Benagil Cave Boat Tour & Algar Seco Boardwalk

The highlight of our Portugal trip so far is a 90-minute boat tour along the Algarve coast from Praia de Carvoeiro (Carvoeiro Beach) to Praia da Marinha. During the trip, we saw (and often entered) 15-20 caves, plus spectacular cliffs, arches, and beaches. The tour included the famous, often-photographed Benagil Cave.

It was incredibly beautiful. The pictures don’t do it justice. We hope the photos and videos below give you some idea of the awesomeness of these stunning caves and rock formations.

Two days later, we walked the full length of the Algar Seco Boardwalk, which allowed us to view some of these cliff formations from above. Those photos follow the boat tour photos.

Praia de Carvoeiro (Carvoeiro Beach), where our boat tour started and ended

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Tavira, Portugal

After Cascais, we visited Tavira, a relatively small city at the eastern end of the Algarve, Portugal’s southernmost region.

Tavira is charming and quaint. It still retains the feel of an old Portuguese town. It’s very walkable; there was little vehicular traffic and plenty of pedestrian-only spaces. Everything we wanted to see was within a few blocks of our apartment. We walked no more than 15 minutes to get to the farthest restaurant and grocery store. (more…)

Cascais, Portugal

Cascais (pronounced “kesh-kysh” because in many cases the Portuguese pronounce “s” like “sh”) is a popular seaside vacation destination about 30 km west of Lisbon; a one-hour train ride. It’s the westernmost point in continental Europe. We stayed in a nice little one-bedroom vacation rental apartment that was a 15-minute walk (uphill) from downtown.

The area within a few blocks of the ocean is definitely touristy, with hotels, restaurants (most with sidewalk tables and menus in four languages), gift shops, etc. Given that Cascais is one of the more expensive places in Portugal, it caters to a middle- to upper-middle-class clientele. (more…)

Thanks for visiting our website! If you’re interested in keeping up with us as we explore the world over the next two years, you’ve come to the right place.

We plan to visit less touristy cities and towns to experience the local culture, cuisine, and character. We want to explore the local museums, parks, and architecture. We want to visit places with natural scenic beauty or unique features. We plan to spend several days in each place, not rush from one place to the next on a tight schedule.

We’ll post pictures, and we’ll also share our impressions of each place and our experiences with longer, slower travel.

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Here’s a quick look at the places we visited in 2025:

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