The west coast

Some twenty kilometres to the north of Sagres is the low-key village of CARRAPATEIRA. Its only site is the modern Museu do Mar at the north end of town up a steep side road. The museum explores the village’s relationship with the sea, with a modest assembly of traditional tools and crafts and some evocative photos; there are also great views from its café. But most people are drawn by nearby Praia da Bordeira, a spectacular beach backed by giant dunes, a tiny river and crashing surf. The sandbanks provide shelter from the wind for a sizeable unauthorized campervan community, who seem to be tolerated by the local police.

Four kilometres south of Praia da Bordeira, along the coast road, lies Praia do Amado, which is also signed off the main road just south of Carrapateira. This fantastic, broad sandy bay backed by low hills with a couple of seasonal cafés is particularly popular with surfers. There’s also a surf school here (wwww.surfcamp-algarve.com).

Fairly regular buses run from Lagos and Portimão to the village of ALJEZUR, 16km north of Carrapeteira, a lively town, though some way inland from any beaches. The main coast road passes through a prosaic, modern lower town where you find banks, the post office and a range of cafés and restaurants. The more interesting historic centre spreads uphill beyond the bridge over the Aljezur river, a network of narrow cobbled streets reaching up through whitewashed houses to the remains of an eleventh-century Moorish castle. It’s a lovely walk with sweeping views over the valley, via a cluster of museums, including the Casa Museu Pintor José Cercas, which displays the works and collections of local artist José Cercas, who lived in the house until his death in 1992. His well-observed landscapes and religious scenes are complemented by the attractive house and pretty garden, though inform the Museu Municipal if you want to visit as it is often locked.

One the west coast of the Algarve, the attractive village of ODECEIXE tumbles down a hillside opposite the broad valley of the Odeceixe River, below the winding, tree-lined main coast road. Sleepy out of season, its character changes in summer when it attracts a steady stream of backpackers, surfers, campervanners and families, lured by a superb beach and a very laid-back atmosphere. The beach, the Praia de Odeceixe, is 4km west of the village, reached down a verdant river valley, the fields either side neatly cultivated with corn. A road-train trundles back and forth during July and August, but it’s a lovely walk as well, following the river to a broad, sandy bay framed by low cliffs. It is one of the most sheltered beaches on this stretch of coast, offering superb surfing and relatively safe swimming, especially when the tide is out.