Travel

Planning a holiday to Portugal? Read our guide to the best regions, including expert advice on Lisbon, Sintra, Porto, Alentejo, and the Algarve. By Mary Lussiana, Telegraph Travel Portugal expert.

Hidden coves and limestone rocks resembling abstract sculptures rising out of the blue ocean run all along the coast, bordering the golden sands that stretch from the west coast with its wild waves – a paradise for surfers – to the more gentle central and eastern Algarve, where long, accessible beaches alternate with mere handkerchiefs of sand at the end of dizzyingly steep steps carved into the rocks.

Getting there

British Airways  (0844 493 0787; ba.com ) operates from Heathrow to Lisbon (from £109 return) and from Gatwick to Faro (from £134 return). The seasonal route from Heathrow to Faro re-starts at the end of March (from £153 return) and from London City to Faro during July and August  (from £183 return). New for 2015 is Heathrow to Porto from late March (from £154 return).

TAP Portugual  (flytap.com ) serves Lisbon, Porto and Faro from London and Manchester airports.

easyJet  (easyjet.com ) flies to Lisbon, Porto and Faro from London and a wide selection of regional UK airports. One-way fares to Faro and Lisbon start at £22.99, and one-way fares to Porto start at £30.99.

Ryanair  (ryanair.com ) operates flights to Lisbon from Stansted and Manchester, the Algarve from Stansted, Liverpool, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh, and to Porto from Stansted and Liverpool.

Jet2 (jet2.com ) flies to Faro from Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds Bradford, East Midlands, Edinburgh and Manchester.

DialAFlight  (0844 811 4444; dialaflight.com ) or the Charter Flight Centre  (0844 050 0100; charterflights.co.uk ) can advise on seat-only tickets from a wide range of regional UK airports with tour operator charters to Faro.

More information