Portugal lovers will find unspoiled Portugal, beautiful beaches and impressive cliffs in the Alentejo region.
Is the Algarve getting a bit too much for you, despite all its beauty, because it’s too crowded? That’s understandable. If you still don’t want to miss out on a trip to Portugal south of Lisbon, you should give the Alentejo a try.
The region borders to the north of the Algarve and has similar beaches and cliffs to offer, but is much less touristy. However, this could soon change – Forbes magazine had declared the Alentejo on Portugal’s Atlantic coast to be the trend destination of 2023.
Odemira
Odemira is definitely a highlight in the Alentejo. The small town is slightly inland from the coast and is very charming. Coming from the south, you drive down a lot of bends and then over a pretty bridge. Directly behind it on the right is the Café Chocolates de Beatriz, with lots of delicious handmade chocolates. That alone is a highlight.
World Music Festival in Sines
Anyone traveling to Portugal’s Alentejo in summer should – if possible – time their vacation to coincide with the world music festival in Sines (Festival Músicas do Mundo or FMM for short). This is always in July. Lots of artists come and there’s something going on all over the city. Of course, it’s quite a hustle and bustle, but it’s well worth it. The city itself is also worth a visit.
Choose your dream beach
Like the Algarve, the Alentejo also has plenty of really beautiful beaches. And with a bit of luck (and at the right time of year), you can be almost or even completely alone here. In fact, there is not one ugly beach in the Alentejo. So here’s a tip: just visit as many beaches as possible. After all, can huge cliffs, high blue-green waves and soft sand really be boring? Exactly.
The hinterland
In addition to the beaches, the interior of the Alentejo is also beautiful and sometimes very exciting. If you drive south from Lisbon and stay off the highway, you will pass through seemingly endless, desert-like landscapes. If you drive inland after São Teotónio, for example, the roads often take you along bumpy, narrow roads through the mountains, where the road sometimes drops very steeply.
A trip away from the coast and into the interior is worthwhile – especially for those who want to experience real peace and quiet. Sometimes there is not even cell phone reception on the roads inland.
Watching sunrises and sunsets
In the Alentejo the sun rises over the mountains and sets over the sea. So if you want to get up early and see the sunrise – and I highly recommend it – you should make sure you live a little higher up or climb one of the mountains. They are not too high and in the Monchique Mountains this tends to work quite well.
For the sunset, I definitely recommend the cliffs. They can be found in many places in Portugal and also stretch along a large part of the Alentejo coast. And from them you can see the beautiful Portuguese dream sunsets from almost anywhere.
Rent a car
It is advisable to have a car in the Alentejo. At least if you want to see something and, above all, experience something off the main coastal road. There are also buses, but the easiest way to get around is by car. This takes you to the various dream beaches, the charming little towns and also into the worthwhile hinterland with its bumpy gravel roads.
Find the right accommodation
Which one depends a little on what kind of vacation you want to take. Inland, it is quiet and, depending on the season, beautifully green, but in any case you can expect lush nature with eucalyptus trees and the correspondingly beautiful smells. If you want to go to the beach a lot, it’s best to look for somewhere near the sea.
There are lots of small towns that tend to be less busy or larger ones such as Sines or Vila Nova de Milfontes. You should mainly look at what is important to you for living and sleeping, you can get everywhere quite quickly by car anyway.
Food tasting
Portugal’s food is special and particularly delicious, so it is hardly surprising that the food in the Alentejo is also very good and varied. The best thing to do is simply try out the various local restaurants. Be drawn to the simple but very nice and tasty fish restaurants on the coast. They can be found in larger towns as well as very small ones.
Worth mentioning are Vila Nova de Milfontes and Azenha do Mar as examples, but these are just two of many good examples. Just have a look near the water where you are. But even if you don’t like eating fish, you will definitely find what you are looking for, for example grilled chicken (frango grelhado), pork, delicious fresh bread, olives and of course Vinho Verde and various very tasty, sometimes strong cheeses.
Alentejo – The undiscovered alternative to the Algarve