Olhos dAgua Holidays

Fishing village

Visiting here is like taking a couple of paces back in time. The Algarve’s known for its bustling beach resorts and bigger-is-better golf courses, but Olhos d’Agua’s just not part of that crew. Instead, you’ll find a snoozy settlement with a cute sandy beach. Fishermen still tinker with their nets at one end of the waterfront, and family-run restaurants and cafés cluster together in the background.

Natural springs

If you’ve got a bit of a grasp of Portuguese, you might know that ‘agua’ translates as water. There’s a reason this place has this in its name. At low tide, underground freshwater springs bubble up through the sun-drenched shoreline. These ‘olheiros’, as locals have dubbed them, are easiest to spot among the rocks at the eastern end of the waterfront.

All-out Albufeira

Comparing Olhos d’Agua and Albufeira is like trying to judge Countryfile in the same beat as Love Island – it’s just not a thing. The latter of the two’s just a short drive along the coastline from its quieter counterpart, and delivers one of the most up-tempo atmospheres around. Bars clamber over one another to get close to the beach, and the old town’s chock-full of nifty boutiques and craft shops. Come sundown, the nightlife’s got enough about it to drag people in from miles around.