DAY 1
D included
After meeting at Faro airport in the afternoon, we drive west (1.5 hours) to the village of Sagres, set within the Cape St Vincent National Park, and settle into our clifftop 4-star Pousada hotel before a seafood dinner in the excellent traditional restaurant.
DAY 2
B, L, D included
After breakfast we walk from the hotel, finding our first mirror and bumblebee orchids and endemic flowering gum cistus on the clifftops as we explore the Sagres promontory. We see the 18th century Fortress on our way to the lighthouse at the Cape itself, following sandy tracks through the windswept coastal vegetation, full of wild gladioli and ‘hooped petticoat’ narcissus, and providing shelter for migrant birds such as cuckoos, hoopoes and flycatchers.
DAY 3
B, L, D included
Departing from Sagres’ small fishing harbour on a well-equipped rigid inflatable boat, we learn about the coastal geology as well as looking for dolphins, gannets and Cory’s shearwaters (weather dependent, alternative walk available). Returning to land, we have lunch on the fish harbour and spend the afternoon walking a scenic coastal path looking for dipcadis, fritillarias and centauriums. A Slow Food restaurant provides a memorable dinner.
DAY 4
B, L, D included
This morning we walk round the saltpans of the Alvor estuary in search of flamingos and spoonbills as well as salt tolerant plants. We see the replica of the 15th century caravel ‘Boa Esperanca’ moored in the harbour before lunch in a lively restaurant popular with the locals, then explore the cobbled lanes of the historic town of Lagos, visiting the small regional museum and the mediaeval fortress. En route home we pause to walk on a hillside covered with wild peonies.
DAY 5
B, L, D included
This morning’s walk on the wild Atlantic coast in the north of the Park reveals spectacular coastal scenery and unspoilt countryside harbouring many wildflowers, including the charming little Leucojum trichophyllum, the endemic Astragalus lusitanicus (Portuguese milkvetch) and the parasitic Cytinus rubra. We visit a small interesting museum of fishing and walk through sand dunes to a beach restaurant for a typical ‘cataplana’ lunch. After a scenic coastal drive, we stop at the 14th century chapel at Guadalupe where Henry the Navigator and his ships’ crews prayed before departing into the unknown and return to our hotel in good time to admire the sunset over the Cape.
DAY 6
B, L, D included
We drive east and our first stop is the impressive Moorish castle in Silves. We spend the rest of the morning exploring the historic area around the castle and the cathedral. In the afternoon, we walk down to a river along an abandoned lane renowned for its remarkable number of orchids, then head north through orange and carob orchards to Castro Verde in the Baixo Alentejo. Our small modern hotel (3 star) is a comfortable and quiet base in the village centre and Alentejo wines at dinner are well worth discovering.
DAY 7
B, L, D included
Today we explore contrasting areas of the steppe, starting with a circular walk amongst holm oaks and gum cistus. After lunch in a picturesque white washed village, we walk and look for little and great bustards, Montagu’s harriers and lesser kestrels on a vast open plain amidst colourful displays of flowering camomile, viper’s bugloss and crown daisies.
DAY 8
B included
After breakfast, we head south for Faro and midday flights home.