How many days in Lagos?

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slaintekt
slaintekt

Hi all!

I am headed to Spain for a couple of weeks in mid- July to early August (for a wedding). As the wedding is in Extremadura, Spain, I am focusing my travels in western Andalucía and want to go to Lagos as well - I'll be in Sevilla for a few days and would go to Lagos from there.

I am currently trying to decide between 3 full days (4 nights) and 4 full days (5 nights). My purpose for choosing Lagos are to see its beautiful beaches and rock cliff/formations, rest, get some sun, go on walks, and take pictures. I will be traveling sola and don't speak Portuguese (I speak Spanish and can understand a lot of written Portuguese, just have difficulty understanding/speaking it). I'll want to check out the town and am looking into perhaps a kayaking or other water/boat tour.

Just trying to figure out if that's too much/too little time, also considering the 5 hour trip I'll be making from and back to Sevilla via public transportation. I realize this is subjective, but am interested in your thoughts/experiences/feedback. :)

Thanks in advance!

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richiavo
richiavo

I love Lagos but would not be too bothered about visiting in August when it will be party central.

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slaintekt
slaintekt
In response to #1

Hey richiavo - thanks for your response! I should have clarified that I'll be in Lagos somewhere between July 17 and July 26.

Although I definitely would not be big on the party scene. Local festivals with music/entertainment? Absolutely. Young partiers drinking all night long? Not so much.

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liberat
liberat

Portuguese seem to prefer to speak English in stead of Spanish.

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richiavo
richiavo

Lagos has a massive party scene which brings with it lots of drinking. If you want to go to that area maybe look at Sagres if you want to visit that area.

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slaintekt
slaintekt

Liberat - good to know! I haven't been in 17 (!) years, when I went to Lisboa. Had a heck of a time trying to communicate in Spanish.

Richiavo - I'll look into Sagres (hadn't thought of it before), as I definitely want to go to the Algarve region.

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mredman
mredman

As a foreigner in Algarve during middle of summer, you will have a hard time finding anyone not speaking English to you.

Algarve gets 10 million tourists a year, pretty much all of those come in June-August. Not a bad thing in and of itself, but you may need to adjust your expectations.

You can see the beaches and rock formations in about a 3 hour walk. So you have plenty of time.

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Kent16
Kent16
In response to #0

You can certainly fill a week in Lagos and not get bored! The Portuguese on the Algarve all speak English, so that won't be an issue.

The big issue that you may have is finding accommodation, as many places are fully booked this year. I booked in January for a June trip and couldn't get my first choice accommodation even back then.

It's very different, but Tavira is closer to the Spanish border and therefore easier to get to. A great old town, but the beach is a short boat ride away. No cliffs.

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slaintekt
slaintekt

mredman - Good to know and that's an excellent point re: adjusting my expectations. :)

Kent16 - I'm hoping to finalize my accommodations this weekend/upcoming week. I generally like to keep it on the more economical side, especially traveling alone, but have realized I'll need to spend a bit more due to the time of year. I've been looking at places via airbnb (my preferred accommodations) and provided I take care of it soon, should be fine.

Thank you all again for your input! Hopefully this will be helpful to other travelers as well.

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