Quinta Bliss

It’s all about the beach days mixed in with times in tiny towns when on hols in the Algarve. Many of the region’s shorelines (think Barranco and Praia da Marinha, both within a 15-minute drive) are seriously scenic thanks to their orange cliffs and bright turquoise shores. Choose a section of the coast – perhaps the Carvoeiro boardwalk leading from the Nossa Senhora da Encarnação fort (20 minutes’ drive away) to the Algar Seco rock formation – for clifftop walks with views out over the water from way up high. To see the scenery from another perspective, get out onto the sea with a boat trip to the Benagil Caves (the tour departure spot is a 15-minute drive away) or rent a kayak from around the same area to explore hidden coves under your own steam. Local towns are also worth a morning or afternoon trip – head over to lovely Lagos, 40 minutes’ drive away, for a sweet old square, handsome 18th-century church and a castle with a baroque front.