Lagos, Portugal

Lagos is a crazy little party town in the Algarve. I first stumbled across this place with 4 of my girlfriends on a backpacking holiday. We were in Lisbon, which unfortunately we did not enjoy as much as we would have hoped to, and were told that we should head down to Lagos if we wanted to go to a great place in Portugal. Now we were a bit sceptical when we first pulled up in the train, which took about 3 hours from Lisbon ( 1 3/4hrs from Faro) and felt like we had arrived at some deserted island. We had no prior knowledge of this place, we just decided on a whim to head over on the word of 3 random young travellers. Little did we know, just a short walk down the marina, we would come across a quaint little town with a ridiculous amount of bars and a mental nightlife.

Lagos

I decided to come back to this place last summer (2010) to work for a bit and spend a bit more time there. This crazy little town is tiny and compact, and sometimes feels like you're living in a Big Brother world because everyone knows everyone and everything about the other. But oh my, it is definitely a place worth a visit. The beaches are stunning as well, lots of clear blue water and caves and cliffs surrounding you. And if you go a little further out there is some great surf as well. 

Where to Stay? 

Rising Cock - Hostels and Apartments 
This is probably the best well-known hostel in Lagos and one of the best places to meet some fellow travellers to go out and party with. The majority of the hostels will be right in the city centre, which means that you wont need to spend a penny on transport as everything is within walking distance. It does get booked up quite quickly in the summer months though, so I would probably advise you to book early if you know you are going. 


Having said that, there are people rolling into Lagos every day in summer with no idea of accommodation or where they are going to start looking. But it does always seem to work out so I wouldn't stress out too much. In fact, that is exactly what we did come to think of it. We had no accommodation sorted before we rocked up there, but we turned up to the Rising Cock Hostel. It was fully booked, but we were offered an alternative which turned out to be so much better. 


Short Stay Apartments 
That is where the Apartments come in. It only cost about 15 euros each for our own apartment just a few steps away from the hostel with our own kitchen. So this was in fact an even cheaper option and more relaxed. So I guess this would be my first choice of accommodation if I had to choose. The Rising Cock is not the only place that provides short stay apartments, so definitely ask around all the flyerers or the hostels for apartment availability once you arrive. 

Lagos Youth Hostel
To be honest I haven't actually stayed here but it is another hostel which is right in the centre. It seems to be another great place to meet some fellow travellers. Seeing as it is so close to all the action, it is in the perfect location to stumble home in the early hours of the morning.


The Luxurious Option....
Villa
If you have some money to spend or if you are going over as a large group then I would most definitely recommend looking into getting a villa. My friends got a villa for their stag do and it was simply the most amazing thing I have ever seen! 10 bedrooms, sleeps up to 20, outdoor jacuzzi, pool, gym, pool table, table tennis, wine cellar...... the list  goes on! Best of all it is still right by the city centre and a taxi only costs about 4 - 5 euros. You can even have your own private chef come to the villa and cook the meals for you if you are feeling lazy. Otherwise, there is always Macdonalds down the road! 

Where to go out?

There are sooo many bars to choose from in this little town. It is much more a small bar town where you end up bar crawling and visiting up to an average of 5 or 6 bars in one evening. Don't expect to find massive clubs in Lagos though. Yes the nightlife is great, but it's not like an Ibiza where you enjoy the huge club nights and great DJ's. It is more about going out and having a shot or 10, a fish bowl perhaps in a number of different bars and getting to know everyone in the town from just one night of partying. Not that I'm being biased or anything, but having worked as a flyerer in Lagos, I do recommend you listen to the staff and the flyerers on the street because we are actually pointing you to the best places in town. 


Bars/Clubs (I grouped them together as the majority of bars there are dance bars)

Three Monkeys 
This crazy ass bar has people dancing on the bar top, beer bongs, pints of cocktails and you will probably find that the staff are more drunk than the average person in the bar! It was one of our favourite bars when we went there 5 years ago, and it was still one of my favourites when I was  there last summer. I would say that this is a great bar to start off in, have a few drinks and move up the hill to the rest of them. 

Joes Garage 
I would probably say that this is the next stop to make after a trip to Three Monkeys. Again another bar where you will find people dancing on tables, doing beer bongs and getting through many a pint of cocktails. There is also a pool table and the opportunity to play beer pong in this place if you go there early enough. As well as that I dare you to challenge Joe to the Bomb Squad, where you have to down 7 jaeger bombs in as quick a time as possible. I will be highly impressed if you can beat the ridiculous record of 6.75 seconds!!

Inside Out 

Whereas the other 2 bars are open until 2am, Inside Out stays open until 4. So it is a popular choice for an early stop off or a late nighter after the other bars start to close up, or both if you are up for it! For 25 euros  you do end up with an obscene amount of alcohol in one fishbowl! Great to share amongst friends, and of course more importantly, for the photo opp. 

Grand Cafe 
Another of the clubs which are open until 4am and again a popular choice when Joe's closes, or whatever other bar you are in. It is spread over 2 floors and is a great place to dance the night away. If you have lost any friends or left any behind in a bar because you were impatient to move on, or they were otherwise distracted/ engaged for some reason, you tend to be reunited in Grand Cafe as everyone ends up there. 


Duna Beach
The beach party held at Meia Praia beach is normally held over the summer months and you tend to hear all about it from the staff if it is on. It goes on until 6am and is held in a great venue with a swimming pool in the middle, which often tends to be very inviting for a quick dip. If you aren't ready for your night to end in town at 4am, this is a great club with good music and a nice way to watch the sunrise in the early hours. 

Other bars that you are likely to come across and which are always good fun:
The Jam.....Wolfs Lair.....Whytes......Eddies......Shakers........Zanzibar........DCs......Sublime. 
If you have a few days in Lagos I suggest a bar crawl is in order and you attempt to cover the whole lot if you can. 

Where to eat? 

Casa Rosa 
Again I am probably being biased here as I did work here! But I would highly recommend that each and every one of you go to Casa Rosa! No but seriously, it is a great place with a great power hour. If you get the Power Hour deal you pay 12.95 euros for a huge meal and all you can drink beer, wine or sangria for an hour! Otherwise there are dishes starting from 4.95 euros there. There is a large selection of food ranging from burgers and buritos to sea bass and prawns. I believe that the average was around 6 or 7 pints in an hour, but the record I think was probably around 16 glasses of wine and about the same equivalent amount of pints too!  

Nana Bar  

Known for its burgers and its massive portions, this restaurant is great if you are looking for a good hearty meal. It just down one of the side streets, right near the Rising Cock hostel and all the dishes are pretty reasonably priced. I would recommend you try the salads, the Nachos or the Burgers if you get the chance to go. 

Patiscos 
If you feel like you aren't getting the Portuguese experience that you were hoping for....welll I don't think Lagos is the best place to visit in the first place! But at least you can have a taste of some great Portuguese food at this restaurant. Right next to Whytes bar and down the road from Casa Rosa, it is a delicious seafood restaurant. There are often queues out the door, as like many of these restaurants in Lagos, it is a tiny restaurant with limited seating. So if you can I would suggest that you book a table, otherwise turn up early. Try the clams and the prawns if you do go.


Odeon
Oh how I crave a good Odeon breakfast. Another hole in the wall in this little town but the best hole in the wall you will find for an all day breakfast menu. It is just up one of the side streets on your way to the beach from the town centre and it does the cheapest/best breakfast in town. For just 4 euros you will end up with a full english breakfast followed by a large serving of pancakes with syrup. Their burgers are also pretty darn good. I don't think I have ever spend more than 7 euros in that place for breakfast juice and coffee. This was where you would find everyone after they wake up in the morni......well 4 in the afternoon and on the hunt for some food. And best of all, it is en route to the beach so grab the towel, sunnies and sun cream before you head over. 

Living and Working in Lagos 
I would highly recommend living and working in Lagos for a summer if you have the time to do it and if you are looking for a summer working holiday. Although you wont walk away from that place a richer man, in fact you will probably walk away with the same amount of money as you first turned up with, as you pretty much live off what you earn, you do walk away having spent a great summer under the sun. There is a great community of international staff there, with the majority being from Australia, New Zealand and the UK. It is easy to settle in here, find an apartment around town and earn a little extra cash whilst having fun and getting your tan on at the beach. 


It is probably best to go at the beginning of the season, around May or around August if you are looking for a decent job in the bars as your options may become limited in the height of summer and jobs and accommodation are probably quite scarce around then. Other than that, feel free to send me a message about it if there is any more info you want to know.