Travel the Algarve on a Budget

Connect with me!

The Algarves in Portugal is a great destination for your next summer vacation, especially if you are on a budget. Portugal is one of the cheapest countries in Europe and with more than 80km of stunning coastline, you’ll find a spot of one of the many beaches to relax, which is a free activity!

The Algarve is in general, cheaper to visit than Greece or Spain and you can really stretch your Euro’s far.

We recently spent one week in the Algarves and as we travel a lot, we never have a large budget for our spending money.

Our Aim: to NOT go over €100 per day (or €50 per person per day).

Things to note within this breakdown: We didn’t avoid spending money and we ate in some touristy areas, knowing now that we could definitely have spent less money had we known where to eat (and not eat!) ahead of time!

Also, during our time in our first hotel we were also able to have a big breakfast, and make use of the breakfast buffet, making sandwiches to take to the beach for our lunch.

Lastly, this is a breakdown of our ‘spending money‘ during the trip. Hotel, flights and car rental costs (including petrol) are not being included as for us, we budgeted those separately.

Flights cost €150 return each from Amsterdam to Faro. Accommodation cost €340 each for 6 nights. More flight & accommodation costs in the Travel Cost Breakdown.

See post on what to do in the Algarves.

Did we make it under our budget of €100 per day for the two of us?! Find out below!

Map of The Algarves with my recommendations pinned

Here’s a breakdown of what we spent our money on in the Algarve:

Day 1 Rundown

Our first day of vacation we drove from Amsterdam to Eindhoven, where we parked in the pre-booked airport parking, took the short shuttle to the Airport and boarded our flight for Faro. Upon arriving in Faro, we picked up our rental car and drove to our hotel in Loule, a 30 minute drive away. After check-in we went to a local restaurant for dinner!

What we spent on Day 1

Day 2 Rundown

On our 2nd day in Portugal we drove to Lagos, where we picked up some groceries and proceeded to find parking along the main beach-front strip. After spending our day on the beaches we headed for a walk in Lagos, enjoyed a beer in the Skybar, then drove to O’Baradas Winery for dinner.

What we spent on Day 2

Day 3 Rundown

Day 3 went a little something like this: after breakfast we drove to Benagil beach and found free street parking. We booked ourselves kayaks on the beach, which were already sold out until 5:30pm, so we only stayed on Benagil beach for 2 hours, before taking a short trip over to Porches Pottery to get out of the sun. After some much needed drinks and retail therapy, we headed back to Benagil beach to kayak. For dinner we drove to nearby town of Pera.

What we spent on Day 3

Day 4 Rundown

After breakfast we headed for the beaches near Albufeira and settled on Sao Rafael after finding free parking. Once the sun was gone after a long day spent on the beach, we drove to Albufeira for dinner and ice cream.

What we spent on Day 4

Day 5 Rundown

Today was check-out day for our hotel in Loule. After check-out we finally went to the Loule market, purchasing some local piri piri salt rub, grabbed to-go-coffees and drove to Sao Lourenco church. After our visit, we drove to Faro, parked for free, and headed down to the pier to take a boat to Ilha Deserta. In the evening we checked into our hotel, meandered around Faro, catching dinner along the way.

What we spent on Day 5

Day 6 Rundown

An early start for our last full day, with a drive over to Vilamoura for our dolphin-watching boat ride. Sadly no dolphins. After our boat ride, we had some coffees in the marina then headed for the palace of Estoi as the sun was not showing yet. After checking out the palace of Estoi, we drove over to Faro beach where we again found free parking right behind the beach. Along the beach we had lunch in the beachclub and spent our afternoon relaxing on the beach. In the evening we enjoyed wine on our rooftop terrace, and dined in a Portugese tapas bar.

What we spent on Day 6

TOTAL Trip Spending : €596.50

TOTAL per person : €298.25

AVERAGE Per Person, Per Day : €49.70

Yes, we made it under our spending goal of €100 per day, only just!

However, having had a few expensive meals in touristy areas (which weren’t any better than our cheaper meals – except of course for Restaurant O’Barradas which is brilliant!), we could definitely have cut our costs if we had eaten less touristy at dinner time.

I hope this breakdown helps you plan your budget for a trip to the Algarves!

Book your trip to the Algarves!

Don’t forget to Pin for later!

Connect with me!

About Lesley

Australian expat, married to a Dutch guy, living in Amsterdam. Previously lived in London for 3 years, too! Lover of travel, coffee, brunch, beaches, fresh flowers, and family. Now a new mum, navigating life with a baby!