Portugal’s famed Algarve region strikes many similarities to 1960’s California vibes and is an ideal destination for a campervan road trip. A lovely year round climate, colourful culture and mesmerising coastlines offer road trip enthusiasts an unspoilt playground. This place is quickly gaining in Popularity and frequently topping travel wishlists of travellers from around the world.
You could do this road trip in a regular car, but the experience is so much sweeter in a campervan. However, choose wisely, as not all campervans and not all campervan companies are built the same.
Siesta Campers, a leading company for campervan hire in Portugal embraced this wild California spirit and recreated that original road trip feeling through offering their customers beautiful new & classic VW campervans and motorhomes. Whichever van you choose, a road trip in the Algarve is an unforgettable experience. Here’s why:
1: Endless sunny days in the Algarve
Camping trips can be difficult to get right as there are key elements like the weather that cannot be controlled. Luckily, Portugal boasts an average of more than 300 sunny days each year!
Have you ever looked forward to a beach vacation only to run into cloudy or rainy days once you got there? Well, in the Algarve the odds of running into bad weather decrease drastically, so you can feel good about booking the trip far in advance. Camping is better when the sun is shining! The water temperature is pleasant year round too.
Did you know most houses and apartments in Portugal don’t have heating of any kind? That’s right, the weather is so pleasant for most of the year, a sweater and a good blanket is all you need most of the time.
The good thing about the vans from Siesta Campers, they’re all thermo and sound insulated so you stay cooler in the summertime and warmer in the winter time.
Water temperature is another reason to choose the Algarve over many other European travel destinations. On average the warmest the water temperature gets in the Algarve is September. How warm is it? You will surely enjoy dipping your toes in the perfect 21.1 degrees Celsius. Even if you decide to come in the off season (if there’s such a thing here), the coldest the water gets in Southern Portugal is about 15.9 degrees Celsius, which all things considered is still pretty great!
2: Campervan road trips offer total freedom
Holidays are supposed to be easy and fun! However, too often getting to that dreamy destination takes too much planning and prep. Don’t you wish you could just go anywhere, do anything and not get bogged down with set plans you cannot get out of? Imagine the headaches if you want to all of a sudden change your hotel reservations, activities just because you don’t feel like it.
Cruising around the Algarve makes all these worries melt away. After all, you’re rolling around in your home on wheels. Whenever you feel like stopping or taking a detour, all you’ve got to do is decide and act. Once you begin to travel this way, you realize just how liberating it really is.
One of the best things about traveling by campervan, whether it’s in the Algarve or elsewhere is the ability to leave places sooner or stay longer depending on the level of enjoyment. There will always be surprises along the way, but the more options you have the better the experiences tend to be.
3: Is a road trip in the Algarve budget friendly?
Portugal is considered an affordable European vacation destination. Leaving the super popular cities like Lisbon in the rear view mirror opens up even more budget friendly options.
Combine this with the benefits of travelling in a campervan such as having your accommodation, food prep area and transportation sorted all in one package and you might not cringe when checking your account balance after the trip.
Renting a campervan in Portugal will typically cost somewhere between 40 – 250 euro per night depending on the quality and size of the vehicle and seasonality. Most of the time you’ll be able to snag one for around 150 euro, which is about the price of a hotel room during the summer season. What a hotel room does not offer however is transportation or a kitchen. When you look at it like this, a campervan holiday isn’t such a budget destroyer.
So, how affordable is the Algarve? A beer will cost you around 1.50€ and that’s at a bar! And those juicy Bifanas (pork steak sandwich) typically go for around 2€. Dining out won’t break the bank, but if you plan on preparing your own meals in your campervan, you’re going to save even more.
For those practicing their cheffing skills inside their campervan, check out the local markets too. The produce is very high quality, cheap and you’ll get a better sense of the local culture. The Portuguese people are kind hearted and welcoming. Because tourism is so well integrated here, the majority of the locals will speak English too, and some a bit of French and German.
Tip: for additional savings, rent a campervan in Portugal outside of the peak season. The weather is just as good and you’ll have the beaches all to yourself.
4: Getting to the Algarve
With an international airport in Faro, exploring the Algarve is easy. Portugal’s location in general makes it easy for travellers to catch non-stop flights from many European countries as well as the Americans, Africa and even Asia.
If you’d traveling within the country, public transit is well developed with great bus and train connections all across Portugal. No matter where you’re coming from or how you enjoy to travel all the roads seem to lead to the Algarve.
For campervan hire in Faro, check out Siesta Campers Faro location. It’s just minutes away from the airport so you can spend less time figuring out the logistics and more time hunting down the perfect waves.