As our trip to Porto came to an end, we were ready to start a new adventure. We ended up meeting some great travelers, one from Russia and the other from New Zealand that happened to have the same travel plans as us as we decided to do a road trip along the south of Portugal with them while making reservations for an Airbnb to share.
We flew out of Porto later that night at 7pm. We were flying with Ryanair and with cheap flights comes not the best service. Turns out our flight was delayed by almost two hours. We were tired and annoyed but finally, we ended up being on our way and making our way to Faro, the main city of the south.
By the time we ended up arriving in Faro it was almost 1 am. We decided to get a Uber driver and the ride to the hostel we ended up staying at for the night before we ventured out on our road trip with the boys was on 10 minutes away from the airport. We stayed at the 1878 Hostel. It was like staying a hostel that was haunted. The old fixtures and french wared outdoors gave a ire vibe to the hostel. It was clean (enough), free breakfast, wifi, and close to the centre town.
The next morning we checked out of the hostel by 11am and left for the road trip to Albufeira at 2pm. It was only an hour to get there so really close. Once we got there we decided to find parking and check in to our Airbnb. Our Airbnb had the backyard of the beach, was in the center of Albufeira, two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchenette and a living room. It was all we need to make ourselves feel at home in Albufeira. This Airbnb for the 2 nights was 50$/ per person. Such a great value and such a great place.
We went to the beach for the rest of the afternoon and finished the day with sangria and homemade pasta.
For the rest of the two days we honestly just went to the beach, I went for a run in the morning, we ate great food and had wine. It was a break from the big cities of Portugal. I think most of us were tired out and needed a beach bum destination to recover.
We ended the other two days of our trip at Faro beach which is a secluded island that has an amazing beach. Be warned the waves are strong here but the beach is big enough and not as populated to have your own private area. There are little beach shacks along the beach. Again it is a little pricey so I suggest getting food off the island first and cooking at an Airbnb.
I really like the beach, surfer vibes I got from this location. I will say it is more expensive here as it is mainly targeted to tourists. So I suggest buying food at the grocery store and making most of your meals. It will save you in the long run. I also suggest renting a car even if it is only for a couple days as the south is so small and you can drive from one end to another in two hours. There are toll highways but you can avoid them by taking the back route and making sure you select the no toll highway option on your GPS. Besides those tips, I would go to the south in a heartbeat. I was able to self-reflect from my reality for a bit and enjoy the nature of the ocean.
