2 Best Sights in Tavira, The Algarve

Directly offshore and extending west for some 11 km (7 miles) is the Ilha de Tavira, a long golden sandbar with several pleasant beaches, including a naturist beach. Return ferries costing €2 run to the island every half hour in July and August and every hour May through June and September through mid-October. Several decent restaurants and bars are also on the island. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: partiers; nudists; sunrise; sunset.

About 12 km (7 miles) east of Tavira, Praia da Manta Rota is a small community with a few bars, restaurants, and hotels—the locals here swear it has the best beach in the Algarve. Its warm waters and white sands are a magnet for sun worshippers. One particularly nice strand is the offshore sandbar at the village of Cacela Velha. But beware: from Manta Rota to Faro the underwater drop-offs are often steep and you can quickly find yourself in deep water. Amenities: lifeguards. Best for: walking.