Road trips. Those words immediately conjure thoughts of carefree holidays, following the open road as far as the eye can see, aiming for the horizon with great tunes and not stopping until you stumble upon a gorgeous beach or a river to cool off in. And with the cold of winter setting in for us in the European northern hemisphere, it’s only natural for us to be dreaming of such last minute holidays for next year that are incredibly easy to organise and a heap of fun to do!

During the heyday of last summer, my boyfriend and I looked at what holiday we had left at work for the year and scoped out last minute flights to somewhere. Anywhere. We wanted out of England and to be somewhere where we could aim for that horizon and step on the pedal. Flights to Portugal’s Faro airport popped up, and for a mere £100 return flight we just couldn’t say no! In a blink of an eye, we had packed our shit, grabbed our passports and waved goodbye to the English landscape for the arid and blindingly bright sun of Portugal.

Portugal has such a diverse range of landscapes that range from the resorts and pumping tourist area of the Algarve, to the dusty red soil of the scrub inland, to the windswept rugged west coast. We hired a car from Faro airport and caught some Zzz’s at Faro’s Baixa-Portugal Terrace hostel. I highly recommend this airy hostel as the rooftop serves free breakfast with fresh figs whilst you stare out at the white rooftops starkly contrasting against the brilliant blue skies.

Top tips for a brilliant road trip:

1. Check to see if you need/have a credit card to collect your hire car. We managed to get away with it this time, but the adrenaline was pumping when we noticed the huge signs saying, “No credit card. No car”. GULP.
2. Get a cable to play tunes off your iPod as being on the road without music = blasphemy.
3. Stock up on snacks and water for the journey. You never know how far you’ll travel without even a sign to the nearest snack shop/petrol station.
4. Bring a sat nav or smart phone which will allow you to navigate easily. It’s fine to use regular old school maps… if you can navigate well. NOTE: I am not a great navigator.
5. Do a little bit of research of places you want to hit up on your route. To drive aimlessly can sometimes mean you’ll miss that turning that would have led to an epic beach or a stunning cliff top.

We were heading up to the Alentejo Coast of Portugal. There is a teeny airport in the area, but it was cheaper and easier to fly to Faro and journey up from there. Hey, we were wanting to road trip!

The Alentejo Coast is a world away from the Algarve. We’re talking expansive sandy beaches, awesome surf, craggy intimidating cliffs and dusty red soils reminiscent to a Western Australian landscape. The area of Alentejo blankets a third of Portugal and is wild and beautiful, with actual tumbleweed that echoes the population: sparse and empty.

Only 7% of Portugal’s population live here, and with the minimal tourism it’s a place to travel on a real budget. You definitely need a car in these parts to really explore, but the main arteries of motorways are straight and simple. The A22 will whisk you north but you can deviate via Sagres down smaller roads to see the sleepy medieval towns.

Lemon trees and vineyards line the road (so tempted to nick a few), and the cork-oak trees atop rolling hills are the only interruptions to your horizon. Fun fact: Alentejo produces two thirds of the world’s output of cork.

During the summer months, the temperature can reach a scorching 30 degrees (or more) but the wind that whips off the Atlantic is a sweet relief. That same wind rips through the waves during these colder months to bring surf that intermediate and well-experienced surfer will absolutely love.

In the summer, the waves are calmer for beginners so a heap of surf camps are dotted on the coast. Odeceixe Surf School take advantage of the sandbanks and small waves in the whitewash to train novices, and the same company do sessions at Amoreira Beach and Arrifana Beach.

The top beaches of the Alentejo Coast:

1. Praia da Arrifana: Quiet and virginal, it stretches in a long graceful curve that is hauntingly quiet in the off-peak season.
2. Zambujeira do Mar: Soft white sands create this beach bum’s dream and attracts a beachpacker and surfer crowd. It gets jam-packed when the large music festival, Festa do Sudoests opens. But outside of that time you can enjoy chilled atmospheres and delicious seafood dishes of sardines and marisco (shellfish).
3. Villa Nova de Milfontes: A whitewashed picturesque village with sun-bleached streets. You can safely swig a mojito here confidently knowing it wont break the bank.

We stayed inland at an airbnb place called Orada that was set deep in the Costa Vicentina National Park Reserve, which I wrote about in August. Not only did this place have daily yoga, but also it was a zen place of organic foods, WWOOFERs (Willing Workers Of Organic Farms), herbs planted in glass bottles, hammocks and dream catchers. It was the perfect retreat to plant our base for the road trippin’ adventures. It was a place for the soul, meditation and raw food. YES PLEASE.

With all the beach bumming, sometimes it’s nice to mix in a bit of sight seeing. As I previously mentioned, there is an abundance of sleepy medieval towns. The region’s rich history of Roman conquerors has led to a scattering of fortresses and castles. Aljezur has a majestic hilltop castle that gives epic views of the surrounding countryside and at the base of the hill there are a ton of little shops that sell cork leather bags, beautiful jewellery and crocheted hammocks. A host of shops that sell the wares to fulfil your Pinterest dream.

The Alentejo Coast is a sleepy place where time doesn’t exist. You can chill-out and regroup here on a last minute holiday. After a few days exploring the isolated and untamed coastline by car, you can kick back and relax. All you need to do is grab a car and a good companion and hit the road, ladies!

All photographs by Sophie Saint and Sam Whinnett

Thanks to Falcon Holidays for helping to bring you this post.

Sophie Saint was one of the original travelettes, from 2009 – 2017. After fleeing the UK with ink barely dry on her graduation certificate, she traversed the world with a backpack and spent a few years living in Melbourne – one of her favourite cities in the world.

She finally returned to the UK after a few years where she now whiles time away zipping off for European escapes, crocheting and daydreaming of owning her own hostel somewhere hot to live out eternal summers. See what she’s up to over on her blog saintsonaplane.com and instagram: @saintsonaplane

As we pulled up by the disused tractor next to the steep, red dirt driveway, which was definitely in the middle of nowhere, we exchanged looks with a slightly nervous gulp. Where the heck were we? And what was this place?

We had been on the road for about two hours in Portugal. We’d left Faro’s white heat and hit the road to head up the dusty Alentejo Coast that hugs the south-west segment of Portugal. The A22 motorway had caught us in brain-dead traffic jams, giving me a chance to explore my boyfriend’s iPod collection and catch quite a bit of a tan to my thighs from the sun streaming through the window (hello, shorts tan line!). When we could finally fly free along the road, leaving back-to-back vehicles far behind us, we could sigh and let go of any city-related tension.

After a hectic few months at work in the UK, we were in dire need for a holiday. I needed some serious zoning out time and some serene scenery to get over the stress of my everyday routine, and with the welcomed arrival of a tax return (thanking YOU, Mr Taxman/lady!) I was straight online to book some flights to get out of my stressed rut! With flights from England to Faro being as cheap as a £100 return, it made perfect sense to grab that with both hands, rent a car (NB: be sure to check if you require a credit card to pick up your rental) and zoom up the coast to stay at a quiet airbnb accommodation out of any hustle and bustle. I was a flat battery pack in need for some serious charging.

We knew the rough area of where we wanted to explore and sourced out the best-priced place. It felt like “Orada: Resting away from it all” found us, but still, like most places advertised online, the photos don’t give you a real feel of the place so it will always harbour a surprise or three when you turn up.

We had finally found the turning off the main road and bumbled down a dirt track lined by young pine trees. The instructions told us to go ‘for 3 minutes’ then park at the gate, and once we had taken our first corner we were confronted with rolling hills, arid prairie-like fields of tan cattle and thick green trees blanketing the horizon. The sun beat down on the roof of our car, but a cooling mountain breeze treated us to sweet relief. We were fully in the depths of the Costa Vicentina national park reservation and it was a world away from the pumping, tourist-filled beach resorts down on the Algarve.

After parking up, we tentatively ventured into the big main building; a historic cobbled farmhouse surrounded by potted plants and dream catchers. David and his wife welcomed us to the abode, ‘Orada’, and gave us a brief tour. On first impressions, it was still very much in construction with work tools for the first floor rooms and for a large deck, but it was very nearly there. The vegetable garden that was set out in a mandala shape was flourishing with organic produce, the ground level rooms were cool and furnished with leather poufs, cosy cushions and small fire furnaces (for the winters of course), the beds were covered with giant princess-style mosquito nets and hammocks with dreamy crochet edgings dotted the premise. Random rocks and crystals adorned the spare corners of the garden, and herbs grew from voluptuous glass bottles lining pathways.

On first glance, I had believed we were at some rough, disorganised farm stay that wouldn’t really be an easy and comfortable place to chill. Also, with the mentions of the ‘meditation centre’, I began to suspect that perhaps I was in an odd hippie commune… But upon looking around and seeing the order of the place, it clicked together and the vibes instantly told me that I had found what I didn’t know what I was looking for. I had focused on the beaches and wilderness of the Alentejo Coast to be the source of relaxation, but I had accidentally stumbled upon a gem of a retreat that would unwind me into forgetting all that I had left behind in England. What’s that? I have a job? I have responsibilities? Could’ve fooled me out here!

David’s ethos of the place is to provide a retreat of health and rebalance. A place for the soul, for meditation and for raw, organic foods. WWOOFers (willing workers of organic farms) wandered the place tending to the garden and kitchen as we piled our bags into our room, and with smugness I found we had scored a fantastically situated room. We looked out onto the wilderness of the evergreen forest reservation and the distant aqueduct that hung over the valley. Not a sound could be heard, apart from another guest’s cute lil’ kid giggling in a hammock, scratching of chickens and the rare birds that occasionally chirped overhead. It’s safe to say, it sure beat the sound of zooming traffic and drunken hobos down my road in Bristol.

We were invited to join David’s family and the other WWOOFers for a vegetarian meal compiled with ingredients sourced from the mandala garden that was to be cooked by Clara, a permanent Spanish WWOOFer. Prior to dinner, we decided to have a dip in the Bio Pool. The large pool has an area set aside for swimming, but the outer edge is surrounded by pond. The reeds and plants naturally clean the waters, but as wildlife teams in the edges, sunscreen is a no-no as the chemicals wouldn’t go down too well with the small frogs.

After a deliciously healthy dinner, we had drinks out on the deck and spoke to David about the history of the place. He’s not entirely sure how old the original farmhouse structure is, but it definitely dates back to at least 300 years. On the property, there is a statue of Saint Orada, “Lady of the Prayer” and it was part of the deal that if he bought the property, he would have to keep the statue and set-up a sacred space around it. Back in the day, people in search of healing would journey to the deity for prayer, and now that David has created a meditation centre around the statues location, it still provides a form of healing.

Yoga is run there every weekday at 10am for 5 euros, and the yoga instructor, Tina, really knows her stuff. I am a lover of yoga, although definitely an amateur, and these morning sessions really solidified this place as a haven for me to reorder my scattered city-brain. Something that had been needed for over a year, I believe!

One of my favourite travel quotes is by Daranna Gidel: “You lose sight of things… and when you travel, everything balances out.” After a mere four days out in Orada, I indeed felt balanced and almost ready to return to the city that I currently call home. I say ‘almost’ as Orada was one place I did not want to leave in a hurry. I’ll sure miss those clear night skies that seemed to be filled with every star that ever existed in the universe.

All photographs by Sophie Saint.

Many thanks to David for being a wonderful host. Go to their website if you’re keen on finding out more.

Sophie Saint was one of the original travelettes, from 2009 – 2017. After fleeing the UK with ink barely dry on her graduation certificate, she traversed the world with a backpack and spent a few years living in Melbourne – one of her favourite cities in the world.

She finally returned to the UK after a few years where she now whiles time away zipping off for European escapes, crocheting and daydreaming of owning her own hostel somewhere hot to live out eternal summers. See what she’s up to over on her blog saintsonaplane.com and instagram: @saintsonaplane