Driving the Algarve end to end covers barely 200 kilometres yet passes through three distinct coastlines. The trick is resisting the motorway's temptation: this trip lives on the old EN125 and the small roads it feeds.
Days 1–2 — Eastern lagoons (Vila Real → Tavira)
Start at the Guadiana river mouth and Cacela Velha's clifftop hamlet. Overnight in Tavira: island ferry afternoon, riverside dinner, morning market before departure.
Days 3–4 — Central beaches (Faro → Albufeira)
Cut through Faro for the airport-area wetlands or the old town, then follow the coast through golf country to Albufeira's old town. Detour inland to Silves' sandstone castle — the Algarve's Moorish capital — before the coast reclaims you.
Days 5–6 — Cliffs and fishing ports (Portimão → Lagos)
Benagil's cave from the sea, Ferragudo's quayside lunch, then the great cliff country: Marinha's boardwalk, Seven Hanging Valleys if legs permit, and Lagos as the comfortable overnight with its ponta at sunset.
Day 7 — The world's end
The final leg runs through surf villages — Salema, Zavial — to Sagres fortress and Cabo de São Vicente, mainland Europe's southwestern full stop. Watch the last sunset from the lighthouse cliffs; the road home can wait until morning.
