A Coast of Many Colours

Great holiday escape for November. Still very warm in the day but cold at night. Walking in Portugal is great as the seas and sights are so varied. Good hotel contrasts and excellent fresh fish everywhere.

The coastal sections of this walk were spectacular, especially the circular walk round the headland from Carrapateira. Some of the inland stretches were monotonous, but this may have been partly due to the time of year (November) where flowers were not in bloom. The walk was generally fairly easy, consistent with its Level 1/2 rating, but there one section where a relatively short cliff ascent was difficult, especially for people with vertigo. In some areas, it would be easy to get lost if relying on the written instrucions, so downloading the GPX files is essential.

Really enjoyed this walk. We have been on hotel-to-hotel walks several times with Innravel and have never been disappointed. As ever the booking process was simple and stress-free with the help of the team. Re the walk itself, while the inland sections were pleasant, the coastal sections stole the show really. We did get a bit lost a few times but the supplied GPX files proved very worthwhile having and got us back on track (after a day or two we started using them instead of the notes). Hotels were very good and I think we could easily have enjoyed longer stays at Salema (very nice little resort) and Carrapateira (the standout hotel of the trip, lovely place and lovely staff). 

A Coast of Many Colours certainly lives up to its name, from the red, ochre, yellow and gold colours of the cliffs to the swathes of pretty coloured wildflowers and accompanying butterflies, it was a delight for the senses. It is a wonderful way to experience the Algarve away from the crowds.

Beautiful coastline, stunning beaches, but be prepared for challenging ascents and descents. Superb accommodation 

We were lucky to find a small colony on monarch butterflies along side the grounds at Casa Fajara. For one of our days there we also chose our own route for a walk, up the valley from the hotel to Vilharinha then turning North uphill and then West along what is essentially a ridge on the northern side of the valley back to Carrapateira. This was a beautiful walk, a little shorter than the option given through Bordeira.

The area is beautiful and in late May, the wildflowers abundant and spectacular. The lovely smell of the bushes, shrubs and wild herbs in the heat of the day on the cliff tops reminded me of the maquis. Walking down through the sand dunes forrested with cypress and finally coming to the wonderful beach and the constant sound of the Atlantic rollers was the final reward.

Inntravel always seems to find quiet and interesting walking routes, even in busy areas. This was especially true of the inland and hill walking. Casa Fajara at Carrapateira was a delightful find, a highlight both for the location and quality of the hotel and the friendliness of the staff.

Another excellent Inntravel walking holiday. Great accommodation, especially interesting were those at Pedralva and Casa Fajara. The breakfasts at the Atlantic and Casa Fajara would challenge any top end boutique hotel. Overall a very good variety of coastal and inland walks show casing the quiet side of the Algarve. The bonus was sunshine each day with a welcome warm breeze. Enjoyed the variety of fresh fish to chose from each evening as we readied ourselves for the next day's walk.

This is our ninth Inntravel holiday together and first in Portugal. We loved the variety of walks along coastline, beaches and through pine woods. Apart from a couple of rocky climbs near the beach,  it was fairly easy walking. Although in wet weather you may need to traverse 'mini streams', there is usually a way around. We were lucky with the weather....dry, sunny and warm for March/April. The paths abound with wild flowers, cistus, lavender and fragrant flowering gorse. Wonderful aromas, butterflies and sight and sound of the birds. The beaches felt wild and surfers lick the waves. The hotels were all quite different. Loved the views from the apartment at Salema and the mini kitchen. Enjoyed our meal at restaurant O Lourenco. We stayed an extra night at Pedralva, which had an excellent restaurant, but the village lacked atmosphere in the daytime, and would benefit from more outdoor seating areas and planting...the pool is having major repairs. The hotel at Vila de Bispo had a welcome heated indoor pool. Casa Fajara was a gem. Describes itself as a 'rustic' boutique hotel. It's set in a valley with fantastic views. The  staff were warm and helpful, the rooms individual. It had various indoor and outdoor seating areas, a pool, sauna and we enjoyed our breakfast and the evening meals they provided. Not so keen on the local restaurant, where we had our final meal. When we arrived, there were a total of eight Inntravellers, to share ideas and experiences. All in all we loved the walking,  scenery and sunshine ...another great holiday from Inntravel. Thank you!

Another very good trip with Inntravel and we particularly enjoyed returning to Portugal as there is so much excellent fresh fish. We enjoyed the variety of coastal and inland walks, although the walks themselves were not that exciting and there were few villages or places to stop along each one. It was also a lot warmer than we expected at the end of March which made the walking challenging – boots & poles needed on the cliffs – and the inland walks were mainly along sandy tracks with little shade. Take plenty of water as there few places to top it up. The route notes were good but unfortunately quite old and often confusing. We used them as a starting point but regularly referred to the invaluable GPX tracks when we weren’t sure. We use Wikiloc and download the routes and an offline map to save on data and phone battery. We would certainly have got lost without them. Adding 3 nights in Faro made the overall holiday for us. We also added an extra night in Salema (we loved being so close to the sea) and another in Pedralva. Our favourite hotel was Casa Fajara, the place, the welcoming staff and the food made it very special. We had excellent fish (sea bream for 2) at Atlantico in Salema, enjoyed Fish with Rice at the lively Ribeiro do Poco (get there early as it gets very busy), ate twice at Sitio do Forno in Carrapateira, both their fresh fish & salads are good. The manager of Casa Fajara told us that the other coastal fish restaurant O Sitio do Rio has now closed. In the town he recommended Alecrim and Do Cabrita but we had a very good light lunch in the Microbar right in the centre.
In Faro we ate in the hotel restaurant one night and had our final Sea Bass for 2 at Taberna Modesto in the old town, as it name implies it is a very basic place but as ever the food was very good. We also enjoyed lunch twice at the French Cozinha das Ilhas on R. Conselheiro Bivar (I recommend their Salade Creole). Faro, we enjoyed immensely. Three days gave us plenty of time to explore. We started by taking the tourist train (actually a sort of bus) that departs by the bandstand near the hotel on the hour and takes 45 minutes to do a complete tour including the walled city, gives you an excellent overview and takes you to parts that would have been too far to walk. We then followed the walking notes and spent some time in the fascinating Municipal Museum.

Interesting area of the Algarve, visiting smaller villages and fantastic beaches.

A wonderful spring break. Amazing flowers along a beautiful coastal and inland route. Amazing quirky accommodation as you come to expect from Inntravel 

Wonderful cliffs & beaches, great views & pleasant walking in the sunshine together with lovely hotels and excellent food made for a very good holiday. We enjoyed meeting up with other Inntravellers en route, 9 of us at Casa Fajara on our last night.

The Coast of Many Colours is a beautiful walking route with great variation of rural and coastal scenery. The natural beauty in that SW corner of Portugal is stunning and unspoilt with little development. The sea was clear and clean. Not great for swimming with big waves but we were there in early March so a bit chilly too. We were more than happy with all our accommodation on the route and spent an extra night at both Pedralva and Casa Fajara. Casa Fajara was our favourite as a great place to relax as well as being close to miles of endless beaches and coastpath.

We had a very good meal at Solar do Perceve in Vila do Bispo  Turn L out of hotel, and then R.  Cash only.

This is a holiday for taking your time, enjoying the contrast between beach and hillside walks, and especially the wonderful friendliness of your Portuguese hosts.

Lovely gentle walking trip, great coastal views, easy days apart from one and fab sea food.

We enjoyed some lovely coast path walking in a warm and sunny late October, very restorative.

Lara at Casa Fajara was very pleasant and helpful and an asset to Casa Fajara

Tania at Casa Praiamar was also very friendly and helpful.The situation of the property was great- so near the beach you could easily hop back.

Swimming at Salema was wonderful, we stayed for 3 days before the start of the holiday and enjoyed runs along the beach, lunches on our ba;cony and a great choice of restaurants for supper. 

The best breakfast was at Casa Fajara and a game of table tennis was a good addition to our stay!

All accommodation was good but Pedralva and Casa Fajara were exceptional, both with amazing inland views. The walks were just right for us, a good day out but not too hard, and the weather was perfect. Everyone was very friendly and there was lots of great fish to eat.

We just loved our experience!   We hope to enjoy another holiday with Inntravel next year.

 Accomodation was first class. 

Another fabulous holiday with Inntravel and our first trip abroad since lockdown.

The coastline was a treat for two ex geography/geology students - if only we could still scramble up cliffs as surefooted as the mountain goats that we met at the top!

We were fascinated by the cow herding at the farm near Casa Fajara too. Who knew that dogs were used to round them up just as sheepdogs are used in the uk to herd sheep?

Our map skills were tested in places but that's all part of the challenge with a walking holiday and we haven't got completely lost yet!

Many thanks to all the Inntravel team - we will be phoning you again soon to book our next trip.

A stimulating route with plenty of variety for scenery, flora, and gradient. The rhythm between steep cliffs and hills and acres of flat almost deserted beaches made for perfect days.

The holiday was great overall and the walking was really interesting and varied, particularly seeing the interior away from the tourist coasts. The gpx files were really useful as a supplement to the already excellent walking instructions.

Coastal walks at the start and finish were stunning. Deserted beaches and blue skies!

Definitely recommend O Palheiro in Vila do Bispo - great food and buzzing atmosphere.

Worth a visit to the church in the village - the inside is spectacular.

Portugal is a beautiful country.  We chose 2 very different walking routes (Palaces & Pathways of Sintra, and A Coast of many Colours) which complimented each other very well.  Scenery was spectacular ! The walking was at our level and challenged us at times which was great.  Walking poles and good boots/ shoes were a necessity and we needed good rain jackets during the first week.  Can't undervalue good gear. This our third trip with Inntravel , we have come to appreciate their excellent choices of accomodation and good walk notes/ good choices of routes.  This was our first experience using a GPX provided by Inntravel and it worked brilliantly and was invaluable....follow the blue dot ....became one of our catch phrases !

Great to be back walking in Portugal after two years of lockdown and A Coast of Many Colours did not disappoint in any way. 

This is a lovely area of Portugal. The coastal path was delightful and the beaches beautiful. The cliffs on the west coast were spectacular, showing different coloured rocks and wild seas. There was an abundance of wild flowers on every walk. It was a joy!

A varied and enjoyable holiday. Recommend an extra night in Peldrava, good swimming pool and excellent restaurant. Our two night extension in Faro also well worth it. Our 2nd Inn Travel holiday and not our last!

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our A Coast of Many Colours walking holiday with the Faro add-on.

Our trip highlights were: The views, the light, the weather, the quirky accommodation, the flowers, the trails, goatmen and cowmen and their herds of travelling grazers with singing bells, the two coasts with contrasting seas, the simplicity of Salema and its small and beautiful beach and the amazing food, the welcome at all of the accommodations and The Fajara hotel for three nights at the end was bliss. Our taxi driver Isabel was magnificent.

Lovely relaxed walking in a beautiful and peaceful area, but well worth using the GPX route files alongside the route notes which need to be updated.

We had a really lovely holiday blessed with good weather, stunning coastal scenery, masses of beautiful wild flowers and some very enjoyable walking.

The scenery and wild flowers in April were beautiful although be aware some of the tourist attractions and restaurants weren't fully open. Everyone we met was very friendly and welcoming. I would definitely advise reading the notes in advance and down loading gpx tracks because there are lots of other signed routes that you cross but don't necessarily follow! The bag transfers worked well and all the hotel staff were well informed. Thank you for a great trip. 

Unfortunately this trip was spoilt by the weather. We experienced Sahara sand storn giving overcast skies and poor light. Then strong winds ending on the last day with heavy rain and thunderstorms. We only had one good sunny day. The walk between Salema and Vila do Bispo was arduous in the strong wind.

The only restaurant open on Monday in Salema was Atlantico. We had an excellent fish meal at O Lourenco and also at Sitio do Forno.

The quality of the Portuguese wine was excellent and the restaurant price in euros was the equivalent of home supermarket prices. Also paying on average 1 euro for a coffee was remarkable.

A lovely walk along a very colourful coastline, with beautiful beaches and an attractive inland countryside to the Atlantic coast. Stunning accommodation in wonderful locations in the second half of the week. If you like friendly locals and to eat lots of seafood and beautifully cooked fresh vegetables and salads, this region is for you.

The Boia restaurant in Salema was excellent, as was the Ribeira do Poco in Vila do Bispo, where I had dorada followed by an beautiful range of homemade deserts, lovingly described by the very helpful staff.

We particularly loved Amado beach - what a place to enjoy a picnic.

Casa Fajara is an absolute gem. It was a privilege to stay there. We could watch an eagle gliding over the fields from our balcony. It was wonderful that the options for walking around Carrapateira are not restricted to those described in the notes. We were able to find an alternative route to Amado beach (repeating part of Day 4's walk) and return via the Sitio do Forno restaurant where we had an excellent lunch, choosing from a varied menu that included specialities we hadn't tried before - 'exotic salad' (shrimps, mango & avocado) and 'house steak' (served with pineapple, almonds and couscous). Mmmm!

Birding highlights included several sightings of Hoopoe, three different types of Eagle, and a Waxwing, as well as Monarch, Spanish Festoon and Green Hairstreak butterflies. 

Casa Fajara was an absolute gem to finish the holiday with. A real find.

Visiting in late February allowed us to enjoy some very welcome sunshine and warmth - in addition the spring flowers and butterflies were a delight as well as numerous bird sightings. At this point in the season the area is relatively quiet but this does mean a lot of the restaurants are closed and activities are limited. The GPX files are really helpful as in places there are multiple paths and working only from the instructions could be a challenge. If taking extra days in a location the use of one of the many hiking apps can suggest useful options.

Pleased to have taken an extra night in Faro which gave us the opportunity to see the city and take a 1 hour bird watching boat tour of the lagoon - multiple wading birds and birds of prey were seen. The Lemon Tree hotel (which we booked independently) was an ideal location with very friendly and helpful staff. 

INNTRAVEL NOTE: We are now able to arrange stay in Faro at the Hotel Faro & Beach Club

An ideal destination for February. Weather was ideal for hiking and much better than we expected. It would be a great holiday for persons who are considering buying a property here and want to get a feel for the area and life style. We thoroughly enjoyed this holiday. Casa Fajara is a real gem.

Absolutely loved the coastal walks and the walks around Casa Faraja. We extended the day walks offered from there and feel that it would be useful to include some longer walks. Great day of walking between Aldeia da Pedralva and Casa Faraja.

We have been searching for an escape from the Swiss November fog, and we got 7 days of beautiful weather, delicious Portuguese fish and seafood and nice easy walking. The Algarve was a perfect choice as it is relatively quiet at this time of the year but not entirely deserted. Inntravel has done a very good job.

One of the best Inntravel holidays I have had. A good mixture of coastal and country walking with excellent accommodation throughout. I would particularly like to mention Casa Fajara which is a superb boutique style hotel with friendly helpful staff and superb breakfasts and dinners. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff there and I would rate it as one of the best hotels I have stayed in during the many Inntravels holidays that I have had.

Highlights were the lovely beaches, sea and pool swims. Dramatic and colourful cliff walks and the whole stay at Casa Fajara. Food was excellent and people/staff very friendly, laidback and accomodating.

This is our second Inntravel holiday and we have thorough enjoyed the walks. Spectacular coastline. Would definitely use Inntravel again.

Highlights included the wide variety of the accommodation and food offered and the beauty of the beaches in the western Algarve.