Fun in the Algarve - Burgau, Portugal

I've been visiting the tiny fishing village of Burgau on the west coast of Portugal for the last ten years (makes me feel very old!) and despite a lot of development in the area, Burgau has still retained its traditional charm. There are great deals on flights from many UK airports (I flew for £130 return with Ryanair and Monarch) so I met my friend there for a few nights last week and thought I'd give you a little insight into my trip.

Burgau

Unspoilt Burgau is just an hour's drive from Faro's modern airport and only 10 minutes from the larger town of Lagos making it a great location to visit on the coast. I would say that Burgau caters for everyone from families or couples to those who like a little more action!

My days spent in Burgau revolved around the beach - a beautiful, long sandy one surrounded by parkland and cliffs. There's a beach bar with friendly staff, fresh seafood and amazing cocktails which has been open for as long as I've been visiting - it's definitely worth booking a table overlooking the sea. There are watersports for those who are more active (we hired a jetski and with my normally sensible friend going 66km/hour it was certainly an experience!) but they don't overpower the relaxing beach vibe.

After lazing on the beach until the sun hid behind the cliffs, usually 7pm, we'd get ready and head to one of Burgau's traditional restaurants for some Portuguese fish or peri-peri chicken alongside the mandatory Sangria! My favourite restaurant in the little village is 'Ancora' - the food is fresh and sourced locally and the service is exceptional from the Burgau born brother-sister team. Portion sizes are large so make sure you're hungry when you book your table here!

While there our timings 'went local', which suited me - it meant we would go for dinner later and then head to the popular bar 'Smugglers' for post-dinner drinks. Smugglers is again, a traditional place with lovely staff who are talented at making numerous cocktails and Portuguese drinks (Pasteis de Nata cocktail is amazing if you like sweet drinks!). This is the place where the locals go for a drink after work so it's great to sit and soak up the culture.

Along with unique drinks, Smugglers offer delicious tapas served on authentic wooden boards for the midnight munchies... you would normally find us in here until 4am so we certainly needed a snack! I've ordered these gorgeous wooden chopping boards from Bodie and Fou to re-create the tapas at home! See our Products We Love page.

As my time was unfortunately short we decided to focus spending time in our favourite place, Burgau, although we did head into Lagos for a day trip on the Bom Dia...

Bom Dia Boat Trips

Bom Dia (meaning good morning) Boat Trips have been sailing from Lagos harbour for over 30 years using old-fashioned sailing boats and offer a number of different trips. We decided on the four hour 'Baia de Lagos' cruise which sails along the Bay of Lagos and through the striking caves and rock formations. Despite going on it before, we were happy to do it again!

We made our way to the harbour and joined around 30 others onboard the Bom Dia. Firstly we sailed along the coast where we caught glimpses of the other pretty towns and villages along with some secluded beaches which would be great to visit. We then dropped the anchor and, in groups, were taken in a smaller boat through the famous caves of 'Ponte da Piedade' seeing the caves fisherman named as the 'kitchen' 'living room' and 'garage' for various reasons. This little boat trip takes around 15 minutes and is really interesting to hear the area's history from the crew.

Back onboard, we were invited to take a dip in the sea while the other groups visited the caves. Despite not being a massive fan of the sea, we jumped in to cool-down - the sea was 21 degrees but it felt much colder once we were in!

When everyone was back onboard, a delicious BBQ of grilled chicken (feta for veggies) was served with salad topped with their lovely 'secret' dressing and bread and wine. The crew came around for a chat and to give you second, and third helpings of the food before setting sail back to Lagos harbour. It was spacious on the boat so gave us an opportunity for comfortable sunbathing on the relaxing journey back.

The 'Baia de Lagos' trip is a must-do while you are in the Lagos area and for 50 Euros with lunch and drinks it's very reasonable.

If you're looking for a traditional, relaxing holiday in the sun with lovely people I'd wholehearted recommend going to Burgau. There's lots to do in the area but just being in tiny Burgau is enough, I only wish I could have stayed for longer... oh well, it just means I'll have to make another trip to my favourite Portuguese village soon!

Jane x