Destinations · Portugal
Portugal family holidays
Almost all Portuguese family holidays are Algarve holidays. Twelve UK-facing airports fly here year-round, the beaches carry Blue Flags in bulk, and the resort mix is unusually good for self-catering families.
Algarve resorts by shape of family
Albufeira
The Old Town is characterful and steep. The Strip is Blackpool-adjacent and best avoided. Family-week Albufeira means the marina end (calm, purpose-built) or Olhos de Água to the east.
Vilamoura
A planned resort built around a big marina, with wide streets, tree-lined cycle paths and a beach that shelves gently. Best if you want to be walking rather than driving.
Praia da Luz and Lagos
Quieter west Algarve. Praia da Luz's small crescent beach is one of the safest with young children. Lagos, ten minutes away, is a proper town for evenings out.
Tavira
Eastern Algarve, closer to Faro airport, quieter and hotter than the west. Barrier-island beaches reached by a short ferry, which is a small adventure in itself.
Waterparks and days out
Zoomarine near Guia is the reliable family day, with a marine mammal show that some families love and some skip on ethical grounds. Aqualand Algarve, Slide and Splash, and Aquashow near Quarteira all deliver a full-day waterpark experience. Aquashow includes a small dry theme park too.
When to go
April to early June is genuinely warm without being crowded. September is the local favourite, with sea temperatures at their peak of the year and August prices already gone. August itself is hot and expensive; a Portuguese family August is only worth it if you have flexibility on where in the Algarve to stay.
Flight times
Two hours 30 to two hours 50 from most UK airports into Faro. Transfers are fast: Vilamoura is 20 minutes, Albufeira 40, Lagos 60. That short transfer keeps young-child holidays sane.
Rough costs
Self-catering apartment for four in Vilamoura or Olhos de Água for a week: £1,300 to £2,100 in shoulder season, £2,000 to £3,300 in August. Half-board hotels add roughly £600 to £900 to the same week. All-inclusives are less common here than in Turkey or the Balearics, which suits Portugal's stronger restaurant scene.