Faro for the weekend - Logistics and Itinerary - March 2025

The Algarve, March 8th-9th 2025

I've been to Madeira a few times, mostly in search of plants rather than birds, though of course there are a few special things there... My experience of the Portugese mainland is scant though, single trips to Lisbon (street photography) and Porto (drinking....). You don't get many birds on Madeira, and you certainly don't see many birds in Port cellars so my Portugese list was rather pathetic. The plan was to rectify this by spending a weekend on the south coast in early March, taking in a few of the wetland sites west of Faro on Saturday, and then to scoot up to the plains around Castro Verde on Sunday.

Logistics

• A weekend trip in early March with Senhor Southcott.

• Flights: from Gatwick to Faro on British Airways. Outbound is a horribly early Saturday morning flight that gets you to Faro mid-morning. On the plus side it requires no time off work, but at the same time this does mean less birding unless you want to make it three days. However the early start gives you as much birding as you can get on a weekend. The return flight leaves early on Sunday evening. Get cracking!

• Car Hire: Virtually free as far as I can recall, a decent little run-around car that did the job from Avis, and as part of a BA holiday meant that we could secure the booking for a minimal deposit. I think the flight and car came to £160 each. Decent.

• Driving: Simple. Good roads. Motorways are charged via cameras and you get your bill later. Our weekend racked up a princely 11 euros.

• Weather: Challenging! Blustery with bands of rain coming in from the west all weekend. Lovely between the squalls, albeit still on the windy side. Apparently it was lovely in the UK!

• Accommodation: Only one night needed so Mick booked a hotel in Sagres at the far end of the Algarve for £30 or so. Another bargain. It was perfectly serviceable.

• Food: Coffee and Pastel de nata all the way at €1.50 a pop. 

• Optics:  This was trip that in theory prioritised photography however the wind made that virtually impossible. The missing scope would have been useful a couple of times, particularly during good sea-watching conditions off Sagres on Sunday morning.

• Literature: eBird and Mick's prior experience!

 

Itinerary
Saturday: Very early flight from Gatwick. Arrived in Faro mid-morning and worked our way slowly east via a variety of birding hotspots, mostly wetland sites. Overnight at Sagres.
Sunday: Early seawatch off Sao Vicente, followed by a bit of birding on the plains to the immediate north. Then a quick drive up to Castro Verde for a change of scene, trying to find Raptors, Bustards, Sandgrouse and other specialties on the rolling planes. Early evening flight back to Gatwick. Easy.