How to Play the Best Golf in the Western Algarve
West of Portimao the Algarve relaxes: the beaches get bigger, the tee sheets get quieter and every course takes visitors by direct booking. The anchors are Penina, where Sir Henry Cotton built the Algarve's first course in 1966, and Palmares, Robert Trent Jones Jr's 27 holes above the bay of Lagos. Around them run Morgado, Alamos, Espiche and Boavista, the best value supporting cast in southern Portugal. Here is how to get on each one in 2026, in what order, and from which base.
Photograph: Penina Hotel & Golf Resort, via Google
The short answer
There is no gate to talk your way through in the western Algarve. All six of the main courses around Lagos, Luz, Alvor and Portimao take visitors by direct booking, online or by email, with no member introductions and no ballots. Handicap certificates are a formality at most: limits of 28 for men and 36 for women appear in some club conditions, but on the resort tee sheets of the Algarve they are almost never checked. The two rounds to secure first are the Championship course at Penina, the long, tree lined par 73 that Sir Henry Cotton drained out of rice paddy flats in 1966 as the Algarve's first course, a ten time Portuguese Open host, from an indicative 110 euros in 2026, and Palmares, where Robert Trent Jones Jr rebuilt an old hillside layout into 27 holes above the bay of Lagos, opened in 2010 and completed in 2011, around 116 euros in high season.
Everything else is logistics. Fly into Faro, the region's only airport, rent a car and run west on the A22 motorway: Penina and the Morgado estate are about 45 minutes from the terminal, Lagos about an hour. Base in or around Lagos and every course is a short morning drive. The full pricing picture, tier by tier and season by season, lives in our western Algarve green fees guide; this page is about getting on, and in the right order.
The west's courses: who built them and how to get on, 2026
| Course | Designer | Location, drive from Faro | Indicative 2026 fee | Booking note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penina Championship | Sir Henry Cotton, 1966; the Algarve's first course | Alvor, between Portimao and Lagos, about 45 minutes | From around 110 euros high season; resort guests preferential | Book via the resort; stay and play bundles are the value route |
| Palmares | Robert Trent Jones Jr rebuild, opened 2010, 27 holes from 2011 | Above Meia Praia, Lagos, about an hour | Around 116 euros high season, from about 105 | Book direct online; ask which two of the three nines you draw |
| Morgado | European Golf Design, 2003 | North of Portimao, about 45 to 50 minutes | Around 85 euros high season | Public; Portuguese Open host 2017 to 2019, pairs with Alamos |
| Alamos | European Golf Design, 2006 | Same Morgado do Reguengo estate | About 72 euros low season, around 103 to 112 high | Public; book direct or as a 36 hole day with Morgado |
| Espiche | Peter Sauerman, opened 2012 | Behind Luz and Lagos, about an hour | 51 to 79 euros by season; twilight from around 37 | Public; eco certified, the most relaxed welcome of the six |
| Boavista | Howard Swan, 2002 | Clifftops west of Lagos, about an hour | About 65 to 90 euros | Public; book direct, resort and repeat guest rates available |
Access rules, designers and indicative 2026 fees verified June 2026 and subject to change without notice. Always confirm current rates and tee times directly before booking. Check western Algarve tee time availability.
How to book the west, step by step
- Fix your season first. March to May and late September to November are the premium windows; July and August trade heat for discounts; December to February is the quiet value season. Then book flights to Faro and a rental car at the airport.
- Secure Palmares and Penina before anything else. They carry the smallest premium tee sheets in the west, and spring and autumn mornings go four to eight weeks out. Both book directly online or by email.
- Price direct against packages before you pay. One or two rounds, book direct. Three or more, run the hotel math: Penina's stay and play rates and the NAU bundles across Morgado and Alamos routinely beat the sum of separate green fees.
- Fill the week from the value tier. Morgado and Alamos make a natural 36 hole day on one estate, Boavista adds clifftop views west of Lagos, and Espiche's twilight rate from around 37 euros is the standing bargain of the region.
- Leave one round unbooked. The west rarely sells out outside peak weeks, and a flexible final morning lets you replay the course that grabbed you or chase the calmest forecast.
Do not overthink the formalities. Dress codes are standard resort golf, a collared shirt and tailored shorts or trousers, with Penina the most traditional room of the six and Espiche the most casual. Handicap certificates are rarely requested anywhere in the Algarve, though carrying one, or an app record, costs nothing. Buggies are bookable at every course and genuinely useful at Morgado in summer heat; around Lagos a trolley does fine.
Routing the trip, and where to stay
Base in Lagos and stay put. The town has the best beaches in the Algarve, a working fishing harbor's worth of restaurants, and every course within about 30 minutes: Palmares is effectively in the suburbs above Meia Praia, Espiche and Boavista sit just west, and Penina, Morgado and Alamos line the road back toward Portimao. A five round week runs nearest to farthest: Palmares early while you are fresh, Penina for the history, the Morgado estate's 36 hole day midweek, then Boavista or Espiche to finish. The one worthwhile exception to the Lagos base is a night or two at the Penina hotel itself, which converts its guest discounts and the five star routine of Cotton's old home course into the cheapest way to play the Championship twice.
For the wider context, our Algarve destination hub maps the whole coast, the best courses in the Algarve ranking shows where the west's pair sit against the Golden Triangle, and the best courses in Portugal list places them nationally. If you want the week pre sequenced, our five day Algarve itinerary includes the western leg, the Portugal trip planning guide covers the country wide tradeoffs, and Algarve golf holidays is where we cost and book the whole thing as one piece.
Plan a western Algarve golf trip
Tell us roughly when and who is travelling, and one concierge holds Palmares and Penina on the right mornings, sequences the value tier around them, books the Lagos base and costs the week to the head. We reply within one working day, with no obligation.
Western Algarve golf access questions
Do you need a handicap certificate to play golf in the western Algarve?
Rarely. The western Algarve runs on resort golf, and Penina, Palmares, Morgado, Alamos, Espiche and Boavista all take visitors by direct booking with no member introductions. Limits of 28 for men and 36 for women appear in some club conditions, but proof is almost never requested at the first tee. Carry a certificate or an app record if you have one, and always confirm each club's current requirements directly before booking.
How far is Faro airport from the western Algarve courses?
Faro is the only airport you need. The A22 motorway runs the length of the Algarve: Penina and the Morgado estate sit about 45 minutes from the terminal, and Lagos, the natural base for Palmares, Espiche and Boavista, is about an hour. Rent a car at the airport, because the six courses spread across some 25 kilometers of coast and hills and taxis between them add up quickly.
Should you book western Algarve golf direct or through a hotel package?
Both work, so price them against each other. Every western Algarve course sells tee times directly online, which is the simplest route for one or two rounds. At three rounds or more, hotel packages usually win: Penina's stay and play rates on its own Championship course and the NAU resort bundles across Morgado and Alamos routinely beat the sum of separate bookings. Always confirm current rates directly before booking.
When is the best time to play golf in the western Algarve?
March to May and late September to November are the premium windows, when the courses peak and so do the fees. July and August bring real heat, softened out west by the Atlantic breeze, along with meaningful discounts, and December to February is the quiet value season, mild enough to play almost every day. Book spring and autumn tee times four to eight weeks ahead, and always confirm conditions and rates directly before booking.
Related
The Tee Sheet
Tee time releases, access changes and the booking windows worth moving on first. Every other week.
Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Access rules and indicative fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.