Sips & Trips with Molly

Lagos in Portugal is a beautiful place to have a girls holiday. The stunning beaches, delicious food and the cute shops are just some of the many reasons why it should be on the top of your list.

We went to Lagos in the Algarve in September for my mums 60th birthday with a total of 9 ladies! It was just the best trip ever and I can’t believe I’ve waited this long to share it with you all!

Where We Stayed

My sister, ever the planner, found the most stunnnning villa – something like the Kardashians had with the spiral staircases, called Casa Clementina. It has 6 bedrooms and up to 16 people can sleep there which makes it a great choice for a girls holiday.

It cost me around £400 odd for 6 nights which is pretty amazing, so you are looking at £60 a night depending on the time you go. It has the most gorgeous pool (heating it costs extra), terrace, balconies, bathrooms – everything just screamed boujee.

It’s also only around a 5-10 minute drive from the actual main town so you are far enough away for it to be quiet but close enough to not be away from everything.

Transport Around Lagos, Portugal

Transport was pretty easy and cheap, they have Uber but also Bolt – with Bolt if you are a new user you get like 30% off your first trip. In total for a week I spent about £30 if that on Ubers, a journey could literally be around £5 sometimes.

From the main airport, Lagos, it’s about an hour. If you can, get an Uber, but there are plenty of taxis at the airport but prices can be more expensive. Expect to pay around £120 maybe – it worked out around £20 each which to be honest again was cheaper than what you get in other places.

Beaches to Visit in Lagos, Portugal

Praia de Luz

Oh the beaches, they were just unreal and there’s so many to choose from it’s ridiculous. We first decided to visit Praia de Luz, about an 8 minute drive away from our villa which made it super easy. We did decide to go earlier around 10am to secure some sunbeds for the day, this was around £20 euro for 2 x beds and an umbrella which is a great deal.

It was such a brilliant vibe, so chill, there were restaurants and kiosks nearby if you needed refreshments and you are right next to the cutest market. Have a wonder and buy something from the local sellers, they have gorgeous dresses and accessories whilst you take a break from relaxing. Go in the sea, have a dip, I promise it’s not that bad! I will say look out for seaweed, this is normal to occur in Portugal, especially after the summer season.

Praia Dona Ana

There’s a couple of iconic beaches and this is one of them. Praia Dona Ana is one of the most picturesque beaches in the Lagos area due to it’s enveloping cliffs, staircases and views of the ocean.

Again, we went early around 9am and stayed till 3pm because theres less sunbeds and they get booked up. You have a restaurant nearby with toilets so you really have everything that you need. If you want somewhere just to completely relax and unwind, this is the place.

My Favourite Places To Eat

If you are a foodie, this is the place to be. Below are some of my favourite places we eated:

Boaty’s Tapas Cafe

Located in Praia de Luz, Boaty’s Tapas Cafe is an absolute gem. My sister taught this to me, but go on Google Reviews, look at the places above 4.5 stars and manually review them and this is how I found this place. You are able to book which is great! They have Sangria and more to enjoy but the food was just beautiful. I shared with my sister and had patatas bravas, chicken skewers and the blue cheese salad – this salad changed my life. I didn’t even take any pictures because the food was gone but please do come here the food is just so so yummy!

Guanabana

Guanabana is a Mexican restaurant we stumbled across in Lagos due to it’s funky decor and pure vibes and the food didn’t disappoint either. I had a classic Paloma which was lush – tequila and grapefruit soda is beautiful. Then we had some nachos and tacos which is standard. I went to Mexico last year and I will say I will only say I like certain places if it tastes similar to what we had in Mexico and this place did!

Barbosa

Barbosa was top of my list, and I really really hoped we got to go here and luckily due to timings we did. We sat outside in the cute cobbled street and had some super tasty tapas. I think for tapas and a couple of wines I spent like £15 and seeing as this is one of the most popular restaurants it’s such amazing value for money. We had albonigas, tuna, padron peppers and so much more. I’d come back to Portugal just for the food if i’m being honest.

Trips To Do

We didn’t have time to do everything so I’m going to share to the two things we did do – I will say if you can always do a walking tour!

Food Tour

Everyone told me the food in Portugal is next level, and they were right. We did a food tour for around £80-90 can’t remember the exact price but you get a mini walking tour of the city and visit local restaurants to taste the local cuisine. If you aren’t a fish fan, perhaps this might not be for you.

I can’t remember the companies name as my sister found it privately but they were so so good. Our tour guide was so lovely! The first place we went to we had stingray soup – it tasted like chicken and tomato I did not know it was stingray but it was lovely. We then had the local green wine (again amazing) followed by sizzling chorizo – I am a HUGE chorizo fan so this was right up my street.

The next place we had a pork sandwich with Piri Piri sauce which nearly blew my mouth off because I was just picturing Nandos haha! They also gave us clams which I wasn’t hugely in love with but I had quite a few as I wanted to try everything. There was also a surprise of moonshine at the end which – well there’s no words for that shot.

We ended our tour at this restaurant and had deep fried peppers and a beef dish which I can’t remember exactly what it was. This is a great reminder to always write down my experiences and not leave them 6 months – but also I was in love with the first place so maybe that’s it. I do recommend to do a food tour wherever you visit, for me anyway food is such a big part of travelling.

Go On a Boat Trip

If you are wanting a chilled catamaran trip, I’m sure there are ones like these in the Algarve, but it’s definitely not the one we went on. When we booked it, I don’t think we realised what we were in for. I loved it but it was interesting!

I can’t find the link on Get Your Guide, but it was a big Blue Fleet boat which had 2 levels. The meeting point is at the train station, and we were told it was slightly chopping – naturally on the bottom of the coast and near cliffs this can be expected. Once your on board, you can buy drinks from the bar downstairs – I think the boat without drinks was like £20 or something.

You spend a couple of hours sailing across the gorgeous coastline right up against the cliffs, literally right up against it – which we weren’t expecting or thought was even possible. I can’t lie, I never get seasick but I did feel a bit rough but you get used to it and to be able to be that close to the cliffs was such an experience.

After that, you then sail to the other side of Lagos where it’s a lot calmer and get the chance to jump in the sea which of course we did. It was cold but oh so much fun. It was perfect for the girls trip we had planned. It was only a couple of hours, so perfect if people didn’t want to spend all day on the boat and had enough time to enjoy the ocean.

Overall, I’d say Lagos is a great destination for a girls trip. Spend quality time with your besties and have plenty of pastel de natas!