Lagos Beaches & Boardwalks

It’s Saturday morning, the sun’s out, bird’s are chirping, and the plaza below is abuzz with activity. It’s time to hit the town!

We’re headed to the big Saturday market near the bus station, but on the way, we decide to make a stop at the Municipal Market on the front street.

The catch is in and they have a little bit of everything, it seems. That’s a fresh tuna steak in the middle.

Up the road is the Saturday produce market, which is packed this morning. Everyone’s stocking up on their fresh veg for the week, as well as cured olives, homemade olive oil, dried dates, and nearly every herb known to humankind.

On the way back, a quick stop at the Spar Supermarket downstairs. Noe still loves reading the labels on the food packaging. Some things don’t change, no matter where we are in the world.

We thought Sunday might be a good day to do Lagos’ famous cliff walk—tracing a portion of the city’s recently-installed wooden boardwalks.

On the way, we passed the derelict Hotel Golfinho. Every beach town of a certain size in Mexico seemed to have at least one of these. There’s usually an interesting story behind each one’s demise, but this one’s seems to be a mystery.

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Lagos’ boardwalks stretch both north and south of town. On the southern side, the boardwalk begins near the Hotel Golfinho, connecting several small coves and beaches between town and Ponta da Piedade (Piety Point).

In all, there are roughly five miles of raised wooden catwalks in this part of town alone.

Praia Dona Ana, the biggest beach along this stretch.

Moving farther south, we come upon Praia do Camilo, which is two beaches connected by a hand-dug tunnel. This one is a popular place for swimming, snorkeling, and kayaking.

I didn’t count the steps down, but it’s got to be several hundred from the very top of the cliff down to sea level. You may have to work to get down to this beach, but this one was definitely worth it.

Each beach we visit seems to be more picturesque than the last. At this point, it’s hard to believe we’re just under a mile from the city’s main square.

Lots of little secret nooks and crannies at this beach.

This grotto opens to the sky, above.

We’re approaching today as a scouting mission. We hope to return at a later date with beach gear (weather-permitting!). Onward to the next!

A short distance later, we arrive at the Algarve’s famous Ponta da Piedade, something akin to the Arch of Cabo San Lucas—the main difference being, you don’t need a boat to visit this one (though there are a lot of water grottos you can only access by boat).

Tour boats mostly come here from the marina in town, but you can also hop on an impromptu boat ride right here.

Lots and lots of stairs. So many.

The Lagos Lighthouse crowns the southern tip of the point.

Here, we follow the coastline as it takes a sharp right and begins to head west toward the small beach community of Porto do Mós. This is probably the most dramatic and picturesque stretch along the entire route.

In the foreground is the “clothing optional” Canavial Beach, which seems to take a bit of effort to access. Beyond, is the much larger beach of Praia Porto do Mós, our goal for the day.

After a long and very scenic hike, we finally arrive at Porto do Mós Beach, some 3.5 miles from where we set off from today.

The boys were very excited to finally get some quality beach time in.

Here in November, the water’s a bit chilly for our tastes and we weren’t dressed for swimming. But the boys got lots of time to run around, skip rocks, and play in the sand.

This beach has the best orientation in town for watching the sunset, so we hope to return on a clearer evening one of these days.

After wrapping up beach time, we headed inland to find a fun little burger and beer bar (Illicit Burger).

We considered getting a ride back, but the 1.5-mile walk back didn’t sound too bad at this point—capping a very enjoyable first weekend in our home for the next 3.5 weeks.