This article will guide you in a 10 km hike from the center of Faro to Faro island and its beach.

It’s a well balanced hike, with different sorts of pavement and quite a few different sights. Salt pans, a town’s leisure park, a funny live stage theater with circus performances. Bird watching shelters, old farms in ruins and active, traditional farming, very local cafes, orange orchards, the airport and its facilities, planes landing and taking off. Marshes, flamingos colonies. And finally, the Faro’s island and its beach.

Although you might see people running, bicycling and walking around, very few of those fellows will be actually doing the whole thing. Many of the denizens from Faro use segments of this route for their daily exercise and leisure time and that’s it.

It’s not circular, but fear not: by the end of it you will have the #16 bus available to bring you back to the center of the town.

The Walk

Part I – Leaving Faro behind: from the Marina to the Leisure Park

Your starting point is not important. Pretty much you can just leave your accommodation and start walking, assuming that – like most of people – you are staying somewhere in the center of Faro.

All you have to do as a start is finding your way to the marina. Walk by its right side, use the pedestrian railway crossing.

You will find yourself in a dirt road. Enjoy the views and walk for about 1 km On your left you will see an abandoned building. That used to be a search & rescue facility for the Navy. On the right, there are a few structures which are part of the train station. Obsolete buildings which were storage areas from the time when it was common to dispatch parcels by train. A bit ahead, right side, there is a long white wall. Although it’s not easy to sneak in, that’s a considerably sized lot used to keep yachts in dry stack.

Further on you will see a number of old storage buildings which are now being used in different new ways. In one of them, there is a gym and in the last one an interesting restaurant and a live stage theater, with circus classes and several performances. If you are interested they usually have a program by the door.

Shortly after you will reach the Leisure Park. This leisure area was recently renovated by the municipality and became popular amongst the people of Faro for an after work stroll or gathering with friends.

If you have the time and the will, turn left and walk to the end of the parking lot. There is a group of houses. That’s an old residential bunch of houses. Back in the 70’s there were two popular restaurants here. I think they still exist but they aren’t as popular as they used to be. They were actually trendy! There is a pier and the views are nice, specially when the tide is well up (check tides time here).

Now, you will have to cross the leisure park, following the direction you were walking before. There are a few different paths, it really doesn’t matter. You will might see a  playground for infants, an amphitheater and a bird watching wooden shelter.

As you approach the end of the leisure park, notice the salt collecting facility near the water. That’s a novelty. Just a couple years ago the building was basically a ruin. Good to see it was brought back to life and that salt is being extracted once again. Depending on the season you might see there a pile of salt awaiting processing. Nearby, you can observe the salt pans.

Part II – Montenegro: from the Leisure Park to Montenegro and around it

Once you reach the end of the leisure park, just a narrow walking path will be found. Follow it. You will pass by the remnants of a traditional farm. There is still a palm tree. Symbol of wealth in the old times and pride of any successful farm in Algarve. In the last years palm trees have been devoured by the red palm weevil, a kind of beetle which infests these trees causing their death. So anytime you see one, like this, it’s like a miracle.

As you approach the tarmac road, after you cross a short pedestrian bridge, you will be able to see a riding centre on your left side. When you actually reach the road there is a cafe across the asphalt. A very genuine traditional cafe. That’s quite a place! If you wanna sit and have a drink, you will be probably the first foreigner (well, that was before I wrote this article, but still….) ever visiting the place.

Anyway, you should turn left (if you skip the cafe) and walk a bit along the road. Don’t panic, it’s just a few hundred meters. It’s a bit busy as this stage. First bifurcation, stay on the left. 140 m ahead, a second bifurcation. And all this time, since you came to the asphalt road, you’ve been walking by the edge of Montenegro. Not the Mediterranean country which used to be part of Yugoslavia, but Montenegro, the suburb of Faro. By the way, Montenegro means “black hill”.

There are about 10 thousand people living in Montenegro. That’s a sixth of the population of Faro. Most of this people work in Faro but workers in the airport find convenient to live in Montenegro as it’s closeby. It’s mostly an uninteresting location, a dormitory town, although it has a lively commerce and cafes.

Part III – Approaching the Airport: from Montenegro to the edge of the airport grounds

After the last bifurcation, the road will become quieter with just an occasional car passing by. Observe the old farms and Faro’s skyline at the distance. If you look carefully you will be able to identify some of the spots you passed earlier in this walk.

It’s a quite scenario. Observe the marshes behind the farm fields. There are some orange orchards. Orange production is big in Algarve and production takes place all year long.

Now, you will have to pay attention and take a turn to your left. You will be leaving the asphalt and enter a dirt road where there are some pine trees and where you can see an orange orchard. If you miss this turn you will reach the airport terminal about 300 meters ahead.

Keep walking in that dirt road, with the orange orchard at your right. Eventually you might spot the tails of some airplanes parked in the airport. On the left there are some ponds with eucalyptus behind.

As you approach the end of the orchard perimeter it might look like there in now way out.  Don’t panic. There is. Turn right and after you pass a water treatment station you will be walking by the airport fence.

Part IV – Walk along the airport perimeter

Those who like airplanes will love this bit. Will be walking a few kilometers with the airport facilities at your sight. Those who are not so much into these things, smile, because the landscape opposite to the fence is lovely!

Regarding navigation, you can’t miss it. Pretty much you will be walking along the airport fence. Always except in the last couple hundred meters.

The first building you will see is an airport’s fire house. Farther on there are some natural platforms which you can use to spot airplanes, if you are into it. if that’s the case, try to make this walk on a Saturday, when the air traffic is more intense.

You might be able to see a community of flamingos. I can’t tell you where because they move a lot. And, of course, I can’t promise you will spot the flock. But it’s possible. It happens a lot. Just be aware that due to a change of their menus most of their pinking color will vanish and eventually will only be visible under the wings, which means, if they are flying or taking off.

Don’t be scared with the strong noise, like a “bang” that you will hear from time to time. That’s a system design to keep birds away from the airplanes and minimizing the risk of accidents.

If you have the time and the will feel free to explore a bit the grounds to the sound, opposite the fence. Just make sure you don’t get lost out there. A mobile device with satellite imagery will be perfect.

Part V – Arriving to Faro Island

As you wave a goodbye to the airport fence, you will start seeing a wooden elevated walking path at the distance. To be more exact, at 200 meters.

Enjoy the views. Specially at high tide, when the dark blue water surrounds the way. This structure was recently built as part of a major plan to regulate traffic and parking in the island. Authorities built a considerably sized parking lot close to the airport (you will see it) and considered banning access of vehicles to the island. So far this measure was not taken.

The wooden pathway will bring you to a platform from which the bus back to Faro departs. You can cross the 170 m bridge and go to the island or take your transportation to the center. There is a time table here but I wouldn’t blindly trust it as I found that the bus company is not so rigorous keeping this information updated. It’s the bus #16, the same route connecting the airport and the town. Price ticket is 2,35 Euros and you can buy from the driver. The ride takes about 20 minutes.

Best Time for this Walk

Best Time of the Year

I like to walk this route walk anytime of the year. But then, the most temperate months are really the best. I mean, typically, April, May, September, October. However, the weather in Algarve it’s just too unpredictable and any random day of December or February can be ideal for a day out hiking. We never know!

What might be harder is to walk 10 km under the unforgiving sun in July and August. Some Summer days can be really hot! If you still wanna do it, at least leave early in the morning. The whole walk will take less than two hours so it’s not so difficult to start the journey early and still arrive before the rise of the temperature.

Best Time of the Day

I like to go for my walks very early in the monring and this route is no exception. I would leave by sunrise! If this is too early for you and you are curious about the human beat, you would miss most of the action. If that’s the case go by mid-morning or mid-afternoon. I would rather avoid rush hours. Even if it’s a short segment, all the cars passing by when we walk near Montenegro are a bit enervating.

The Tide

This walk is so much nicer at high tide. It really makes a difference! Try to do it when the water is up. The landscape looks better and the nature smells are at its best. Specially the first and the last bits, the segment by the water, leaving Faro, and then the crossing to Faro’s island. Again, check tides time here.