The Blue Flag is one of the most recognised awards for beaches, marinas and ecotourism boats.
A series of stringent criteria need to be met and maintained to qualify for one of these voluntary awards; environmental, safety, accessibility and educational.
Portugal is in sixth place this year with 393 beaches, 18 marinas and 20 ecotourism boats receiving the accolade.
Of those, Algarve has 86 beaches and four marinas thus being the region with the most Blue Flags in Portugal.
The first beach to win a Blue Flag was Cascais in 1987 and since then Portugal has added year on year to the number of Blue Flags awarded.
Already awarded with Europe’s and the World’s Best Beach Destination, Algarve continues to be a favourite with families and not just for its wonderful beaches.
There are so many different activities for visitors of all ages and budgets; theme parks, dolphin watching, jeep safaris and much more.
Portugal also holds the number one spot for the 2021 Readers’ Choice Awards, published annually by Condé Nast, for more information about these awards click here.
Of course, with the blue skies already here Algarve is opening its doors to all.
Eco-tourism, click here for Tripadvisor’s top 10, go karting (see here) and industrial tourism are all big hits with visitors.
So don’t presume that Algarve is just sea and sand. Far from it, there is much more to offer for those visiting the region.