Wintering in the Algarve - my conclusion after 3 months
At the beginning of November I set off from Kołobrzeg at 4 degrees and sleet. Twelve days and 3,400 kilometers later, the blue one was standing on a cliff near Sagres, I was in shorts, and we both decided: We'll do this every winter now.
The Route down
Kołobrzeg → Dresden → Nuremberg → Lyon → Perpignan → Zaragoza → Salamanca → Algarve. Sounds sporty, but it was relaxed: I never drive more than 400 km a day - the T4 likes it leisurely, and so do I. Highlight on the way: the Auberge pitches in France, where you can stand for dinner for free (France Passion, best invention ever).
What the winter really cost
- Pitches/campings: €610 (mix of eco-camps and Área places)
- Diesel on site: 180 € (you hardly drive anymore)
- Food & market: 540 € (Portugal is kind to account)
- Gas: 45 € — with local bottle adapter, more on that below
- Workshop: 120 € (new V-ribbed belt in Lagos, fair & friendly)
Parking space reality 2026
In plain language: wild camping is prohibited in the Algarve and it is controlled - especially at the Instagram spots. The good news: The legal alternatives are better than their reputation. Salema Eco Camp and the Área in Aljezur were my base camps; both full of long-term vanlifers, both with everything you need. If you commute flexibly between two or three places, you get community AND peace.
The gas bottle classic
No one will exchange German gray water for you in Portugal. My setup: a local adapter (~15 € at the hardware store) plus a Portuguese butane gas bottle from the supermarket. It took 20 minutes and a friendly chat - I've been cooking for 9 € a month since then. In the video I show you the conversion step by step.
And the vanlife feeling?
Surfers count with their first coffee in the morning, oranges straight from the tree at lunchtime, campfire guitars from three vans in the evening. Yes, it sometimes rains for three days in January, and yes, the showers are sometimes cold. But I've collected more hours of sunshine in three months than I did at home in the entire six months - and more new friends than in five years in the office.
See you soon and always have a good trip,
your Tussy 💛