Portugal with Kids- A Day Exploring Cape Sagres and Lagos

The weather forecast on our last day in Portugal was not ideal for enjoying our Algarve beach resort: chilly, breezy, and drizzly So we decided to bundle up and hit the road in our rental car to explore the coastal region.

Our first stop was the Fortaleza Sagres (Cape Sagres Fort). King Henry the Navigator built a school here in the 1400s to train seafarers including Vasco de Gama and Ferdinand Magellan.  Later the fort also served to protect the coast from North African raiders.  The wind was so strong that it threatened to blow us over the edge of the cliffs! We sought refuge in the chapel where sailors prayed before venturing across the dark sea, and then tried to walk along the windswept path to the point but halfway there we yielded to the wind and picked our way back among the sturdy spring wildflowers clinging to the rocks.

We piled back in the car and hit the road toward Lagos.  After a few days enjoying a beachy slow pace, we were keen to check out a larger town (one that Rick Steves describes as "as enjoyable as a big-city resort can be").  We parked along the waterfront and wandered into the jumble of pedestrian streets, starting near the big indoor food market.  It was mid-morning, but the kids were already hungry.  Most of the proper restaurants weren't open for lunch yet, so we found a coffee shop and ordered ham and cheese sandwiches for the kids and cafe lattes for Mohit and I.  The morning was mostly just overcast and periodically drizzly, but we waited out a short period of heavy rain in the coffee shop.

Afterwards we let the kids lead the way to explore the cobblestoned streets while the sun gradually came out. 

We had passed a carousel at the edge of a plaza called Praca Gil Eanes early in our exploring, but it was shuttered in the morning.  When we came back out into the plaza we found it open.  The kids were thrilled to top off our Lagos visit with a ride and some ice cream from a nearby kiosk. 

We hopped back into the car with one more stop in mind before heading back to our resort.  We'd seen amazing photos of wave-splashed cliffs on all the tour ads while walking in town, so we navigated toward Ponte de Piedade to check it out in person.  At the edge of town we found a lighthouse at the point, with a dirt parking lot and a cluster of small cafes overlooking the steep drop over pinnacles of rock carved by the waves.  We got out to walk around and chase a kitty hiding in the bushes.  My mama instincts had a death grip on our 3-year-old's hands! It suddenly started to rain heavily so I dashed back to the car with our little one, but the boys insisted on staying out in the rain to climb down and back up some stairs for a particularly scenic view.  They piled back into the car with us, soaking wet and laughing.  

Back at our resort we changed into dry clothes and packed our bags for travel home the next morning.  Obrigado Portugal!

Portugal, Algarve With Kids- Martinhal Sagres Family Beach Resort

Though Mohit and I had traveled adventurously before kids, our vacations for the past five years with small kids have mostly been Mexico beach resorts (easy direct flights from Boston + escape from February snow + kids clubs).  Mohit was nervous that a more adventurous trip with the kids would be anything but relaxing, but agreed when I promised to plan our Portugal trip with a grand finale at a  beach resort.

After a long drive through the Alentejano region (see blog post here!) with a cranky three year old, we were sooo in need of some pampering, and our beach destination did not disappoint:
Martinhal Sagres is lovely!

There were so many well-planned details that made vacationing here with kids relaxing and joyful (and we all know it can easily be anything but!).  In the lobby at check in, there was a kids' play table, and the concierge came out with chilled juice for the kids and a goody bag for each with Martinhal beach hats and sand toys.

We booked a 2-bedroom partial ocean view villa.  It was a townhouse style apartment, with 2 bedrooms on the ground floor, two full bathrooms (one for the kids which had a tub, a stool for tooth brushing, and a kids potty seat, and one with a spacious walk in shower for us), plus a laundry closet and a sunny patio with a private spot of lawn. Upstairs was a spacious open-concept kitchen/ dining room/ living room area with a balcony (with beanbags for lounging!) overlooking the ocean.  The furnishings were all modern and stylish.  We discovered a Disney channel on the TV in English (much needed at 6 am while mom drinks her coffee!).  Mohit says it was the nicest place we've ever stayed.  

Though we had stopped at a grocery store in town before arriving to load up on breakfast, snacks and wine for the weekend, we discovered upon arrival that the villa provided enough free groceries to get us through our first morning (water, milk, juice, cereal, pastries...even nutella!).

During our stay, the weather was more spring than summer, though after a long winter in New England, all it took was one sunny 70-degree day for our kids to be pumped for some pool time. Luckily all the pools are heated, and there's even a pool that's half indoors/ half outdoors which we found to be great on the second day when the sun was weak and the air was a bit chilly.  All the pools have buckets of water toys and piles of foam noodles for the kids.

There are playgrounds everywhere, and we especially appreciated that we could linger over drinks while our kids played at the one next to As Dunas (the airy restaurant overlooking the beach). 

The Village Square was also great, where several dining options, the resort grocery store, and the kids' club surround a play area with trampolines, a bouncy castle, and climbing equipment.  Every evening at dinner time, the Martinhal fox mascots came out for a "gummy bears" themed dance party which our 3-year old loved.  The resort also brought in rotating activities such as pedal-powered go-karts and a bungee cord trampoline which our 6-year-old loved.

We also loved the"M Bar", a surf- themed bar/ coffee shop/ ice cream parlor.  It was a good place to hang out when we had time to kill. Comfy couches, a VW bus for the kids to climb and play in, a kids' play corner with Disney movies playing, and a kids' internet cafe with iPads to fight over...ahem, I mean play with.

The food was great too, both kids and adults ate well for sure! Os Gambozinos, the restaurant in the Village Square, had a kids' buffet every night which was perfect because we could feed the kids quickly with food they loved (pizza, pasta, steamed veggies, chocolate mousse) and then let them run back outside to play in full view while we dined in peace.

I loved the beach, which was plenty sandy, but also with rocks to climb on and explore.  The waves are big, so not great for kiddo swimming, but there are plenty of neat seashells to find.  I would have loved to spend more time on the beach but had a hard time tearing my family away from all the other fun distractions...

Two of the nights we were there we fed the kids early and then dropped them off at the kids' club while we enjoyed a relaxing adult dinner.  We noticed that many of the other families had kids smaller than ours, too young for kids' club, so there weren't very many kids at the club in the evening, which was too bad because our social 6-year old would have enjoyed having more kids to play with.

So yes, we would definitely recommend Martinhal Sagres for a relaxing family vacation!