Algarve: warm weather to avoid the U.S. winter

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With winter around the corner, you might already be pulling out the coats and boots, budgeting for heating costs…prepping for the cold, dark months ahead. Blizzards, ice storms, slippery roads, and sidewalks.

But what if you could avoid all that? Trade in the boots for flip-flops and go to a place where the only cold thing will be the beer in your hand.

The Algarve is Portugal’s southernmost region and is the vacation destination of most Portuguese and many other Europeans, drawn to the resort-like feel of the towns along this famous Atlantic Coast.

The Algarve is famous for its golf courses, fresh seafood, and the hot and spicy chicken called Frango da Guia.

The region is striking. The crashing waves and steep cliffs of the western-most tip, in Sagres, quickly become long, sandy swathes of beaches and coves stretching for miles to the east, all the way to Spain.

“It’s hard to find fault with the climate in the Algarve,” says Tricia Pimental, IL Portugal Correspondent. “You can count on the sun most of the time. During the “rainy season” of October through April, it’s still sunny around two-thirds of the time.

“December is the wettest month, during which you can expect about four inches of rain to fall over the course of the month. But on any given day, the precipitation is more likely to come in a heavy, brief shower, and then the warm Algarve sun reappears.”

Here, a couple can live well on a monthly budget of $2,000 to $2,400 (1.745€ to 2.095€) depending on the housing they choose.