We visited the beautiful coast of the Algarve region of southern Portugal during the last week of October.
Unlike parts further north, decent free motorhome park-ups are few and far between. As such we stayed in a couple of municipal aires run by the local councils. These were very cheap and some even included electric hook-ups.
Santa Luzia
We stayed here on our first night in Portugal. The weather was a bit rubbish, just raining, but not cold. This was the week when the terrible DANA hit Spain, bringing deadly floods to Valencia. The whole Iberian-peninsula had very changeable weather that week.
Santa Luzia is a pretty little town on the water, famous for sea-food. There a plenty of pretty houses dotted along the main road that runs next to the sea. If you like sea-food, especially octopus you will love this place. There are many fabulous restaurants serving food caught by the local fisherman that day.
The park-up was just some free waste ground at the edge of town, a stones-throw from the sea. There were about 10 vans there, with room for another 10 without too much crowding. The location was not noisy or too busy even though it was next to the main road into town.
Due to the rain, big puddles soon formed around the motorhome. Luckily the ground is stony, not muddy so we did not get stuck!
As a park-up for visiting this lovely town, this is a perfect spot. Just a shame the weather was a bit naff for us. At one point there was a break in the rain so we were able to walk along the sea front and explore for about 30 minutes…. until the rain came back!
We just stayed the night, and then headed further west, chasing better weather.
Albufeira
This is one of the main tourist spots on the Algarve. Plenty of bars, restaurants and pubs to cater for the many Europeans who visit this town. The town has a nice energy in the Autumn, not too busy, but still with plenty of visitors and events going on. We visited at the end of October which was still the UK school holidays so plenty of Brits were about. The town had a big Halloween event with acts, and a DJ performing on the beach.
We stayed at the municipal aire on the edge of town (about 25 minutes walk to the strip). The aire cost 9€ per night and included electricity and access to water and waste emptying. There were showers, but they were very dated, and could do with some TLC, so we just used our own.
The aire is the old football ground, which has been replaced with a shiny new complex next door. It is also very popular, we got the last spot, out of a 100 pitches. There other motorhomes camped outside, waiting for availability. Inside the aire, was the usual full spectrum of vans. Everything from giant German A-class units costing six figures, down to knackered sh*t boxes that looked as though they had not moved for years.
We stayed for two nights, refreshed our supplies, and moved on. The aire was great for visiting Albufeira but was just too busy for our taste. Having said that, it was great value and we would probably use it again if in the area.
Quarteira
Our favourite stop-off in the Algarve was Quarteira. Its a beautiful tourist town which borders the fantastic marina next door at Vllamoura where we had an amazing breakfast while surrounding by stunning yachts from all over the world.
We stopped at the municipal aire at the edge of town. It does not look much when you first see it – just a giant car park with a barrier with a pay station. The cost though is only 6€ per night – including electric, waste and water!
There is a Lidl supermarket, about five minutes walk away. Even better, there is a FREE bus service to the town every hour (the green line). The bus stop is outside Lidl, and for was at 15 minutes past the hour. We got the bus into town, but walked back (about 25 minutes level walk).
The sea-front at Quarteira is stunning, a wide open promenade with lots of shops and places to eat. If you want something quieter, you can walk from the park-up in 15 minutes to a quiet beach called Praia de Lago (the lake Beach). We went down there on our scooters in about 10 minutes on very quiet residential roads.
We will definitely come again to this part of Portugal.
Motorhoming tips in Portugal
- A lot of supermarkets in Portugal, including Intermaché, Lidl and Aldi provide motorhome service points. Some even have a couple of designated parking spots if you wanted to stay the night.
- Most A-roads in Portugal are toll-roads. You need to register your number plate and pay at the end of your trip. Or do as we did and tell Google Maps to “avoid tolls”. This will put you on the busier N-roads which are free. In the Algarve you will mostly be on the N125 which runs along the coast from the boarder with Spain nearly to Sagres in the far-south-west.
- The popular resorts tend not to tolerate motorhomes just parking anywhere, hence the provided municipal aires. The police can, and do fine motorhomes if they believe you are camping – not parking.
- Electric scooters are widely used. Make sure you stick to cycle lanes and wear a helmet!
- Finally, be careful there are some small roads in places. Make sure your van can fit!
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