The traveling adventures of Midwest photographer Courtney Tompson

ALGARVE
Algarve is the southernmost region of Portugal known for its fishing villages and cliff-riddled coastline. You’ll find nice pockets of sandy coves for beach dwellers and restaurants full or delicious seafood.

TRANSPORTAION
When visiting the Algarve region I both recommend you rent a car and simultaneously (if you choose this option) fear for you at the same time. Needless to say our car renting experience is one I will never be able to forget. For the love of everything, just stay away from the automatic Fiat 500.

Feel free to move along but if you want to hear my tragic car rental tale, buckle up…

Dearest Fiat, I WILL FOREVER HATE YOU!
Based on our trajectory for Portugal renting a car to get around seemed the best option. As neither Alicia or I can drive a manual car that left us with few car options (for future reference, if you want better options and prices book early). Even though it was a tight fit the Fiat 500 was a decent price and with a little maneuvering fit all 3 passengers and our belongings just fine.

Day 1 & 2 went pretty smoothly, but it is the trip to the grocery store where things went haywire. Upon leaving, I moved Mr. Fiat into reverse, pushed the gas and…break! “Why in the world are we going forward?” Take 2 “Ummmm it’s still going forward.” 3 “What in the hell?” Turn off car. Try again. “OMG what in the world is happening.” Inches away from the pole and car in front of us I turned off the car again only to have a pretty epic breakdown. Yes my insurance and credit card would take care of the damage if inflicted but that really is the last thing you want to think about when renting a car in a foreign country. SIGH, More SIGHS. Sooooo…..we waited. About 15 mins later the lady whose car was parked in front of us left the store. Okay, time to try again. At least if I hit the poll that’s not another person’s vehicle I also have to contend with insurance wise. Move the car again into reverse and magic! Finally the car decides to move the right direction. Relief.

Relief was short lived. More times than I like to count did I find myself moving forward when our little fiat was put in reverse. Every time I pushed on the gas my anxiety mounted as I wondered if the car would decide to go the right direction. Inches away from a curb that would’ve inflicted multiple scratches, in front of a building, nestled between cars. Never will I ever rent a mini fiat again. Don’t you do it either. I promise it’s a bad idea.

That however, is not the end. I find it really strange when you have to look at youtube videos on how to fill your gas tank. Thank goodness we had phones with internet. Seriously it was complicated.

One more thing… it wasn’t until the last couple of days driving, Mr. Fiat, that I realized our automatic car was not so automatic. It would grind and groan along the highway. I would give it gentle loving taps of encouragement in hopes Mr. Fiat wouldn’t die right in under us. Finally one day I started shifting the gears. And bam, the groaning stopped. But um, excuse me, but did I not rent an automatic vehicle? Since when do you have to shift gears in an automatic?
The day we drove into the Sixt return in Porto (which will be my next city to blog) I could have cried. Goodbye Fiat. So long. I will now forever have anxiety every time I put a car in reverse. I will not miss you. We are not friends.

STAY
During our time in Algarve we stayed at a gorgeous AIRBNB in Ferragudo a civil parish near Portimao. The white-washed rooms and terrace were 5 star. A two-minute walk towards the water left us with gorgeous cliff views. However, without our rental car it would have been hard to get around this area. If traveling via public transit, Portimao or Lagos would be a much better area to stay.

EAT
Restaurant Bar Atlantico 1976
Try: fish soup

O Pescador Benagil
Try: Taco de ceviche, ceasar of the sea salad, octopus risotto

ADVENTURE
Benagail Cave: This sea cave is definitely worth the visit. I’d recommend kayaking or paddle boarding over. There are many boat tours you can take, but the boats only briefly go inside the cave and won’t let you out onto the beach.

Seven Hanging Valleys Trail: A round trip of 11.5km this trail takes you along the coastline for gorgeous views. You can even stop along the way to visit Bengail Cave. Plus there’s a view along the trail that allows you to look down and see the cave from above. There’s very little shade along this route so sunscreen it up.

The prettiest street in all of Portugal!

ALGARVE, PORTUGAL

FEATURED POSTS