Day Two: The Ponta da Piedade Boardwalk
If day one in Lagos was all about settling in, days two and three were about earning our tan lines — one with a cliffside walk and a lunch worth writing home about, the other with the simple, non-negotiable task of doing absolutely nothing on a beach. Balance, people.
We started the day at the Ponta da Piedade boardwalk, and this is where Lagos really shows off before you’ve even had coffee.
The wooden walkway winds along the top of these dramatic golden cliffs, and every few steps you get a new angle on the caves, arches, and impossibly turquoise water below. It’s the kind of scenery that makes you stop mid-sentence to take a photo, then take three more because the first one “didn’t capture it,” then just give up and put the phone away because some things you have to actually stand there and stare at.
We took our time with it. No rush, no itinerary pressure, just cliff after cliff of “okay, THIS is the best view” until the next bend proved us wrong again. The light bouncing off that water is genuinely unreal — somewhere between blue and green that doesn’t feel like it should exist outside of a filter, except there was no filter, it just looks like that in real life.
SIDE NOTE: I snapped this photo of David as he appeared to be a solo traveler during this walk, as seen below.
Lunch at Camilo (Thanks, Marta)
Marta, our boat captain from yesterday’s Bluefleet Lagos tour, had spent two hours pointing out every hidden cove and sea cave along this coastline, so when she also dropped a lunch recommendation between stops, we figured she knew the land as well as she knew the water. That recommendation was Camilo, conveniently just off the boardwalk we’d already fallen in love with, and when someone who navigates this coast for a living tells you where to eat, you don’t question it, you just show up hungry.
Perched right above Praia do Camilo, the restaurant has that effortless “we didn’t try too hard and yet somehow nailed it” vibe — simple, unfussy, and completely upstaged by the view of the cove below it. We ordered more than we probably needed to, because when the seafood is that fresh and the ocean is right there staring at you through the window, restraint goes out the door. We started with a seared tuna that might genuinely be the best I’ve ever had — perfectly rare in the middle, barely kissed by the pan, and gone from the table so fast in my head I debated ordering a second round before the mains even showed up. From there it was grilled fish, sardines, fried calamari, and salad, plus great cocktails all around. Marta, if you’re reading this: consider us officially converted.
Too full to think straight and too happy to care, we retraced our steps along the boardwalk on the way back, which meant getting every one of those ridiculous cliffside views a second time — no complaints here. From there we just kept walking, letting the path carry us straight back into the old city, working off maybe a third of lunch by the time the cobblestones of Lagos showed up under our feet again.
Day Three: Doing Nothing at Praia da Dona Ana
After a day of cliffs and a lunch that required its own recovery period, day two had exactly one item on the agenda: lounging at Praia da Dona Ana. That’s it. That’s the plan. And it was the right one. Oh and it was our 23rd anniversary!
Dona Ana is one of those beaches that makes you understand why people build entire vacations around the Algarve — golden cliffs framing a little cove of impossibly clear water, and just enough sand to stake your claim for the day. We claimed ours early, front row, great for people watching, and proceeded to do absolutely nothing for hours, which after a day of walking cliffside boardwalks felt like the most productive thing we’d done all trip. Note: the sunbeds are not free, they will set you back 30 EU for 2.
The day was simple: walked the beach, explored, felt the cool refreshing ocean on our feet, and just let all the stress float away. No boardwalks, no reservations, no plans — just sun, salt water, and the particular kind of contentment that only comes from a beach day with absolutely nowhere else to be.
Dinner at Casa Do Prego
By the time we peeled ourselves off the beach and headed back into town, we were sun-tired in the best way, and dinner at Casa Do Prego turned out to be exactly the soft landing we needed. The vibes were immediate — great music, warm, unpretentious, the kind of place where you feel like a regular by your second mojito even if it’s your first time walking through the door. The staff genuinely made us feel like family, checking in without hovering, cracking jokes, making recommendations off the menu. It was the perfect close to a day that had zero agenda: good food, better company, and a spot that felt like it actually wanted us there.
Two very different days, both equally unforgettable, and one very good case that Lagos knows exactly how to do both adventure and stillness without missing a beat.
Tomorrow, Lisbon.
