There are plenty of them! We like the ones at Alvor, Praia da Rocha with its weird rock formations, Praia da Vau, Ferragudo, Carvoeiro and Lagos. Also Armacao da Pera at the old part where the fishing boats are kept on the beach.   A little further afield is the spectacular west coast, where during and after storms, the Atlantic breakers thunder ashore following an unhindered journey from The Americas.

Actually, excellent beaches are all along the Algarve coast.  One of our favourites is the small beach at Praia da Vau, about half a mile west of Praia da Rocha. It has some nice beach bars that do very good omelettes at lunchtime and a bar in the hotel complex that does a pint of beer for about 1 euro until 7pm.

Other easy beaches to reach from the villa are at Alvor which has a huge expanse of golden sand as well as a pretty fishing port with lots of facilities and more nice bars on the paved harbourside.  And, after a day on the beach, in 2015 you could buy a pint of beer for 90cents in one of the bars in Alvor!

Between Alvor and Lagos is an almost endless strip of sand, Meia Praia. To find it easily start at the Lagos end and there are plenty of beach bars placed at strategic intervals.

The west coast is best reached from Aljezur.   Go up towards Monchique and then turn left at  the big  granite  quarry  and  keep  going  west  for  about  40 minutes.  Near Aljezur you will  find  the  access roads to these beautiful wild and windswept beaches reminiscent of the West Coast of Ireland.

Between Sagres and  Cape  St. Vincent   (once thought to  be where you would fall off the edge of the world!)  there is  some  beautiful  scenery   and   historic sites associated with Prince Henry the Navigator. The view from the lighthous at Cape St. Vincent is awesome and  look  out for anglers perched precariously on  the  cliffs  hundreds  of  feet above the water (and yes, they do occasionally fall off!).

On the east side of Portimao harbour is Ferragudo, a small fishing port with a lot of seafood restaurants plus a nice quiet sheltered beach within the harbour and is worth a visit.  A popular pastime in summer is to sit in the village square with a cool drink and watch the world go (slowly) by.

Praia da Rocha is very commercialised. It is the place to go for night life, gift shops, English and Irish bars, all along the main shopping street where there are pavement vendors everywhere and Portuguese families enjoy themselves with their young children well into the early hours of the morning. The beach has bars and cafes hiring out sun loungers and umbrellas and it is backed by fantastic rock formations in the cliffs.