Things to do in Faro
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Faro
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Joint best window and the birding season, 18 to 25C, with spring migration, wildflowers and peak condition golf.
Beach and festival season at 28 to 35C plus. August is peak for prices, full boats and bridge traffic.
Recommended window. Warmest sea, crowds gone, Festival F in early September and Santa Iria in October. Late September is best.
Mild, quiet and cheap at 15 to 18C. A city and lagoon trip with strong winter birding, not a swimming beach holiday.
What's on
- Festa da Ria Formosa late July to early August
Eleven days of lagoon seafood stalls run by the shellfish gatherers association, the best eating week of the year.
- Festival F early September
End of summer music festival taking over the old town and São Francisco square with major Portuguese acts.
- Faro International Motorcycle Rally mid-July
One of Europe biggest biker gatherings at Vale das Almas. Hotels fill and quiet is scarce that week.
- FolkFaro August
International folk dance and music across the city.
- Santos Populares June
June street parties with grilled sardines, including São João.
- Feira de Santa Iria mid-to-late October
Faro traditional fair with markets, rides and concerts, the city oldest popular festival.
Best things to do in Faro
Cidade Velha
Walled old town entered through Arco da Vila, with the cathedral square, orange trees, storks and calm cobbled streets.
Sé de Faro
Layered cathedral on the old mosque site, worth it most for the tower panorama over the roofs and the Ria Formosa.
Capela dos Ossos
Small quiet bone chapel behind Igreja do Carmo, lined with the bones of over a thousand Carmelite monks.
Ria Formosa
Silent solar boat through lagoon channels for flamingos, spoonbills and osprey, best at low tide in the morning.
Ilha Deserta
Uninhabited barrier island with a boardwalk, dunes and 11km of sand, reached by ferry through the lagoon.
Ilha da Culatra
Working fishing island with a village, no cars, a boardwalk to a superb Atlantic beach and grilled fish for lunch.
Praia de Faro
The city beach on the barrier island, with surf on the Atlantic side and calm shallow lagoon water for children.
Museu Municipal de Faro
Small museum in a former convent, headlined by the large Roman Oceanus mosaic from Milreu and Moorish era material.
Where to stay in Faro
Cidade Velha and the marina
first trip, all-round base
Sleep where the trip happens, with the cathedral, tascas, ferry pier and marina sunsets within ten minutes on foot.
Baixa
best value and most local
Everyday centre around the pedestrian shopping street, with cafes and the market and slightly cheaper rooms.
Praia de Faro
beach-first stays
Wake on the sand and swim before breakfast, but town is a 15 to 20 minute bus ride over one bridge.
Estoi
a splurge night or two
Palace gardens, pools and village calm 10km inland, superb as a first or last night but not a base without a car.
Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo
golf and resort luxury
Gated resort country 20 to 25 minutes west, with villas, beach clubs and golf, and no old town at all.
Think twice about
- Airport corridor, Montenegro and Forum Algarve belt
Charmless and car dependent, built around the mall and flight path. Only choose it for a deliberate one night airport stop.
- Praia de Faro in deep winter
Much hospitality closes November to February and every town dinner becomes a bridge and bus exercise in Atlantic weather.
- Albufeira, Vilamoura or Quarteira listings sold as Faro
Some listings use Faro district or airport wording for places 30 to 45 minutes away. If the pin is not in the city, it is not Faro.
Best restaurants in Faro
Tasca do Ricky
Handful of tables serving ancestral Algarve recipes, famed for seafood cataplana, razor clam rice and grilled fish.
Taberna Zé-Zé
Classic no nonsense taberna whose seafood cataplana, built on Ria Formosa shellfish, is called one of the Algarve best.
À Do Pinto
Reliable bookable central seafood classic for arroz de marisco, clams Bulhão Pato style and fried octopus.
Alameda Restaurante
Fine dining step up applying Ocean trained technique to lagoon produce, the anniversary dinner inside the city.
Lodo
Lagoon on a plate, with locally farmed Ria Formosa oysters, clams, prawns in garlic and seafood xerém.
O Chalavar
Cheap local grill room near the market where fresh fish and oysters come at prices the marina front cannot approach.
Vila Adentro
Old town occasion restaurant in a historic house inside the walls, regional cooking at white tablecloth level.
Estaminé
Only building on an uninhabited island, a glass walled restaurant for a long wine paced lunch with lagoon views.
Outdoor things to do in Faro
Benagil Cave
Signature sea cave seen from the water on a small group boat run past the Marinha coast caves, beaches and snorkel stops.
Seven Hanging Valleys Trail
Cliff top walk from Marinha to Vale de Centeanes past arches, sinkholes and the Benagil roof opening, with no shade.
Quinta do Lago South Golf Course
The connoisseur round in the Golden Triangle, a championship layout with immaculate fast sloping greens.
Vale do Lobo Royal Golf Course
Clifftop golf famous for the par 3 16th over the beach, with the Ocean course as the other strong test nearby.
Ria Formosa kayak and SUP
Paddling sheltered tidal channels between marsh and sandbanks, timed to a rising tide and wide of feeding flocks.
Faro dolphin watching
Small boat ocean trip with a marine biologist guide looking for common and bottlenose dolphins past the islands.
Praia de Faro surf
Beginner friendly beach break by the bridge, plus lagoon side flat water used for kitesurf lessons in afternoon wind.
Mercados de Olhão
Twin waterfront market halls in the Algarve biggest fishing port, best on a Saturday morning before an island ferry.
Best hotels in Faro
3HB Faro
First five star in Faro, minutes from the old town, with a rooftop infinity pool, spa and lagoon views.
AP Eva Senses
Four star directly on the marina front with panoramic lagoon views, a rooftop pool and the ferry pier outside.
Occidental Faro
Reliable four star a short walk from the historic centre, with a rooftop bar loved for marina views.
Faro Boutique Hostel
Budget done well in the Baixa grid, small and sociable, ten minutes on foot from the old town sights and ferries.
Pousada Palácio de Estoi
Pink rococo palace slept in, with gardens, pools and spa in village quiet 15 minutes from the city.
Hotel Quinta do Lago
Grande dame five star between the golf courses and the Ria Formosa beach, inside the resort itself.
Conrad Algarve
Large polished modern resort with a serious spa, booked for resort service and golf rather than Faro atmosphere.
Is Faro expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €70 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €140 a person |
| Splurge | €350 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Benagil Cave: a few days ahead
- Quinta do Lago South Golf Course: weeks ahead
- Vale do Lobo Royal Golf Course: weeks ahead
- Pousada Palácio de Estoi: weeks ahead
- Hotel Quinta do Lago: weeks ahead
- Conrad Algarve: weeks ahead
- Taberna Zé-Zé: a few days ahead
- Alameda Restaurante: a few days ahead
- Small group Benagil tours sell out in season. Book days ahead and take the earliest departure.
- Prime Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo tee times go weeks ahead in spring and autumn. Bring a handicap certificate.
- Taberna Zé-Zé and Alameda book out. Tasca do Ricky takes no peak season reservations, so arrive early.
- Festival F and the July motorcycle rally fill limited central hotel stock early. In August arrive early for island ferries.
Is Faro safe?
- Pickpockets are a minor centre and station risk. Emergency number is 112.
- Car break-ins at beach and trailhead car parks are the signature crime. Leave nothing visible or valuable in the car.
- Swim on the ocean side of the islands or in lifeguarded zones, never in marina channels with tidal currents.
- July and August highs regularly exceed 35C. Do cliff trails and Milreu early, not at midday.
Faro travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Using Faro as a resort. There is no beach in front of the hotels and no cliff scenery in the city.
- Marina front picture menu restaurants charge a view premium for ordinary food. The marina is for drinks and sunset.
- Anyone selling a Benagil beach landing or swimming inside the cave. Boats no longer land passengers inside.
- Euronet ATMs and dynamic conversion. Use Multibanco machines and pay in euros.
- The couvert placed on your table is charged if touched. Decline it before eating if you do not want it.
Getting around Faro: public transport and more
- Airport is about 7km and 10 minutes from the centre by bus or Bolt, with no airport train station.
- Walk the compact centre. Trains run east to Olhão and Tavira and west to Lagos, and island ferries leave from Cais das Portas do Mar.
- Rent a car only for a western circuit, golf with your own clubs, or an inland day. Expect electronic motorway tolls.
Who Faro suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Faro your trip
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