Estrada do Farol, Faro

Street guide, Algarve News

The Estrada do Farol (Lighthouse Road) leads from central Faro to the Faro beach area and the Santa Maria cape. The road crosses the salt pans and wetlands of the Ria Formosa, providing views across the lagoon. At its end, a small settlement at Praia de Faro occupies a narrow sandbar between the lagoon and the open sea. The beach, popular with Faro residents in summer, stretches for several kilometres. The road is single-carriageway and can become congested on hot summer days when beachgoers queue to cross. Restaurants and beach bars line the sandbar settlement, and the area has a casual, local atmosphere distinct from the resort beaches further west.