Alvor Beach in the Algarve is a beautiful large beach with great facilities and loved by both tourists and locals. If you are looking for a cheap day out on your next stay in the Algarve, then you must check out Alvor Beach.
Also known locally as Praia De Alvor, it is a blue flag beach with plenty of space, perfect for super busy tourist season.
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Alvor Beach
When people ask us what our favourite beach is in the Algarve they are quite surprised when we list Alvor Beach as our 3rd choice.
We list Praia Da Rocha as our all time favourite, quickly followed by Carvoeiro and then Alvor Beach.
You might wonder…why is Alvor Beach third? And not first or second? And if it is third why do you visit it so much?
Well, it all comes down to SPACE. Praia da rocha and carvoeiro are both extremely beautiful beaches but what they like in the busy summer months is enough space for everyone to enjoy.
If you check out our blog post about praia da rocha you can see just how busy it gets during the summer holidays. You just can’t move for the huge of volume of tourists and Kyle always wanted to play football but there was never enough room, so Alvor Beach became our summer holidays busy season beach.
Entering Alvor Beach
After arriving in the Alvor region you will soon see signs for the praia, which is Portuguese for beach. Simply follow the signs for praia de alvor and then you will reach their carpark.
Its very cheap for a day parking at the beach and on our last visit was less than 2€ for parking for the day.
Then once you have parked up (there is a lot of parking spaces), you can walk up onto the broadwalk with your beach supplies and then you will reach what is called the Alvor Broadwalk.
The Alvor Broadwalk
If you have not heard of the Alvor Broadwalk before, then it’s a fancy name for some nice decking that you can walk across to navigate your way to the beach or to walk up the beach.
You will often see many people jogging and power walking along the broadwalk and it measures an impressive 6km (3.75 miles) in length so perfect for some holiday exercise.
Then once you are on the broadwalk, you can take a quick walk to where you want to sit for the day on the beach.
Alvor Restaurants On The Beach
There are of course a few restaurants on the beach at Alvor, but I don’t recommend them. We have tried a few of them and have always been disappointed.
They are overpriced, the service is really slow, and I just get a general feeling of disappointment. Though this is an Algarve thing, as many of the on the beach restaurants are similar. It feels like they have the location, so they don’t need to make an effort.
Though something that many Portuguese people have told me over the years, is that they have two menus a Portuguese menu and an English menu. Because they believe English people are rich, there is a 20% higher price on the English menu.
I recommend just using the restaurants for topping up if your drinks have run out or for an ice cream or ice lolly for the kids.
What we do, is take a picnic with us when we have a day at the beach in the Algarve.
Where Is Alvor In Portugal?
Alvor is a popular tourist region of the Algarve, and The Algarve is located in Southern Portugal. Alvor is what we call the separator because Alvor is between the popular Algarve towns of Lagos and Albufeira.
Though do note, that unlike Lagos, Albufeira and Tavira, the Alvor beaches are a good walk from Alvor town. So, you can’t just leave your towels on your sunbeds, go into Alvor town for some food and come back.
Though after a day on the beach you can head to Alvor Town for your dinner which we have done before and enjoyed.
Does Alvor Beach Have Sunbeds?
Yes, Alvor beach does have sunbeds, but they are not all for you to use as a beach visitor.
This is because some of the sunbeds are reserved for the hotels and sometimes it can take a minute or two to figure out which is which.
I recommend asking someone that is already set up on the beach so that you don’t get all set up and then have to move.
The hotels also don’t want you laying your towels down right in front of their sunbeds and I remember once being asked to move from that area after we were all settled and making sandcastles. Oh, and as I remember I was heavily pregnant at the time too!
But away from the hotels there is a lot of sunbeds to choose from so you wont be short of a sunbed even in busy July or August.
How Many Beaches Are There In Alvor?
There are two main beaches in Alvor but when I talk about them I often refer to them as one.
Because its like the Spice Girls song title “2 become 1”.
You see there is a cute little rock area and caves that separate the long stretch of alvor beach to make two beaches rather than one. But as you walk along the beach and go from one to another, it always feels like its part of the same beach with the same beach experience.
Then the cave area does make a beautiful view and you can get some great family photos here.
The Two Beaches Of Alvor
The main area of the beach that you will have entered from is called praia da alvor, but head through the caves to the other side and you are now in praia dos tres irmaos.
Once you have made it to the other side you now have access to watersports and on the other side at praia dos tres irmaos there is more of a busy hotel vibe with a lot of the hotels in the background.
Personally, we prefer to be on the main praia da alvor beach. Its less crowded and much bigger, even if it does lack in the watersports department.
Top Tips For Your Portugal Beach Day!
The biggest and most important thing is to stay beach safe. You are not on a hotel beach and there are a lot of people coming on the beach trying to sell you things.
Avoid the people selling the sunglasses and the other holiday stuff as it is cheap rubbish, and they are likely to see you as tourists and want to charge you a lot MORE compared to what the items are worth.
But there is one dude on Alvor beaches you must try and that is the dude that sells the doughnuts. OMG these doughnuts are amazing and are the Portuguese style filled with jam and we would always buy one each.
He will be shouting BOLINHAS BOLINHAS as he walks down the beach with his big cooling box. You can choose from a few varieties but the best are the custard filled ones. It is a MUST for your day out on an Algarve beach!
Alvor Beach Portugal Visitor Information
- Getting to Alvor Beach. It is so easy to get to the beach. Simply follow the signs for Alvor and then when you are approaching the town, follow the signs for the praia.
- Does Alvor Beach have toilets? Yes, it does. Though position yourself on the beach near to the toilets to make it easy for going to and from the beach to the toilets.
- Do the beaches in Alvor have food available? Yes, there is several restaurants by the beach as well as a guy on the beach selling doughnuts and water.
- Are there sunbeds on the beach? Yes, there are sunbeds by the beach. But if you want a front row sunbed in high season we recommend arriving before 10am.
- Does Alvor Algarve have parking? Yes, there is plenty of parking. Even in peak summer season we have never struggled to get a parking spot.
- How far is Alvor from Lagos? Getting from Lagos to Alvor takes JUST 30 minutes. So if you are staying on holiday in Lagos its not too far to come.
Pin Alvor Beach Portugal Review For Later!
Well, that’s a wrap, do you have any questions then do ask below and if you want to refer back, to this later for planning your Alvor beach day visit then don’t forget to pin it to your travel board or days out board on Pinterest.
