Western Algarve short break hiking vacation

Planet

Activity:
Walking has minimal impact on the environment as you provide most of the energy yourself. Also, by walking independently, and not having to worry about keeping up with a group, you set the pace so you can soak up the sights, sounds and scents of your surrounds and really get under the skin of the place you’re visiting.

We proactively encourage our clients to think about traveling responsibly too: packing light, saving water, buying locally, re-cycling all maps and route notes at the end of their trip as well as to be mindful of not leaving any rubbish behind.

UK Office:
We are well aware of the impact tourism has at home and abroad, and we make every effort to balance the environmental impact of traveling with the immense benefits sustainable tourism can bring to destinations and the people who live there. So we start in the office: we turn off all electrical equipment every night; we use energy-efficient bulbs; we measure print and paper consumption, and re-cycle wherever possible; we print our brochures on paper from sustainable sources, and send them out in bio-degradable packaging.

People

Leaders & local suppliers:
The Sagres Peninsula is a startlingly pristine region of golden beaches, imposing cliffs, swaying flower meadows, dramatic coastlines and tree-lined paths. Locals here offer a warm welcome and hold on to the traditions of rural life. The easy-to-follow trails take in rich verdant valleys, pine forests and rugged coastlines, making exploring on foot amazingly rewarding. Birdlife also abounds here with endemic and migratory species passing through from Africa and Northern Europe. With winter very similar to spring in the UK, you can enjoy the warm temperatures of the Algarve from September right through to May.
When you’re walking from village to village, you can enjoy a relationship with locals in a way motorists passing through never can. Your route takes you to the fishermen's village of Carrapateira, along a mix of coastal and inland paths amid bird and orchid-rich forests to remote Pedralva. On foot, you get off the beaten track, and you’ll find that people treat you as a visitor rather than a tourist. From this white village you follow the Rota Vicentina, a national trail interlinking with the Fishermen's Trail that starts in the Alentejo. It hugs beaches and cliffs all the way to Cabo de Sao Vicente, the farthest flung corner of Europe.

As with all our vacations, we encourage visitors to buy from independently-run shops & establishments where possible, supporting the local people and their families.