![]() ![]() To learn about local history and heritage, visit the museum Casa do Tempo and the old animal-powered grain mill Atafona do Lourenço. Its main natural attraction – Caldeirão, the lagoon on the the crater of the volcano that formed the island – is a two-hour, 6km/3.7-mile hike uphill. Vila do Corvo, the only municipality on the island, is a minute cluster of houses and narrow streets on cliffs overlooking the ocean, with everything within walking distance. Whatever you plan, rolling with the punches when the weather doesn’t agree with what you had in mind is essential. Forget planning or a packed calendar of activities: instead, prepare for days of lazing around, mingling with the locals and dividing your time between mornings hiking and afternoons at the beach. This is where I go to release, recharge and enjoy the outdoors and small-town living. While you’ll have to take a number of flights to get to Corvo, the minute you get off the plane the peacefulness of the village-like island washes over you. While most of the islands have grown in in popularity over the last decade, this 6.8-sq-mile lump of land, with under 400 people, remains well off the beaten track. Sandra Henriques was born in Portugal’s Azores islands, and has called Lisbon home for 20+ yearsĬorvo is one of the nine islands of the Azores, an archipelago some 1100 miles off the coast of Portugal. On tiny Corvo, a hike to the volcanic Caldeirão lake is essential © EyesTravelling / Shutterstock Nature and quiet island life in Corvo I enjoy grabbing my breakfast croissant from Mabi and catching the sunset from the dunes behind Praia do Farol before ending the night with a signature cocktail at Statera. These days, I’ve been sticking closer to town. I used to stay at a camping site just above Praia do Malhão, walking down every morning to the beach for a full day of swimming and the occasional surf lesson. ![]() Most end up in the Algarve – but lately, many are switching it up for the Alentejo’s quieter sands. The southern coast has always been a favorite holiday spot for Portuguese families. This pathway crosses a natural park (no high-rise hotels here) and takes you along steep cliffs with ocean views all the way through. It’s one of the many coastal towns in the Alentejo, a region of sprawling wild beaches and scenic hikes like the Fishermen’s Trail. When I was younger, I spent my summers camping near the beaches of Vila Nova de Milfontes in southern Portugal, and I often return there. Joana Taborda grew up in Lisbon and now splits her time between the capital and Madeira "Golden hour" brings a pinkish hue to Praia do Malhão in Potugal's Alentejo region © Paul Melki / Shutterstock Seaside camping in the Alentejo at Vila Nova de Milfontes ![]()
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