Looking for the perfect girls’ getaway or bachelorette destination in the Algarve? Consider heading to Lagos, Portugal! When my friend Brooke said she was getting married I immediately knew Lagos would be the ideal location for her hen party. I’ve been visiting Lagos for over 15 years as it’s an easy 3.5 hour drive from Sanlúcar. The locals are friendly, the food is great and the beaches are beautiful—in fact, Spanish readers of Condé Nast Traveller voted Praia Dona Ana to be the “best beach in the world” and I’m inclined to agree.
A private yacht was the perfect plan for Saturday!
Why is Lagos a good destination for hen parties?
- It’s small and walkable: Restaurants, bars, and shops are all within walking distance once you get to the center of town.
- Affordable prices for lodging, food and alcohol: You’ll get great quality for your money when staying in Lagos.
- Lots of fun group activities to choose from: Choose between snorkeling excursions, kayaking, cave tours, private yachts, private chefs—you name it, they’ve got it!
- Active night-life scene with friendly locals and tourists: you’ll find lively bars with music throughout town and a few night clubs if you can stay out past 4am.
- It’s safe: as you walk around town at night you’ll notice friendly police officers patrolling the streets to keep the peace—I’ve been partying in Lago’s since my 20’s and not once have I ever felt unsafe walking the streets at night.
- Award winning beaches and gorgeous views: Praia Dona Ana and Praia Dos Estudantes are beautiful and both are within walking distance of the center.
- Great weather June through September: I love Portugal’s warm, sunny days and cool summer nights. The end of June and start of September are the best times to visit IMO.
- You don’t have to stay in the center: With a big group you’ll most likely need to rent a villa outside of the center of town; there are numerous Ubers and taxis in the area and they’re extremely cheap. Our Uber ride was 10 minutes to town and cost just €5.
We stopped at a beach bar for lunch on the way to the Algarve
What’s the ideal itinerary for a hen party in Lagos?
I would recommend limiting your group to one or two reservations max per day if possible—that way you’ve got something to look forward to and you’re not stressed out about sticking to a schedule. I’ll share our group itinerary—feel free to copy for your own use!
Day 1: Arrive in Lagos
The first day we drove from Sanlúcar to Lagos and stopped along the way for lunch. If you’re visiting during the high-season and driving from Spain, be wary of weekend traffic from Seville to Huelva; there’s bumper to bumper traffic for hours on Fridays after work heading towards Portugal and Sundays after lunch heading back to Seville.
- Grab lunch at a beach bar – We went to Okapi as a stop along the way from Sanlúcar—it’s a convenient detour from the highway.
- Check in at villa – We had a great time at this villa and would recommend it.
- Supermarket run – Half the group went to buy snack and breakfast supplies while the other half stayed to decorate the house for the bachelorette party.
- Dinner in town – We went to Guanabana for tacos, margaritas and live music; this was the perfect place to start our evening out.
- Girls’ night out – We sang karaoke at Shaker then went across the street to Bon Vivant’s rooftop bar before finishing the night on their dance floor.
Day 2: Private yacht and private chef
We wanted to go all out on Saturday for the bride. We spent the morning nursing our hangovers and lounging by the pool. By midday we’d recovered enough for our excursion on the boat. Our plan for the evening was to eat dinner prepared by a private chef and have a girls’ night in…but we ended up going out again after dinner for more karaoke and dancing. 😂
- Lazy morning – I’m so happy we decided to sleep in, eat a home cooked brunch, and enjoy the pool at the villa. It was nice to recover without a strict schedule.
- Private yacht – We rented a yacht from Marina Boat Charters for our group; it was the perfect way to see the coastline and we loved rockin’ out as we lounged on board the boat. The rental cost €600 for 3 hours and split between us came to around €80 per person. If you’re on a tighter budget I’d recommend kayak cave tours for the group.
- Private chef – We used the Take a Chef website to hire Chef Sarah. The traditional Portuguese food she prepared was fantastic and enjoying a meal at the villa under the moonlight was a truly memorable experience. The cost came under €60 per person for the menu we chose.
- Girls’ night in…or not? – Originally we’d planned to stay in on Saturday night but the group had so much fun we ventured out into town for a second night. We tried to hit up some of Lagos’s classic bars like Joe’s Garage, but as we’re in our late 30’s we found that crowd too young for us. We ended up going to the same places as the previous night and had an excellent time.
Day 3: Brunch and beaches
Our villa had a 10am checkout so we packed up our items and found a cute brunch place nearby. If the weather had been better we would have stayed at the beach a few hours before returning home—I’d recommend planning for some beach time if you’ve got the option.
- Brunch – There are so many cute brunch places to choose from in Lagos. We parked at a public parking lot and walked to Goji Lounge Cafe nearby.
- Praia Dona Ana – After brunch we headed to Lagos’s most beautiful beach. The weather was a little chilly for our liking so we went to the lookout point before heading home—we wanted to avoid the weekend traffic returning to Seville.
We surprised the bride with a private chef & dinner at the villa
How to choose between Albufeira and Lagos
I’ve visited both Lagos and Albufeira multiple times. Albufeira is known as the ‘party capital’ of the Algarve with a big nightlife scene, booze cruises, etc. From what I’ve observed it also tends to be more expensive compared to Lagos for accommodation, food, activities, etc. Our group felt like Lagos was the better fit for our budget and while we like to party, the ‘laid back’ vibe in Lagos appealed to us more than the scene in Albufeira. If you’re not sure which destination to choose I’d consider your budget and your appetite to party as the determining factors—Lagos is definitely more chill compared to “The Strip” in Albuferia.
Getting our karaoke on at Shaker in Lagos
Leave a comment