If you’re planning to visit Algarve you can’t miss its famous town – Lagos! Lagos is a really charming city with stunning beaches, a fascinating historic centre and buzzing nightlife. A little bit of everything for everyone’s taste! 

This town definitely needs more time to explore but if you planning to visit for a few days I have a perfect itinerary for you (well, at last, it was perfect for me)! 

So how to spend perfect 2 days in Lagos?

Day 1 in Lagos, Algarve

Let’s start our day exploring the beautiful city of Lagos. There are so many cafes and restaurants here that it’s going to be really hard to choose one. Little narrow crisscrossing cobbled streets with their stunning architecture will blow your mind and you will definitely find yourself lost a few times. But it’s ok. That’s the fun part of exploring new places, isn’t it?

Lagos is a really old town full of history reaching as far back as 2000 BC so you can easily spend a few hours exploring historical monuments such as Igreja de Santo Antonio (Santo Antonio church), the Mercado dos Escravos (Europe’s first slave market), Castelo de Lagos and the charming 17th-century Badeira Fort.

Head to the riverside and walk along the promenade to enjoy the city views and huge market. Maybe you need a beach bag made from a quark or a new dress? You will find everything here.

Carry on walking along the Avenida dos Descobrimentos (avenue of the Discoveries) which runs along the riverside and you will reach the footbridge over the Bensafrim river – go to another side as there you will get to the Lagos Marina. This marina has a lot of shops, bars and restaurants to enjoy all with the great view to the boats!

When you are ready – just a short walk from Marina and you will reach Praia de Sao Roque. Very very long golden sand beach (I’m always looking for beaches)! Go for a walk or a swim down there! The views are amazing and I promise you will find yourself meditating without even realising it.

On your way back let’s have some lunch at one of the hundreds of cute restaurants. You can grab a bite at the marina or walk back to the city. You can also spend your afternoon nap on the beach or get lost in the old town. But please save a little bit of your energy for the evening hike!

This was the highlight of my stay in Lagos and I highly recommend that you go to see the sunset at Ponta da Piedade. This is a point where you can see magical neverending series of sandstone cliffs being washed by a blue Atlantic Ocean water. The views are definitely worth your time as you can see a beautiful coastline with lots of sea arches, grottos and smugglers’ caves. Absolutely stunning.

So let’s grab some drinks and take care of snacks and let’s begin our journey at the Praia de Batata (Potato Beach), which is nearest to the city centre, and then let’s take a cliff footpath and go along the coast to see Praia dos Estudantes (Student Beach). Then we will continue following the path and we will see Praia do Pinhao and further Praia Dona Ana. All of these beaches are incredibly beautiful with rock formations chilling in the water. From Praia Dona Ana to Praia do Camilo you will have to go around using the main road as the coastline is a private territory (don’t worry it’s not so far away). 

Don’t forget to read other Portugal guides: How To Spend 3 Days in Albufeira and Exploring Faro.

Praia do Camilo is Lagos iconic beach. I bet you saw stunning pictures all over the internet with the steps going down to the golden sand beach and rock formations standing in the blue azure water. So yes, that is that one. Keep in mind that it’s a very popular beach and it might be very very crowded there. If you’re not afraid of crowds you will have to defeat over 200 steps down (and up!). But it’s a really magical place to be so go go go! If you don’t feel like going down – there is a restaurant on the top of the cliff where you can refresh or fill your tummy and enjoy beautiful views of all of the coastline.

Another short walk from Praia do Camilo and we arrived – here’s her majesty Ponta da Piedade! Walk along the footpaths (there are millions of them) wherever they take you. Enjoy the views, and take pictures. Let’s have a look at the staircase that goes down the cliff to the ‘beach’. There’s space only for one person to be there and everyone wants to take a picture there because the mix of different size rocks and arches in the blue water creates the perfect picture spot. Please keep in mind that you might have to wait for your perfect picture.

And now when we finally took like two million pictures let’s find the perfect spot for the sunset. When I went there it was actually quite early for watching the sunset, but I found a perfect place to sit down and I enjoyed the view for a few hours. I had some snacks and music with me so it wasn’t so bad. And the wait was really really worth it. I hope you took one blanket with you because your bum might be very dirty after this! oh oh oh and have a look for the sunset times before you come here so you wouldn’t have to wait too long for it.

I watched the sunset and walked back to Lagos. It took me about 25 min to come back to the city. Thank god the public toilet was still open as I was going back because it would be a disaster… There are also a few souvenir shops and a restaurant.

After this amazing day let’s stop for a drink in one of the best bars in Lagos – Inside out, Whytes Bar, The Tavern or Black Cat. All are located in the city centre, all full of buzz, music, drinks and amazing people.

Day 2 in Lagos, Algarve

I have two different ways to spend the second day in Lagos. I will write it down for you and you can choose what is best for you, ok? Because I know that we all are different travellers and sometimes we want to explore all day long but sometimes we just want to take it easy, don’t you agree?

First – it wouldn’t be me if I wouldn’t tell you to go for an early coffee and pastry at one of the local bakeries… So I would recommend doing that but if you’re not in a mood – no problem! Let’s have some breakfast and go to find a kayak tour!

What can be better than seeing the magical cliffs and caves from the water? Nothing. Unless you can see the magical cliffs and explore caves with pizza in your hand! But it’s not gonna happen this time.

I went on a kayak tour with Ezride kayak tours. I booked it for 10 a.m. so I wouldn’t lose the whole day and still can take some time to see a bit more of Lagos. So if you think the same as me – go on a kayak tour in the morning. It might be a bit chilly (+18-19) but it’s ok. Don’t jump into the water and you won’t even notice that it’s cooler.

So with the kayaks, we will see all the beaches that we went to yesterday plus we will visit some caves which are amazing. I still can’t understand how nature can create such fantastic things!

After a really active morning let’s go get some well-deserved lunch somewhere in town. Here are a few places that are worth a try – Pescador (traditional Portuguese food), Don Toro, Casa do Prego, The Green Room (Mexican), and Nah Nah Bah.

Once we’re done – let’s head to the bus station and go to the Cabo de Sao Vicente (the Cape of Saint Vincent) – the most southwesterly point of Europe. Can it be more exciting than that?! Of course, don’t imagine that there’s going to be a lot to do but the views are amazing and the feeling that you’re on the edge of the whole continent is incredible! 

If you’re going in a car – perfect. 20 mins drive and you’re there. If you’re planning to go by bus – also great but check the bus timings because during the day there are just a few buses that are going to and back from that point.

After this trip – free evening to do whatever your heart wants – eat, drink, walk around and enjoy the Lagos streets, do shopping, don’t do shopping, relax on the beach or in bed.

Now for the other kind of day. I would recommend going to the small town of Sagres. They say that this town is a surfer’s paradise. A town for adventure lovers, a town full of activities. You can go for a hike (there are amazing and challenging hiking trails along the coast), take a deep sea fishing tour from the harbour, go on a kayak tour or challenge yourself and try surfing. If you never tried that – no problem, there are a lot of options for beginners. Or you can walk around the town and stay on one of the few Sagres beaches. So the choice is yours, darling! Do whatever your big heart wants because you’re on holiday! 

And as mentioned in option one – I would recommend visiting Cabo de Sao Vicente if you’re planning to spend your day in Sagres. You have to experience the end of the world (ehm.. Europe).

So that’s my perfect 2 days in Lagos. Full of activities and rest. That’s how holiday should be isn’t it?

Hope you will find something interesting in this article and it will be helpful when planning your trip to Algarve! If you have any questions – comment below, and I will try to answer and give advice.

Wandering what you can do after Koh Phi Phi? Have a look at How To Spend 3 Days in Albufeira, Exploring Faro, Koh Samui Travel Guide, Complete Guide to Pattaya, Top Things to do in Bangkok and Two Week India Itinerary!

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Thank you very much for reading the whole Lagos guide!

If you’ve already visited Lagos in Portugal, it would be amazing to hear travel tips and recommendations from you in the comments.

If you haven’t been there yet, please don’t hesitate to ask us if you have any questions. We are here to help!

Happy Travels!

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