Discovering the Algarve Beyond the Beach: Slow Travel with Farol Discover

What does it really mean to experience the Algarve?

For many travellers, it means a beachfront hotel and a full schedule of excursions. For Paulo Palhota, founder and lead guide of Farol Discover, it means something quieter and more meaningful: walking through landscapes, meeting local communities, and allowing time for nature and daily life to unfold.

This perspective was recently shared on German television, when Paulo took part in the SWR travel documentary Mein Urlaubs-Check: Pauschalurlaub an der Algarve. Together with TV presenter Johannes Zenglein, he explored the south of Portugal with a simple but revealing challenge: discovering the Algarve without relying on a rental car.

The result was a journey that reflects the core philosophy behind Farol Discover’s walking and nature-based programmes.

Slow Travel in the Algarve: Why the Pace Matters🔗

Portugal is often described as a relaxed country, but that feeling is easy to miss when travelling quickly from place to place. Slow travel is about changing the rhythm: walking instead of driving, spending time outdoors, and engaging with local life.

In the Algarve, this approach allows travellers to notice contrasts that are often overlooked, from rugged red sandstone cliffs to quiet fishing villages, from busy coastal towns to protected wetlands.

One of the clearest examples is the network of wooden coastal walkways around Lagos, which connect the town to the cliffs and lighthouse of Ponta da Piedade. These paths make it possible to explore the coastline on foot, offering viewpoints and perspectives that are simply inaccessible by car.

Walking here is not about covering distance. It is about connecting landscape, history, and everyday life.

Beyond the Icons: Choosing Intimacy Over Crowds🔗

The Algarve is home to famous landmarks such as the Benagil Cave, which attract visitors from all over the world. While these places are impressive, they can also feel crowded and impersonal.

At Farol Discover, we prefer experiences that offer space, calm, and a closer relationship with nature.

• Small-group kayaking along the coast allows travellers to move quietly, get closer to the rock formations, and explore stretches of coastline that large boats cannot reach.
• In the salt pans near Olhão, often described as the “Dead Sea of Portugal,” visitors can experience a peaceful wellness moment in a setting that remains largely unknown to mass tourism.

These quieter alternatives are not about avoiding popular places entirely, but about balancing highlights with moments of solitude and discovery.

Local Food as Cultural Heritage🔗

To understand Portugal, you also have to taste it.

During the programme, Paulo introduced traditional Algarve flavours that are central to the region’s identity. Portuguese sweets made with eggs, almonds, and figs are part of everyday life, not just special occasions. The cataplana, a traditional fish stew cooked and served in a copper pan, is a perfect example of simple cuisine built on fresh, local ingredients.

Farol Discover works closely with family-run restaurants, where recipes are passed down through generations and meals are shared without hurry. Food becomes a way to connect with people, not just a stop between activities.

Nature Protection and Community-Based Tourism in Ria Formosa🔗

One of the most distinctive landscapes in southern Portugal is the Ria Formosa Natural Park, a protected lagoon system accessible only by boat. Its islands, marshes, and channels are home to species and ecosystems found nowhere else in the country.

Here, tourism and conservation must work together.

Farol Discover supports community-based projects such as oyster farming on Culatra Island, where production remains in the hands of local fishermen. Access rules and local regulations, including the requirement for Portuguese-speaking guides, help ensure that visits respect both the environment and the community.

These experiences offer travellers a deeper understanding of how people live with and depend on the natural landscape.

Walking Holidays in Portugal: From Inspiration to Experience🔗

The SWR documentary shows what many of our guests discover when travelling with us: the Algarve rewards those who slow down.

This approach is at the heart of Farol Discover’s guided and self-guided walking programmes, which combine coastal hikes, inland trails, local gastronomy, and carefully chosen accommodation. Our itineraries are designed to reduce unnecessary transfers, prioritise walking, and allow time for rest and observation.

You can explore our current walking and nature-based programmes here:
👉 https://www.faroldiscover.pt/en/tours-and-programs

A Different Way to Experience the Algarve🔗

At the end of the journey, the conclusion is simple. The Algarve is undeniably beautiful, but it reveals its character most clearly when travellers leave space in their schedule, step away from crowds, and engage with nature and local life at a human pace.

This is the Algarve we explore at Farol Discover.

The full episode of the SWR travel documentary Mein Urlaubs-Check: Pauschalurlaub an der Algarve is available online here:
👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMmonRJXt5A