Explore the Algarve.
Between the hills and the coast. Everything worth seeing is within easy reach.
Leave Faro Airport and follow signs for the interior. Within five minutes, the tourist Algarve disappears. The road narrows. Whitewashed walls and orange trees replace roundabouts and rental car lots. You climb gently into the hills — and then you arrive.
From Mercedes Country House, the best of the Algarve is in every direction. Beaches twenty minutes south. Medieval towns to the east. Sea caves to the west. And a Saturday market in Loulé that is worth planning your entire trip around.
Close to home.
Loulé
11 KM · 16 MIN · MAP
The Saturday market is worth planning your trip around. Moorish old town, copper workshops, dried figs, honey, and local cheese. The most authentic Algarve market.
Faro Old Town
12 KM · 21 MIN · MAP
Medieval walls, the cathedral roof with panoramic views to the Ria Formosa, and boat trips to the sandbar islands. The capital of the Algarve, often overlooked.
São Brás de Alportel
12 KM · 16 MIN · MAP
A quiet hilltop town with a cork museum and a Sunday market that locals prefer to Loulé. Good ceramics, good bread, almost no tourists.
Olhão
15 KM · 23 MIN · MAP
Fishing town with the best seafood market in the Algarve. Catch the ferry to Ilha da Culatra — a car-free island with empty beaches and no tourist infrastructure.
Ria Formosa Natural Park
15 KM · 23 MIN · MAP
Europe's most important coastal lagoon system. Flamingos, migratory birds, sandbar islands, and the cleanest water on the southern coast. Take a guided boat tour.
Tavira
35 KM · 26 MIN · MAP
Roman bridge, whitewashed streets, riverside dining. The island beach is reached by a small ferry. The most elegant town in the eastern Algarve.
Worth the drive.
Albufeira Old Town
42 KM · 35 MIN · MAP
The clifftop old town above the tourist strip. Narrow streets, fishermen's beach, restaurants that haven't been discovered by the guidebooks yet.
Benagil Sea Caves
55 KM · 38 MIN · MAP
The most photographed coastline in Portugal. Book a boat early or kayak in from Benagil beach. The light inside the main cave at midday is extraordinary.
Silves
58 KM · 42 MIN · MAP
Moorish castle, orange groves, a medieval festival in August. The old Algarve capital before Faro took over. The castle alone is worth the trip.
Portimão
67 KM · 47 MIN · MAP
Sardine capital of the Algarve. Praia da Rocha for big beach days. The riverside sardine restaurants are a rite of passage.
Serra do Caldeirão
40 KM · 45 MIN · MAP
The mountain range visible from your room. Cork oaks, honey farms, schist villages, and hiking trails with no one else on them. The Algarve most people never see.
Monchique
81 KM · 63 MIN · MAP
Mountain spa town with thermal springs and eucalyptus forests. A different Algarve — green and cool even in August.
Full day adventures.
Lagos
86 KM · 57 MIN · MAP
Dramatic cliffs, Ponta da Piedade, a lively old town with good restaurants and independent shops. Worth the drive for the coastline alone.
Sagres & Cape St. Vincent
104 KM · 72 MIN · MAP
The end of the world. Raw Atlantic coastline, surfing, and a wind that clears everything. Sunset at Cape St. Vincent — the most south-westerly point in Europe.
Évora & the Alentejo
160 KM · 2 HRS · MAP
UNESCO-listed city with Roman temple, cork forests, and cork-oak plains that stretch to the horizon. A full-day trip into a Portugal that looks nothing like the coast.
From us to you.
Our favourite beach for families: Ilha de Faro — shallow water, calm days, a short drive. The sunset spot: Cape St. Vincent, if you're willing to make the journey. The market day worth rearranging your week for: Saturday in Loulé, arrive before 10am. The restaurant in Olhão that locals guard jealously: ask us when you arrive. We'll tell you in person.
Ready to explore?
Book your room and we'll handle the rest — recommendations, transfers, reservations.
