Albufeira in October. He has reservations.

He had reservations about Albufeira. Not about Portugal, which he approves of, and not about October, which he considers the correct time to go anywhere. His reservations were specifically about Albufeira, which he described as having a summer personality that doesn’t always survive the off season.

I said I wanted coast. He said October Algarve is not the same as August Algarve and that if I approached it correctly it was defensible.

We have agreed on October. This is the closest we’ve gotten to consensus since Porto.

What he told me to expect

The Algarve in October is empty in a way the summer crowd would not recognise. The sea caves and rock formations at Praia da Marinha and Ponta da Piedade are the photographs. Not the Albufeira old town, which he rates as adequate, but the coastal geology to the east and west.

The caves photograph like nothing else on the Atlantic coast. Go at low tide. Early morning. Don’t tell anyone I recommended something beautiful without a caveat.

He added the caveat thirty seconds later: the crowds come back on bank holidays and long weekends even in October. He is checking the Portuguese calendar.

The argument we’re already having

He wants Lagos. I want to stay in Albufeira. He says Albufeira is the sensible base but Lagos is where the serious coast photography happens. I have said I’ll consider it.

He is taking this as agreement. It is not agreement.

Coming in October 2026

This entry will be updated after the trip. The receipts will follow. He has already decided his score.