DK Travel : The Algarve

The Moors called their al-Gharb the Sunset Land, and visitors have been waxing lyrical ever since. Blessed with a mild winter climate and a sunny disposition, Portugal’s playground province remains one of the most popular year-round holiday destinations in southern Europe. Lively coastal resorts spill over ribbons of golden sand in sharp contrast to the quiet villages of the hinterland, where history and tradition go hand in hand.

Folk dancers

Sagres

Though not strictly a resort town – it has little in the way of entertainment infrastructure and its isolated position keeps it off the tourist treadmill – Sagres offers access to some of the most unspoilt beaches in the Algarve. See Sagres
Sagres

The supposed location of Henry the Navigator’s lauded school of navigation, Sagres sits on an isolated promontory pounded by the Atlantic. Dramatic views along the coast include the Cabo de São Vicente. See Sagres .
Sailing

The warm waters off the Algarve provide a natural arena for all type of sailing craft, from dinghy to schooner.
Salema

Even if you’re not staying in Salema, it’s worth detouring to it from the EN 125, via the beautiful ravine, speckled most of the year with colourful flora and fleet-footed goats. The tarmac peters out where the cobbled slip road begins, a causeway cluttered with colourful fishing boats, rickety lobster pots and shrouds of netting. The sloping streets are banked with salt-laced terraced houses and cramped little tavernas.
Salgados

An inspiring coastal course that features several links holes skirting the beach, Salgados has the largest number of water hazards to be found on any Algarve course – a frightening fourteen! An additional threat is the spirited winds that whip up off the sea.
Salir

The walls of Salir’s Moorish castle are lit up at night and emit an eerie glow, but on the other side of the village the view is more benign, stretching across the valley from the parish church and garden. In summer this rural idyll is blanketed by narcissi and alive with the warbling of brightly coloured passerines.
Salir

The ruins of Salir’s Moorish castle have been put to novel effect by locals who have sunk gardens in between the battlements and the keep. The rest of the structure can be explored by treading a circular path around the middle of the fortifications. A small museum is under construction.
Salir

In springtime, wild flowers of every hue blanket the meadows around this hilltop hamlet, with its ruined 12th-century Moorish castle. The terraced battlements are now reclaimed to ingenious effect by enterprising locals who use them as vegetable plots. The short walk around the castle foundations is rewarded with an inviting panorama over the limestonemassif of Rocha da Pena. The area is a known nesting site for the huge eagle owl. Naturalists may also be lucky enough to spy the odd genet or Egyptian mongoose.
San Lorenzo

In the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa and one of the top five golf courses in continental Europe. The par 72 layout culminates with a green on the 18th that must be approached from across a lake. Owned by the nearby Le Meridien Dona Filipa Hotel (see Luxury, Five-Star Hotels), the course is open to visitors, although priority is given to hotel guests.
San Lorenzo Golf Club

The magnificent, 18-hole, par 72 course is considered byWorld Golf magazine to be one of Europe’s top five courses.