The following Albufeira itinerary is brought to you by Sydney from Alone and Abroad, an American living abroad! Read on for some of her Albufeira must-dos.

Alright readers, it’s time for another Portugal holiday itinerary, this time visiting the southern coastal town of Albufeira!

I’ve lived in Europe for almost 3 years now, and recently received my first visitor – my mom. We toured Albufeira as a part of a whirlwind trip across Portugal and instantly fell in love with this seaside village. 

Sure, it rained every single day we were there. 

And sure, I thought I was going to die on our forest jeep tour. 

But despite the setbacks, adding Albufeira to the itinerary was an unforgettable experience. It’s all part of the adventure, right?

Anyways, there’s so much to do, and so little time in this Albufeira three day itinerary. So, grab your sunscreen and sense of adventure – let’s go explore this Portuguese paradise!

Where to Stay in Albufeira

FYI – every single hotel in this list has air conditioning. I will never, ever knowingly recommend accommodation without it. 

• Smy Santa Eulalia Algarve: A pet friendly & budget friendly hotel less than 10 minutes from the beach.
• Orada Apartamentos: Colorful apartment buildings with separate pools for children and adults. 
• Vila Petra: A luxury private apartment complex, complete with 3 swimming pools, 3 restaurants, 3 bars, and even a grocery store!

Day 1: Exploring Old Town

Our Albufeira itinerary starts with a slow-paced day seeing the sights, learning about the city’s history, and trying the local cuisine.

Breakfast: Find a Sunny Outdoor Cafe 

One of the goals of any beach trip is to get as much sun as possible. That starts now, by having breakfast in an outdoor cafe. Here’s just a few cafe options:

• Fat Cats on the Marina – As the name implies, this place is perfect for sipping a cappuccino and watching the boats drift by.
• Samora Cafe & More – Affordable yet tasty coffee, fresh baked goods, and, most importantly, a sunny terrace. 
• The Waterfront – If it was any closer to the ocean it would be underwater.

Morning: Stroll Through the City Center

Part of the joy of traveling comes from wandering and discovering what’s around the corner on your own. But, if you want some pointers about where to begin your downtown wanderings, then check these spots out: 

• Clock Tower: An 18th century iron tower that is visible from nearly every corner of Albufeira.
• Old Castle Walls: Though not much of the castle is still standing, some surviving parts of the old castle walls are visible on Rua Joaquim Pedro Samora.
• Archaeology Museum: Divided into the city’s four major historical periods – Prehistory, the Roman Period, the Islamic Period, and the Modern age.
• Old Church’s Arch: Originally the site of a mosque, later converted to a church, the arch on Rua da Igreja Velha is all that remains after the 1755 earthquake.

Lunch: Try Local Seafood Dishes

Now, full disclosure – this is a bit of a “do as I say, not as I do” situation because I don’t eat fish. But as a coastal town, fresh seafood is everywhere in Albufeira. 

So with that said, Cataplana de Marisco is a Portuguese fish stew that combines lobster, shrimp, squid, and clams. Named after the pot it’s traditionally cooked in, it’s a great way to sample a bit of everything.

Os Arcos Restaurante was recommended to me by my Airbnb host, who swears they have the best seafood in Albufeira.

Afternoon: Find a Miradouro

‘Miradouro’ is Portuguese for viewpoint. If you’ve ever been to Lisbon, you’ve no doubt seen the many, many miradouros scattered across town. Find a miradouro, and you’ll usually find a terrace with benches, a stunning view, and maybe even a little cafe.

Miradouro do Pau da Bandeira is the closest to the city center. Take the escalator from the beach to the top and you’ve arrived!

Dinner and Drinks

As night falls, Albufeira transforms into a nightlife hotspot. The Strip, along Avenida Sá Carneiro, is the go-to area for bars and nightclubs. 

I traveled with my mom so there there was no clubbing for me, but if I come back with friends, here is where I would go: 

• Portas da Vila Bar – Affectionately known as “the Shell House”  both the inside and the outside are covered in thousands of seashells.
• Grease Bar – I’m a sucker for a good karaoke bar. If I go back to Albufeira, I’m absolutely going to this 1950s American diner themed bar, getting a couple drinks, and belting out Bohemian Rhapsody.

Day 2: Beaches, Dolphins, and Cave Exploring

For day two of our Albufeira in three days itinerary, we’re tackling more unmissable things to do!

Breakfast: Pastries in an Outdoor Terrace

Another day, another cafe.

This time to try an Algarve staple, carob tarts. Carob has a very similar taste to chocolate, just less sweet. Sometimes the tarts will have only carob, some tarts will have carob and figs, and others will have carob and almonds.

Which combination is the best? I don’t know, I guess we’ll have to try them all to find out.

Morning: Boats, Dolphins, and Cave Adventures

For me, the highlight of this Albufeira three day itinerary was the catamaran cruise. You get to zip all across the Algarve coastline, searching for dolphins and exploring hidden caves.

The most famous cave in Albufeira is called Benagil. It’s sometimes nicknamed the “cathedral cave” for the dome of light that shines through the center. It goes without saying that visiting is a must!

You could also hike along the coast to visit Benagil, or take a kayak tour. It does tend to get crowded in the afternoon so it might be best to get there as early as possible.

Lunch: More Seafood Along the Ocean

Not far from Benagil cave is Restaurante O Stop, a traditional Portuguese restaurant serving fresh, generously portioned seafood. And if you’re picky like me, they also have several non-seafood options too!

Afternoon: Swimming

And of course, the Algarve’s main attraction – the beach! 

The main beach in Albufeira is Praia dos Pescadores – Fisherman’s Beach. Named for the fishing boats that used to line the beach, it’s a 2 kilometer (1.25 miles) stretch of golden sand and aquamarine water that stays between 18 – 20 C (67 – 72 F) in the summer. 

Even in the height of tourist season, there’s plenty of room for beach chairs, sunbeds, and sometimes an inflatable kids waterpark. There’s even masseuses offering back massages!

Dinner: Piri-Piri Chicken Where it was Created

Piri-piri chicken is one of Portugal’s best known dishes. While everyone has their own recipe, this dish consists of chicken that is marinated in piri-piri sauce – a mix of garlic, olive oil, salt, lemon juice, and spicy piri-piri chilies (10 times hotter than a jalapeno!) and grilled over a charcoal barbeque. You’ll know it’s good when the skin is blackened by the charcoal. 

Since 1964, Restaurante Ramires has held the honor of being the first restaurant to serve piri-piri chicken. It’s slightly outside of the city center, but worth the journey.

Day 3: Mountains, Off-Road Jeeps, and Cork Forests

We’re going further off the beaten path (and off any roads, really) up to the mountains to see a cork forest.

Coffee and Portuguese Pastries

Our Albufeira itinerary is coming to a close. Let’s mark the occasion with some doce finos. Doce finos are delightfully adorable pastries from the Algarve that are made of marzipan dough, stuffed with an egg jam filling, then decorated to look like fruits or animals.

Pastelaria Riviera serves hand-made doce finos and other classic Portuguese pastries. If you’re looking to sample some other traditional delicacies, bola de berlim (stuffed sugar-coated doughnut), pastel de nata (custard tart), or pão de deus (brioche topped with a sweet coconut mixture) are some of my personal favorites.

Jeep Tour Day Trip

Here’s a fun fact for you – Portugal is the world’s biggest producer of cork, and home to the largest cork forest in the world. This is why you’ll find cork shoes, handbags, hats, and even jackets all across Portugal. 

Cork comes from the bark of a cork tree; it’s harvested by shaving off the tree’s outer layer. The bark keeps growing back, making cork a completely renewable resource!

For the next stop in this Albufeira itinerary, we’re going to explore these forests.

There are many different tour guides in Albufeira that offer tours of the cork forests. We went with Alsafari Jeep Tours, an experience that was… wilder than I would have liked.

The plan was to drive through the cork forest, stop briefly at a goji berry farm, have lunch in a small village called Alte, and then go to a miradouro before heading back to Albufeira. But several things went wrong.

First, our tour had to be rescheduled because the driver never showed up to pick-up point.

After we had finally been picked up, we arrived to the beautiful Algarve countryside. As we began to be surrounded by olive and cork trees, our driver told us to stand and look out of the jeep’s open top for a better view.

About a minute later, the jeep’s backdoor burst open.

I was standing the closest to the door and was almost thrown out of the jeep. Thankfully, the passenger next to me grabbed my arm while everyone else was yelling for the driver to stop. She was the only thing keeping me from tumbling out – my legs were flying out of the jeep!

After what felt like an eternity (but was probably 90 seconds), the driver stopped and got out of the car. After making sure I was okay, he berating us for standing – even though he had just told us to stand!

Add in a thunderstorm, the driver yelling at several other guests, and someone nearly puking from the rough driving, and it wasn’t an experience I would personally repeat.

Christina’s note: If you have alternative tour recommendations for this area, please let us know in the comments because (I’m hoping) they’re not all this unhinged.

Afternoon: Explore the Mountain Village of Alte

The best part of the tour was getting to walk around Alte. I had read about this quaint Portuguese village in a book years before, so getting to see the white washed houses and little canals in person was a fantastic experience.

If you go to Alte, stop at Doçaria Água Mel and treat yourself to a pastry or two. Their terrace hangs off the side of a cliff and has breathtaking views of the mountains.

The countryside was gorgeous. The village of Alte was delightful. The cork forest is absolutely worth seeing – as long as you don’t make the same mistakes I did. You’ll be fine if you do one of these three things:

1. Get your own rental car. 
2. Don’t listen to your driver if he says it’s safe to stand. 
3. Make sure you’re not the one sitting next to the door.

Enjoy a Final Portuguese Dinner

Our three day tour of Albufeira is coming to a close, and we’ll celebrate by feasting on traditional cuisine one last time. 

There is one type of fish I will eat, and it’s one that has become synonymous with Portuguese cuisine – bacalhau! Bacalhau is Portuguese for codfish, and the love for this fish runs deep here in Portugal –  there are literally 1001 recipes across the country.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find any Portuguese restaurant that doesn’t offer it in some shape or form. Personally, I prefer pasteis de bacalhau (deep fried codfish pastry) and bacalhau com natas (a cod, potatoes, onions, and cream mixture, baked in the oven and utterly delicious). 

Some recommendations for your final Albufeiran meal: 

• The Beach Basket – We went here to hide from a rainstorm, and I’m grateful we did. We found great food, better wine, and a wonderful view of the stormy sea.
• O Marinheiro – A Michelin-starred Portuguese cuisine in a villa-style restaurant just outside of the city center.
• Restaurante Tres Coroas – One of the oldest restaurants in Albufeira has a terrace that lies beneath flowering vines and pomegranate trees. Add in a stellar view of the ocean, and what better way is there to end a trip to the Algarve?

I Hope You Enjoyed This Guide on How to Spend Three Days in Albufeira!

Let us know in the comments if you have any more questions about this Albufeira three day itinerary!