Faro Campervan Park

Beyond the Ria Formosa and close to the Spanish border lies the larger wetlands complex of Sapal de Castro Marim (40 minutes' drive): you can walk, cycle or boat your way through this special reserve, looking out for black-winged stilts, spoonbills and Caspian terns. For inland treks and tougher terrain, it’s a similar distance to Rocha da Pena, a rocky outcrop marking the border between the Barrocal foothills and the Sierra uplands, where the view shifts swiftly between olive groves and Mediterranean scrub to dense cork oak forests and hilltop plateaus of red earth. Traces of Celtic forts and Moorish siege caves dot the landscape while buzzards, vultures and eagles circle above. Further afield but very doable in a day, it’s around an hour and 20 minutes to the most south-westerly tip of Europe, around Sagres and Cap St Vincent. Surf beaches are the big thing on the coast, while inland the clifftop meadows and pine forests are home to otters, badgers, mongoose and wild boar. For a famed attraction among it all, visit the Cap St Vincent lighthouse, which was for centuries sailors’ first and/or last glimpse of Europe. For aquatic excitements of a more organised kind, Aquashow Park (20 minutes) combines rides and slides with displays from the resident reptiles, parrots and birds of prey, while seals and dolphins accompany the swimming and splashing attractions at Zoomarine Algarve theme park, half an hour away.