Praia Da Luz, Portugal
Calm, relaxing and quiet. If you’re looking for a quaint Portuguese village to visit in the Algarve region, Paria da Luz is the place for you!
Located in the infamous Algarve, Praia da Luz sits just 15 minutes by car west of Lagos. Praia da Luz is often referred to as Luz by the locals, so when you are traveling there don’t be confused if you only hear people refer to the village this way. The beaches in this area are mainly rock with just a few sand ones. One thing that shocked my friends and I was how cold the water was in Portugal! We weren’t expecting it to be cold at this late in the summer, but it was freezing. If you usually go to the beach to swim, I would save this for a different town. We went to Luz at the warmest time of the year and it was only bearable to be in the water for about 10 minutes. There were also quite a few people swimming with wet suits! However, reading and relaxing on the beach in Praia da Luz is very peaceful. Luz has a good mix of expensive restaurants and cheap ones, so it really caters to all travelers budgets. While we were there we noticed a lot of families, but also some young locals hanging out at the beaches and restaurants.
This town might sound familiar to you. A recent famous documentary series detailed the heartbreaking disappearance of 3-year-old British girl Madelyn Mcann that went missing in Luz. When my friends and I booked our Airbnb in this city we didn’t realize the connection. We were hanging out on the beach when one of us finally remembered how we had heard of this tiny village. After finding this out, we re-watched the documentary that evening and walked by the resort she went missing from (it still looks the exact same). After ending our detective work, we continued to explore this small village.
As for getting to Praia da Luz, it is a bit difficult if you don’t rent a car. We had to take a bus from Lisbon to Lagos and then Uber about 15 minutes to Luz. Luckily this Uber ride was only about 5 USD per person. There is one bus line, the yellow line, that leaves only a few times a day to Lagos from Luz. If you plan this trip in advance it is a cheap and easy option. In the town of Luz, you will not need a car because it is easily walkable. The village has a total of 3,500 people.
When we stayed in Luz we booked a boat tour out of Lagos to see the surrounding coast of the Algarve region. I would highly recommend this boat tour to anyone visiting Luz or Lagos. We actually ended up making some friends on the boat tour, and all went out to dinner in the city of Lagos afterwards. We are still friends today!
As for restaurants in Luz, for my young cheap travelers I would recommend the ‘Endless Summer Pizza’ cafe. But, if you are looking for a nicer dinner any of the restaurants along the beach walkway have a wonderful ocean view. My final recommendation for this village will be the Airbnb we stayed in. This Airbnb had one of the best views I’ve ever experienced. It had enough space for six people and a fantastic balcony to hang out on after our daily adventures. If you want to see our balcony view, look at the picture for this post on the home page. It is also perfect for families visiting the area.
One of the downsides to this small village is the night life- at night the village it is extremely quiet. Cities with better night scenes in Portugal would be like Lisbon, or Porto, or Lagos. But, it truly does not matter where you are, it matters who you’re with. This trip to this tiny village and the surrounding areas ended up being the best time of my life (no exaggeration).
I hope you all get to experience this unique village, and while you’re there be sure to try a Segres beer!
till’ the next trip, cheers!
leez
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