Faro was another one of those places I landed in largely because it was on the way to another destination. In this case, it was a good transfer between Seville to Lisbon, and after a quick search (because I knew next to nothing about it), I thought it sounded like a place worth checking out.

The mainland, including the old town, isn’t all that large an area and was very quiet in June. I liked this a lot, but for those looking for a bit more of a lively atmosphere, I understand it gets alot busier in summer, and the islands in the Ria Formosa lagoon are a big part of the draw; some have accommodations too.

From the mainland, it’s easy to incorporate the islands into your visit for day trips or boat tours. I took a tour that went to 3 of them and gave me a little time to explore each. It was nice for a quick look and to get a little insight about the area from the boat driver/guide, but there are boat taxis and hop-on-hop-off boats that would allow you to explore quite a bit more.

Something I hadn’t read about, but I thought was really cool, is that storks nest around the city. Their large nests were up in some of the beautiful old buildings, and they could be seen flying in and out of the wetlands; it’s pretty amazing to see such large birds flying.

As for the weather, I figured being along the coast it wouldn’t be near as hot as I had experienced in Spain, but it was still cooler than I had expected and downright chilly in the evenings.