We recently visited Portugal’s Algarve region as a family for the first time. The first stop on our Portugal road trip was Faro. Knowing lots of people skip Faro in favour of places such as Albufera and Vilamoura, I was wondering, firstly, is Faro town worth visiting? And secondly, is Faro a good place to visit with kids? In this post, I will be sharing our experience and all the best things to do in Faro, Portugal with kids.
When we travel, we are not fully kid-focused. We like to do a mix of family-friendly activities that we can all enjoy. So, not everything in this post is specifically aimed at children, but they are all fun things to do in Faro as a family.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
We have guides on other places in the Algarve, Portugal:
– TAVIRA – ALBUFERA – VILAMORUA –
Also Read:
OUR FAMILY-FRIENDLY ONE-WEEK IN THE ALGARVE, PORTUGAL ITINERARY
DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through one of my links, I may earn a small commission. There is no additional cost to you, and I am extremely grateful as it helps me to run my blog.
GETTING TO FARO
Faro International Airport is the main airport in the Algarve region of Portugal. If you are coming to Faro by plane, this is where you’ll most likely arrive. Faro City is only a 10-15 minute drive from the airport, which is amazing. Our flight got in late, so we pre-booked hiring a car, which allowed us to get to our accommodation quickly.
You can also take a taxi for approx €20 or Bus 16, operated by Proximo, for €2.25, which takes about 20 minutes.
HOW LONG TO SPEND IN FARO
We visited Faro in April and had two nights there. Getting in late on the first night only gave us one full day. Faro itself is quite small. One day is enough to see most of the town; however, if you’re visiting in the summer and would like some beach days, you could easily spend longer.
After Faro, we moved on to Albufera (via Tavira); however, you could easily stay for a week, using Faro as a base and taking day trips to the surrounding towns in the Algarve. Some ideas for day trips are below, so keep reading!
WHERE TO STAY IN FARO, PORTUGAL WITH KIDS
As Faro is quite small and easy to explore on foot, when youre looking at places to stay in Faro, I would advise that staying anywhere in the old or new town would be a good location. We stayed in a family suite at Donna Simone Suites, which is a boutique hotel in Faro and is in a great location for exploring the town. It also had free parking on the street outside.
Personally, I think the best area to stay in Faro is somewhere in the new town. You’ll find more shops and resteraunts there than in the old town!
NOTE: In the photos, it looks like the room comes with a private kitchen, however, it is actually a well-equipped communal kitchen. There are lots of different-sized rooms, so make sure to read the mall print!
As we were only there for a short time and the apartment had its own fridge, the lack of a kitchen was no problem for us.
BOOK: A DONA SIMONE BOUTIQUE SUITE OR SEARCH OTHER OPTIONS
DONA SIMONE BOUTIQUE SUITES
THE BEST THINGS TO DO IN FARO, PORTUGAL WITH KIDS
TAKE THE FERRY TO THE BEACH
There are lots of boat trips you can do from Faro, the one to The Benagil Cave being the most popular. We’d already had a very similar experience in Kotor, Montenegro, so we decided to take the ferry to Faro Beach instead.
This was a great thing to do in Faro with kids as you can go at your own pace. We all enjoyed the relaxing ferry ride, and the beach was very family-friendly.
Once you’re at the beach, you can do all the usual beach activities, build sandcastles, splash in the waves, sunbathe etc. There are also quite a few places to eat within a short walk of the ferry drop-off point. The weather was ok, not really beach weather, but we all still had a good time!
Elementos has a beautiful terrace with a great view. The food and juices looked good, but they did not serve beer or cocktails (despite the sign saying cocktail bar). We really wanted a holiday treat, so we went to Rudy’s where we could have a drink and the kids could have an ice cream.
The ferry costs €4 for an adult return ticket. Children aged 5+ cost €2.25, and under 5’s go free. You can buy tickets from the kiosk by the ferry stop or on the boat itself. See more information and the schedule here.
TAKING THE FERRY TO FARO BEACH
WATCH PLANES TAKE OFF AND LAND
This is a great thing to do in Faro with toddlers or young children, such as mine. Older kids might not find it so fascinating! However, as Faro town is so close to the airport, you get a great view of planes. The best view was actually from the ferry ride I just mentioned, but you can also see them from the Marina.
POSE WITH THE LOVE FARO SIGN
Although snapping a photo here won’t take up much time. This is one Faro attractions that you should see and one of the things to do in faro for families you cant miss!
It’s the perfect place to capture a memory of your trip to the Algarve, Portugal. Located by the marina, it is a completely free thing to do in Faro!
VIEW OF PLANES TAKING OFF FROM THE FERRY | THE LOVE FARO SIGN
WANDER THE NEW TOWN
Faro’s city centre is small and easy to explore on foot. In the new town of Faro, you’ll mainly find shops, cafes and restaurants. I’ll share where we ate below. You’ll also find a couple of small mini-markets here if you or your kids need snacks and drinks.
We saw a lot of fish in shop windows and on the floor mosaics. My little one loved spotting them, so we turned it into a game for him!
There is also a free Maritime Museum, we didnt visit, but this would be a good thing to do in Faro with kids on a rainy day.
THE STREETS OF FARO’S NEW TOWN
EXPLORE THE OLD TOWN
If you walk through the Arco da Vila, you’ll be in the old town of Faro Portugal.
My favourite thing to do in Faro Old Town is to wander through the pretty cobbled streets. My kids were keen to try and get an orange from one of the many trees lining the square by the Santa Maria Cathedral. They were successful, but unfortunately, the oranges had more pips than orange, which is probably why there were so many left!
There’s also a museum called, Municipal Museum of Faro. It looked very pretty, but my eldest was not keen to go in. Adult entry is €2 and kids go free.
THE ARCO DA VILA | ORANGE TREES | FARO’S OLD TOWN
TINY TRAIN RIDE
Finally, this hop-on-and-off tourist train will take you all around Faro and looks like a great family activity. Unfortunately, I hadn’t seen this on any other blog posts, and we only saw it at the end of the day. It was starting to rain, and the kids were getting hungry, but it is definitely worth checking out.
The train takes you around all the best things to see in Faro City!
Adult tickets are €4 and kids 4+ are €2. See the timings and more details here.
PARK JARDIM DA ALAMEDA JOAO DE DEUS
This is another place I didnt see on any other blog posts. After sharing we were in Faro on my Instagram story, a follower (originally from Faro) kindly recommended it to me.
I’ve looked it up and it looks beautiful. Plus, it has a great playground for kids. As it’s only a 15-minute walk from the centre of Faro, this is a place you should try! Let me know if you do 🙂
WHERE TO EAT IN FARO, PORTUGAL WITH KIDS
I’m not a massive foodie, so I don’t always recommend places to eat, however, we ate at some great places in Faro that I feel are worth mentioning here! These were all great places for families with children.
CHELSEA COFFEE & BRUNCH
This cafe was very aesthetically pleasing, and the food was delicious. My kids got in the holiday mood with a huge stack of pancakes and berries.
See their website here. They don’t seem to have the menu on the website, but there was a good range of pancakes, eggs, poke bowls, breakfasts etc.
CHELSEA COFFEE & BRUNCH
LA FORCHETTA
There is a street called Conselheiro Bivar which is closed to cars and has many resteraunts. We chose to eat at La Forchetta, whose sign claimed to be the best homemade pasta you will ever have. This is a bold statement, but I have to agree it was good. They also had pizza and tapas options.
DEMO URBAN BAKERY
A trip to Portugal wouldn’t be complete without trying Pastel de nata, a traditional Portuguese pastry dessert with a custard filling. We picked these up from Demo Urban Bakery and took them to go, however, they did have seating inside.
The bakery had many other options, such as bread and croissants.
PASTA FROM LA FORCHETTA | PASTEL DA NATA FROM DEMO
DAY TRIPS FROM FARO
We visited Faro as part of an Algarve road trip, however, you could stay in Faro and visit some of the surrounding towns. We travelled around by car, but Faro also has its own train station.
Some surrounding towns you could take day trips to with kids are:
- Tavira
- Albufeira
- Vilamoura
I’ve written guides on all of these, just click the name to read more. In short, Tavira was my favourite out of these. Both Albufera and Vilamoura are mainly beach destinations. If you have the weather for it, these are great. Tavira is also small but has more culture and things to do.
Thank you so much for reading our guide on things to do in Faro, Portugal with kids, I hope we’ve helped you to plan your Faro itinerary with kids and you have an amazing Faro city break!
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
We have guides on other places in the Algarve, Portugal:
– TAVIRA – ALBUFERA – VILAMORUA –
Also Read:
OUR FAMILY-FRIENDLY ONE-WEEK IN THE ALGARVE, PORTUGAL ITINERARY
Happy Exploring,
