Portugal March 2026 – Sunshine and Solitude.
We keep finding our way back here, the southernmost tip of mainland Portugal.
There’s something reassuring about returning to a place you know like the back of your hand. Familiar, yes, but never dull. And when flights come in at a modest £27.50 each way (incl baggage), along with accommodation sitting around £24.50 per person per night, it becomes even easier to justify.
A clean, tidy double room with a private bathroom does the job nicely, but more on that later… there’s a small story to tell in the “hints and tips” section.
We normally stick to the shoulder season to dodge the crowds, but this year we pushed our luck and arrived a full month earlier than previously. It paid off.
At the eleventh hour, forecast rain gave way to four straight days of sunshine. Early 20s, barely a cloud, just about perfect.
That said, Portugal has had a rough winter. Violent storms have battered the coastline and the rain, much like back home in England, has been relentless.
To add an aggravating factor, I arrived on antibiotics following a recent gallbladder infection and an emergency dash to A&E. So, this trip came with strict instructions: take it easy… and behave on the food front.
Faro Beach: Paradise on your doorstep
After a hearty (and strictly LOW-FAT) breakfast at the Occidental Hotel (which use to be called Hotel Faro), we made our way to the water bus for Faro Beach (€4.20 return).
We often pop into this hotel for breakfast, the walk-in buffet is excellent and sets you up nicely for the day.
The boat dropped us on the lagoon side of the spit. As is our tradition, we walked until the road ran out of tarmac, then carried on along the boardwalk that stretches a couple more kilometres.
This time though, the beach was so empty we didn’t feel the need to go far. We crossed the dunes early, picked our spot, and settled in.
It was the quietest we’ve ever seen it. Just us, the sea, and a packed lunch.
We drifted back at sunset and called it an early night, simple pleasures, day one done!
Culatra: Island Life, Slower Pace
Determined to make the most of the day, we booked the fast RIB over to Farol on Culatra Island, first boat out, last one back (10:30 to 17:50) – plenty of time to explore.
We started with a wander through the Old Town and a quick coffee before heading towards the jetty. The scent of orange blossom was everywhere, trees heavy with a mix of blossom, green fresh fruit, and ripe oranges. Add in the constant hum of bees, and it felt like spring had properly arrived.
As usual, we used Animaris for the crossing, though this time booked online—much easier.
One downside: Mar Amais, one of our favourite beach bars, has taken a hit from the winter storms and has been partially claimed by the sea. Closed for now, which is a real shame, it has character in spades. I hope it reopens soon.
Thankfully, a smaller beach shack was open further along the coast. It had started trading the day before we arrived, good timing on our part.
And better still, our go-to restaurant was up and running.
I’ve recommended Aqua Chill before, and I’ll happily do so again. The portions are generous to say the least, and the quality is superb. My Portuguese octopus stew was outstanding, paired (sensibly enough) with a local white wine. If you make it here, allow time, this place is well worth it. It might look a little functional, but the chef works magic.
With barely any tourists around, the island felt almost ours. The beaches between Farol and Culatra were as empty as we’ve ever seen them.
It’s a place I’ve grown very fond of. A proper year-round community, school, community centre, the lot, just without roads or cars. Kids still tearing around on scooters, making noise, as they should.
We caught a spectacular sunset on the way back, one of those moments that quietly rounds off a very good day.
Ilha Deserta: Properly Off Grid
The boat to Praia da Barreta (Ilha Deserta) was nearly empty, we needn’t have bothered booking ahead.
If Culatra felt quiet, today was something else entirely.
We kept glancing around wondering where everyone was. Turns out, nowhere nearby.
Head right from Cabo de Santa Maria, the southernmost point of Portugal, and things get even quieter. Swimwear becomes optional, though on this trip it made little difference… there was no one there to notice anyway.
The sand here is pristine, the shoreline scattered with seashells.
We gave the water a miss this time, cooler temperatures and a decent swell made the decision easy enough.
Wildlife, though, was in abundance. Birds everywhere, waders, terns, gulls, thousands of them. My eldest would have loved it.
We walked for about half an hour along the beach and, across the entire day, saw just three other people.
Bliss, really.
Cantinho – old town restaurant
We were going to head out for an evening meal at a place we discovered on our last visit called Columbus. However, we took a last-minute detour to Cantinho, a place right next to the Arco do Repouso, one of the old medieval gates along the east wall. It’s somewhere we’ve walked past many times, always promising to visit “next time”… so that’s exactly what we did.
We had a HUGE plate of seafood between us, a local Portuguese dish called Cataplana de Bacalhau. We ended up rolling out, fully stuffed and nicely lubricated.
Pipers – the “local’ Irish bar.
It’s an Irish bar with a difference. Close your eyes and you’ll hear voices and music that are distinctly “local”; it draws people in from all over… We usually avoid Irish and British bars whilst travelling, but we’re happy to make an exception for this place.
The bar staff here have an INCREDIBLE attention to detail, showing huge pride in their cocktail making and drink preparation. Even ordering a simple glass of white wine, they go the extra mile, chilling each glass by stirring in fresh ice cubes before serving.
Love this place… oh, and we met the same barman who served us in 2024, he was off duty tonight.
The trick to this place is simple: NEVER come too early. Live bands start from around 10pm and carry on until closing. I think we managed to make closing time once, but as you can tell, I can’t fully remember… we always have a great time here.
Cathedral de Faro and old town
On our final day, we thought we’d spend the morning wandering the town and paying a long-promised visit to the cathedral.
I must say, the Cathedral is a little weird… it has the same feel and look as many Catholic cathedrals the world over, but with a few differences. Firstly, outside, there is a shrine adorned with human bones and skulls; secondly, inside, there is more bling than a ‘Donald Trump’ Oval Office! It’s about as tacky too… but hey ho, maybe he visited this place and picked up a few ideas!
The old town was as glorious as ever stunning Portuguese architecture with nesting White Storks building their nests on many of the vantage points.
Sunset Dolphin Chase
After donning our life-vests and safety briefing, we set off in search of one of number of dolphins species that frequent this coast. Our skipper Carlos and his mate Afonso (Portuguese omits the letter L). They operate an Eco Marine boat.
Together they are a font of knowledge on all things to do with nature and the sea. Both in it and above it. They genuinely appeared to be as excited to be out on the water as we did.
We managed to see quite a few birds on this trip, including a Storm Petrel and some Puffins, but as hard as our hosts tried, we could not find the illusive Dolphin.
Carlos and Afonso put in an extra hour of searching, but it wasn’t to be. Which d’ya know, wasn’t the end of the world, as this isn’t a zoo and you can’t guarantee sightings. But on the way back we were treated to the most amazing sunset, the best we’ve seen on this trip with fiery yellow sky joining us for our return journey home to port.
And what was a really nice touch, is that our hosts have given us 50% off any future trips with them, a lifetime offer – so long as they are still alive and in business!
All in all a great trip, with an extra hour of exploring thrown in. Something I’ll remember for a while, along with the kindness of the operators.
Hints and Tips
Flights – As usual, WizzAir with an amazing price, around £27.50 each flight, including baggage.
Accommodation – Well, we ended up staying at Hostel a Casa da Arvore. Our host Rui was delightful.
We booked a twin room, paying the first night in cash, with the remainder via Booking.com where we exploited the benefits we usually get (WizzAir credits).
It was a great price too, working out at around £50 per night.
The room was perfect for us, with plenty of storage and sockets, a heater (chilly evenings at this time of year) and even a full length mirror (which is very rare in budget accommodation). We had a private bathroom (albeit outside), shared living room and kitchen plus an outside dining area.
For the price – we can’t complain, absolutely ideal for our short stay!
If I’m honest, I’m now happy we had the hiccup on the first night (see below) as we discovered this great venue and we’ll probably book here again: possibly direct, now we have their contact details, or through booking.com, where we book via the WizzAir website and receive 10% flight credits (for hack see this link) on-top of the usual genius discounts and good prices.
Walk-in Breakfast – Occidental Hotel, for €17 you can’t go wrong for an all you can eat buffet breakfast to start your day. Bottomless coffee, juice and food together with a great view!
Boat trip Faro – ECOMARINE
I would recommend this company, Ecomarine for their hard work and effort trying to make sure their customers have the best time they can have. Carlos and Afonso worked well together.
Island shuttle, fast rib and ferry – Animaris for a great service and great prices. We find taking the rib to Farol (as opposed to the Culatra boat stop) is better value than the island hop. At €10 this 15 minute trip drops you at the eastern extreme of the island where you can walk to and from Culatra.
On the days we visit the isle of Deserta, we take the slower ferry (45 mins) as it’s only €5 and gets you there earlier than the shuttle and provides time to watch the wildlife in slow-time. The last ferry at 5.30pm gives you ample time to relax – take a packed lunch as there is only ONE restaurant on the island which has a captive audience and associated high price.
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A Warning – Happen!ng
We HAD booked accommodation with what had become our favourite little Old-Town retreat (see previous posts for details of “The Happening”).
However, when we arrived this time we knew immediately upon opening the door to our room that something wasn’t right. The stench of dampness hung in the air like a fog, and around the walls and ceilings was mould and mildew. Not an ideal start to the holiday. We asked them to move us to another room but they didn’t have one available, so we were left with the daunting process of fining alternative accommodation.
It was 9pm and I got straight onto it.
Luckily we found a great place which has 9+ reviews and was ideal, albeit a 10 minute walk away from the old town. Our new host couldn’t not have been more accommodating.
After a few days of calling Booking.com and the owner of Happening, they eventually agreed to a refund BUT only at 75%, which meant we were down around €50.
However, Booking.com agreed to pay us €31 by way of loyalty compensation, so it wasn’t the end of the world – we were €20 down.
As we paid for it on credit card, the alternative was to chase the full amount via the a Section 75 claim under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 as the service provider clearly failed to deliver a service. However, it simply isn’t worth the hassle. So we will put this one down to experience..
In the host‘s defence it has been an incredibly damp winter, more than usual. However, the room was definitely NOT at a standard that we were prepared to risk and breathe in fungal spores overnight… so we made the right decision.
They say that every cloud has a silver lining and ours was the discovery of a new venue which turned out to be a blessing!