Luz & Surrounding Area

Food shops in Luz

• Supermercado Baptista, the village’s main supermarket, with Portuguese and British products, fresh bread, fruit and veg and a butcher. Free local delivery and online ordering at baptista.shop. Mon-Sat 8am-8pm, Sun 8:30am-1:30pm.
• Spar Praia da Luz, in the old Luz Cinema building near the campsite. Open daily 8am-8pm.
• Plus several smaller grocery and convenience stores around the village centre.

The big shop, in Lagos

• Lidl and Aldi, cheapest for water, beer, wine and BBQ basics.
• Continente Modelo (two stores), Portugal’s biggest chain, widest range.
• Pingo Doce (marina and Avenida da República), excellent fresh fish, meat and produce.
• Intermarché hypermarket, great for imported goods, with its own fuel station.

Pharmacy & cash

• Farmácia Praia da Luz in the village centre, with several more pharmacies in Lagos.
• Multibanco cash machines in the village centre; branches of all the main Portuguese banks are in Lagos.

Fuel & recycling

• No petrol station in Luz itself, the nearest are in Lagos on and around the EN125 (Repsol, Galp, BP), with the Intermarché station usually cheapest. Heading west there is an Intermarché Contact at Budens.
• Recycling goes in the communal ecopontos: green for glass, yellow for plastic and cans, blue for paper and card. You will find them around Luz, including by the beach car park.

On the water

• Boat trips to the Ponta da Piedade grottoes (about 75 minutes), guided kayak tours through the caves, dolphin watching and longer trips to the Benagil cave. Book ahead in summer.

Family days out

• Lagos Zoo at Barão de São João, a lovely small zoo for younger children.
• Slide & Splash at Lagoa, Portugal’s largest waterpark, with Aqualand a little further on.

Praia da Luz

Your home for the week is a relaxed former fishing village with a Blue Flag sandy beach, a palm-lined promenade and a great choice of cafés, bars and restaurants, all a 15-minute stroll from the villa. The dramatic headland of Rocha Negra frames the eastern end of the bay, with lovely clifftop walks in both directions.

Lagos

One of the Algarve's most charming historic towns, with cobbled streets inside old city walls, a lively marina, superb restaurants and the famous golden cliffs and sea caves of Ponta da Piedade. Boat trips, kayaking, and the sweeping 5km sands of Meia Praia are all on hand.

Sagres

Wild, windswept and unforgettable, this is mainland Europe's most south-westerly point. Explore the clifftop fortress, watch the surfers at Tonel beach, and stand beneath the lighthouse at Cape St Vincent where the land finally runs out into the Atlantic. The sunsets here are something special.

Portimão

The Algarve's second-largest town, home to the huge golden beach of Praia da Rocha and a riverside famous for its sardine restaurants. Petrol-heads should look out for race days at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, and the marina is the starting point for coastal cruises and dolphin-watching trips.

Silves

Head inland through orange groves to the Algarve's former Moorish capital, crowned by a magnificent red sandstone castle. Wander the old town's steep streets, visit the Gothic cathedral, and enjoy a long lunch by the river. It makes a lovely change of pace from the coast.

Vilamoura

A glamorous day out to the east, with one of Europe's largest marinas ringed with restaurants and bars, world-class golf courses, a casino and long sandy beaches. Perfect for a spot of people-watching over a late lunch.