Walking the Rota Vicentina in Algarve - 8 days

The starting point of the trip is the coastal village of Zambujeira do Mar. Here, you can bathe on the Zambujeira beach, or adapt immediately to the portuguese lifetsyle tasting local specialties on your first dinner of the trip.

After a short taxi transfer to Almograve, you will start your walk to Zambujeira along the marked Rota Vicentina route, a path often trodden by fishermen. Along the walk you will have the chance to see the Cabo Sardão lighthouse, in the pictoresque village of Cavalheiro, and you ill marvel at the extraordinary views on the sea and on the steep cliffs that characterise this portion of the coast.

If you do not feel up to walking the whole route, you can shorten the stage cutting 8 km with an optional transfer.

Today you will again walk on the Rota Vicentina, passing from fishermen villages and sandy beaches: a wonderful path, where dunes alternate with rocky creeks where storks nest.

Towards the end of the leg you will make out, in the distance, the white houses and the orange roofs  of Odeceixe, a rural village surrounded by the green of the Natural Park of Costa Vicentina.

Today you will walk inland, following the Rota Vicentina between rural tracks and quiet tarmac lanes, winding through the cultivated fields of the countryside, then continuing towards Aljezur accompanied by the scent of the heather bushes.

If you prefer to walk on the coast today, you can take a short detour at the start. This involves 3km on tarmac, so you may want to order a taxi to skip that section. Toward the end of the walk, you take another short detour, this time to Praia da Amoreira. You will need to arrange an extra transfer from Praia da Amoreira to Aljezur (optional – this not included in the trip price).

After a short transfer to the village of Arrifana, you will be able to choose todays's route: you can follow the Rota Vicentina inland, between mediterreanean shrubland, cultivated fields, and small villages where you can stop for a typical iced coffee. As an alternative, if the tide level allows it, you can follow a coastline path.

The real treat however, awaits for you at the splendid Bordeira da Carrapateira beach, a surfers' paradise and one of Portugal's finest beaches, where the bravest will have the chance to celebrate today's arrival with a swim in the Ocean. A transfer will take you to Pedralva, an ex-ghost village now brought back to life after a fascinating restoration process.

Today's walk, after an initial transfer back to Carrapateira, will be a mix of coastline and inland paths towards Vila do Bispo: in the first section of the leg you might come across fishermen perched patiently on the cliffs. Vila do Bispo is a town full of history which preserves the heritage of the people that have inhabited the area: from prehistoric Menhirs to ruins of the Phoenician and Roman civilizations, that left temples and furnaces.

The last stage takes you through the fields and pastures of Portugal's south-western corner. You will walk on rocky shores through fishermen paths: if the weather is good, you will able to stop for a swim in the beach of Praia do Ponta Ruiva, a scenic point for the contrast of its red rocks with the sea blue. If you are lucky, you will be able to spot a majestic falcon in flight.

The destination of this last day is the windy Cabo São Vicente, that will offer a spectacular view on the Ocean as a Goodbye present. A transfer will take you back to Vila do Bispo for your last night.

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