good flights!

• The beaches here are on barrier islands, reached by boat or train, and feel much quieter and more spacious.

• Every drive seems to pass orange groves, salt flats and open countryside — it’s incredibly pretty and feels very local. We were staying right next to an avocado farm.

• Olhão and Loulé (with its famous Saturday market) are all nearby and on our list for next time.

Estoi

We stopped at Estoi on our way back before our big journey ahead and loved stretching our legs around the beautiful Baroque palace. Just a short drive inland from the coast and Tavira, Estoi offers a lovely contrast to the fishing towns of the Algarve — with history, architecture and a peaceful, traditional Portuguese atmosphere.

• The highlight of the village is Palácio de Estoi, a striking pink rococo and neoclassical palace that’s one of the Algarve’s most impressive historic buildings. Originally built in the 19th century as a grand manor house, it combines Baroque, Rococo and classical design and was restored in the 2000s.

• Today part of the palace serves as the luxury hotel Pousada Palácio Estoi, but you don’t need to stay overnight to enjoy the site — the formal gardens and public areas are open to explore for free. There’s a little playground for kids as you walk in too but it was slightly overgrown.

• The gardens are especially worth seeing: laid out on multiple levels with fountains, statues and colourful tiles, they’re a peaceful place for a stroll and some photos.

Follow along with all of the Portugal posts HERE. And as ever, let me know if you have any questions about any of our trips.