The Algarve, Portugal's southernmost coast, is renowned for its jaw-dropping cliffs, golden sands, scalloped bays, and sandy islands. But the Algarve's narrative doesn't finish with "sun, surf, and sand"; there are plenty of other attractions, including activities, beach bars (and discos), sand castles, diving, entertainment, and fun. Portugal's top vacation spot sold its soul to tourism in the 1960s when it turned the whitewashed fishing villages perched on low cliffs overlooking sandy coves into vast conglomerations that ranged from uninspiring vacation homes to brash resorts that now line the country's central coast between Lagos and Faro.