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Going to Algarve? CNN guide is a Must Read
Portugal's wild coastline beyond the Algarve resorts
Sometimes, the Algarve gets a bad rap. After six decades as a prime package-tour destination, it's perhaps no surprise that the sun-drenched southern coast of Portugal can trigger a sniffy reaction from travel snobs. Yet it's wrong to write off the Algarve. If you travel to the western extremities of the 125-mile coastline, you'll encounter a protected shoreline with wild, surf-ready beaches little touched by mass tourism. Turn east - between Faro, the regional capital, and the Spanish border - and you'll discover a coast fringed by spacious sandbar islands gently lapped by the Atlantic. Even in the Algarve's oft-maligned central strip, those in the know can find secret beaches, villages oozing charm, exciting new hotels and hidden restaurants serving the region's Mediterranean-style cuisine.
Google Satellite shows the fantastic sandy beach coves Paul mention. More than 40 such coves are cut into the honeycomb cliffs along the Algarve Coast.
Paul Ames is right - we may be travel snobs when it comes to Algarve
We visited Algarve the first time back in the mid 90’s.
Most of the places we have seen there have not been a pleasant surprise. Too crowded and too touristic – with the kind of tourism we personally do not like ourselves. And that’s the same comments we have received from family and friends returning from there.
Maybe we just have seen too many other fantastic places around the world to get impressed.
But after reading Paul’s Behind the Resorts guide yesterday Algarve is back on our list of places to re-visit.
After all – its only a couple of hours car ride from Tings Lisbon.
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