Jeremy

When we impulsively decided to visit the Algarve in southern Portugal, we decided we would do it in style at Marriott’s Pine Cliffs Hotel.

Part of this is because when you’re at one of the most beautiful seasides in Europe, you probably want to stay somewhere with a view. The other part is that finding accommodations with a view in the Algarve is rather difficult!

The simple explanation for why this is an issue is because the beaches in the Algarve are backed by some of the most dramatic cliffs you’ll ever see. Due to this unique geography, hotels typically do not build directly on the beaches, but rather on top of the cliffs themselves and many are several blocks away near the main roads at that.

Finding properties at the edge of one of these cliffs with a prized view is easier said than done, and generally means you’re going to be paying a premium to stay at a resort and even more if you want a room with a view.

It was the best decision we made in the Algarve.

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Most travelers are familiar with the English megaliths known as Stonehenge, but there are actually other neolithic structures all over Europe worth exploring beyond this iconic landmark.

In Portugal, some of the oldest and largest collections of megaliths can be found just outside of the town of Evora, and during our visit to the city we made a day trip out to explore three sites dating back 7,000+ years.

These were the Cromeleque dos Almendres, Menhir dos Almendres, and the Great Dolmen of Zambujeiro. While the first two are easily reached via car, the latter was an adventure we will never forget.

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While our trip to Portugal was primarily to seek out the country’s best food and beverages, we knew we had to work in a stopover in the mountains to take a break, enjoy the fresh air, and more importantly- go hiking to work off the absurd about of food we were eating!

This goal led us to Manteigas- a stunning little mountain town in the heart of Serra da Estrela Natural Park (home to Torre- the tallest point in mainland Portugal).

Purely from driving in and out of this town, we would’ve had our fill of mountains and had been overjoyed with the experience. But we really needed to go on a hike, and while in the area we hit up the 7-mile Rota do Javali for a moderate, ~3 1/2 hour morning hike up and over a mountain. 

If you have any chance to visit the area, you’ll want to consider adding on this hike if you can!

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When we decided to visit Portugal, we knew we would rent a car to drive around the country to explore as much as possible. We went into it assuming that driving in Portugal would be a lot like in other European countries we’ve driven in, like Italy and Iceland- that is to say, crazy at worst or covered with speed cameras at best.

As it turns out, driving in Portugal was incredibly easy, and apart from a few key issues worth highlighting we really had no problems at all. In this one, we thought we’d share more about what you can expect when picking up a car to explore here!

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