Ferragudo, Portugal: The unknown gem of the Algarve

When planning our trip to the Algarve I knew we wanted to stay central. We wanted to do some hiking along the cliffs, kayaking, and then a road trip to the Western Algarve. So when looking for a place to stay we narrowed our AirBnB search to areas east of Lagos and west of Albufeira. During our search, we found so many cool AirBnBs, but this terrace attracted us to this amazing studio for only $39/night! Interested? Well, good news! If you have never used AirBnB use this link to get $35 off your first booking!

Photo from Airbnb

We spent three nights at this wonderful spot perfectly located in the beautiful fishing village of Ferragudo. What I didn’t know before we arrived was how much I would fall in love with this little town. On our first night on the terrace watching the sunset you could hear the local guitarist walking through the streets playing traditional Portugese music. This combined with the cool breeze coming off of the ocean and the rolling orange roofs we literally couldn’t have asked for a more perfect place to base ourselves while in the Algarve. 

What to do in Ferragudo?

Ferragudo is not big – Around 2,000 people live in this small fishing village. Whenever we arrive in a new town we like to walk around the city to get the feel of things. We couldn’t get over how cute the tiny streets were with all of the whitewashed buildings and ended up walking through most of the town within an hour of arriving.

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Walking through the streets

I seriously couldn’t get enough of the tiny streets (that cars drive on!) flowing in and out of this little hilltop town.

The town is situated on top of a hill overlooking the river estuary of Rio Arade so as you keep climbing up the streets (and stairs!) the views keep getting better and better. Once you get to the top you’ll come across the church of Ferragudo. We happened to be there when the bells were chiming at noon and it was magical.

We then headed down to the beach and forgot to take pictures of the Fort of São João de Arade. You’ll just have to go for yourself to see this sand-colored port perched on top of the hill overlooking the beach. It was kind of cloudy so we continued on to the marina where we found WildWatch Boat tours. We took an awesome tour to the famous Benagil cave (blog to come soon!) and then returned to get some grub.

Eating in Ferragudo

We had amazing food in Ferragudo. We enjoyed multiple coffees basking in the sun at a cafe with comfy couches in the main square. Go where the locals are and you can’t go wrong for a good breakfast and tasty coffee. We had a great dinner at Barril and the BEST dinner we had in Portugal at Restaurante “O Velho Novo”.

While this might not look that impressive the grilled fish with prawns and roasted garlic coating every morsel of vegetable was a dinner literally made for me. Paired with a bottle of wine for 11 euro you can’t go wrong.

Sunsets in Ferragudo

Now for the best part and why you have to stay in this Airbnb. The sunsets from this vantage point are phenomenal. We purchased two bottles of wine from the grocer for €5.33 (stuff is really affordable here!), headed up the hill where we saw the white buildings glowing from the setting sun, and plopped down on the lounge chairs to enjoy the end of another perfect day in the Algarve.

Final Verdict

With close proximity to some of the top sights of the Algarve (and beaches!) Ferragudo is a great way to experience the slower life of the Portugese people without the hustle and bustle of all of the tourists. Of all of the towns we visited in the Algarve this was by far our favorite of them all.

Have you ever been to the Algarve? What’s your favorite town in the Algarve? Comment below!

 Happy Trekking!

– Boots not Roots