Olhão Blog

Last time we left off, we were bidding a wistful farewell to a tapas-filled time in Seville. I watched the Spanish countryside fly by and started shifting gears for a beach holiday at our next stop: Olhão, Portugal.

If that name doesn’t ring a bell, you’re not alone. We found Olhão on accident when we were looking for an affordable AirBnb in the Algarve.

The Algarve is no secret region. I know people come flocking to Portugal’s southern coast to take in the endless seafood, dramatic beaches, and crystal blue waters. And since Seville is only a 2 1/2 hour bus ride away, we didn’t want to miss out on seeing some of it for ourselves!

Olhão is a small town only a 10 minute train ride from the more popular Faro. However, we enjoyed or time in this tiny town to the max. While many other beach towns/cities on the Algarve coast (Lagos or Albufeira, for example) have made it onto the tourist shortlist, Olhão seems to have mostly dodged that bullet (which made for a lot of last-minute Portuguese lessons, haha).

Olhão’s charming accommodation, access to wonderful beaches, peaceful atmosphere, solid network of simple restaurants made it a joyful place to catch some Portuguese coastal sun.

Here’s how we spent three blissful days.

The Accommodation

Stay: Pension Bicuar

This is a cute cute cuuuuute hotel settled in a converted apartment building. The first thing I noticed (besides the giant flight of stairs) were little details like colorful murals or tile decorations that made it feel as if locals still lived there.

Our host showed us to our simple room, scrubbed clean, with our own shower/sink and then a shared toilet for the floor (but sharing was rarely a problem). I was dying to just flop down on the bed, but before I could do that I had to check out the two balconies of the room, with views of the tiny streets and restaurants below. Having these balconies meant that we woke up pretty early with the noise of the street below, but it also let us feel the energy of the town right from our room!

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A bonus of Pension Bicuar was the well equipped kitchen, so we could come down from our Sevillian tapas addiction and actually cook for ourselves some meals. The supermarket was a 10 minute walk, and the local market was just a few blocks away, so we were able to cook up some real feasts!

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And then there’s the true star of the property: the rooftop. It looked even better than it had in the photos! It’s a wide, garden like space with tiles tables that are arranged just far enough apart to give everyone privacy. It’s one of the highest rooftops in the area, and looking down and around at all of the whitewashed buildings, you almost have the sense of being on a serene cloud. Playful succulents decorate the rim, and a view of the famous Olhão market and the ocean beyond it is yours for the taking. We loved grabbing some snacks and wine from the market and then taking them up to the rooftop where we could watch the sunset.

Pension Bicuar is charming, but accessibility-wise, keep in mind: there are super steep stairs and there are a lot of them, and no ground floor apartments.

The Town

The town of Olhão is preeeety small. But if you’re craving bigger sights to see or more nightlife, you only need to take the 10 minute train ride to Faro for €1.50.

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Just staying in town seemed the better option for us, however. The main street has restaurant after restaurant—mostly seafood, but there’s also some pizza and tapas places sprinkled in. We kept coming back to Delícia de Olhão because it had a lot of seafood options as well as smaller snacks like sandwiches and toasts…and also, and suuuuuper extensive bakery that had me drooling, y’all. Our breakfasts alternated between Pastel de Natas and simple ham and cheese sandwiches on deliciously crusty bread.

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At night we could stroll that same main street after dinner for some gelato and walk by the harbor. There’s no clubs really, just sprawling terraces of restaurants, families and couples and friends savoring their meals, tables piled high with empty dishes and end-of-meal espressos.

A walk around town will treat you to whitewashed, sunbaked buildings, each with a differently tiled wall or brightly painted window. Murals stretch across walls and show the town’s history, and most of the narrow streets somehow fitting in a cafe or bakery or restaurant where people contentedly enjoy themselves. And looking up you might see the fluffy, colorful streamers strung between buildings.

The Beach

A big draw of Olhão are the long, pristine islands just off of the coast. This was a PRIORITY for me y’all! After spending two years in landlocked Budapest, I NEEDED A BEACH! Olhão itself doesn’t have much of a beach—just a pebbly strand that meets the harbor—but it does have a ferry that gives you access to your choice of not one, not two, but three islands!

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Access is cheap; Round trip fare for two was €8, and the ferry ride is approximately 20 minutes. We experienced Armona Island. Once you disembark you’re met by a handful of restaurants and convenience stores—so if you forgot to pack a snack or sunscreen you’re in luck! You can set up camp right there and be close to the party, or if you’d like a more peaceful piece of beach, walk the 15-20 minute path, past increasingly cuter bungalows, and emerge on the other side of the island, where there’s plenty of space for everyone.

Down at this end, it’s definitely less crowded, but there’s still a beach bar and a WC, and you can rent chairs under an umbrella for €15/day. There’s also a band of seaweed to wade through, which added some slippery fun, haha. Make sure you arrive plenty early for your ferry back, though, because the line was insaaaaaaaaane! Everyone wants to get back to the mainland in the evening, it makes sense.

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Maybe you can see why we loved our time in Olhão so much. It was slow and peaceful, and full of food in all the right places. Rested up, a little bit sunburned, and altogether satisfied, we looked ahead to our next and final stop: Lisbon!

To read about Part I of our vacation in Seville, click here!