Vale do Lobo

A ravine, a beach and two courses to share them.

Vale do Lobo is the Algarve’s oldest resort development, begun in 1962 on 450 hectares of pine and sandstone cliff west of Faro. Its golf club runs two 18-hole courses, the Royal and the Ocean, and both reach the beach. The Royal’s 16th, a long par 3 across an orange-red ravine, is the hole most people have already seen in photographs. The Ocean, made from Cotton’s original nines, brings you down to the shore around its 14th and 15th. You can walk from villa to first tee, then from the 18th green to the seafront Praça for lunch.

Vale do Lobo green fees and tee times.

Book online through the club’s Golfmanager page, by email to golf@vdl.pt or by phone on +351 289 353 465. You choose the Royal or the Ocean; both cost the same. The club’s rules set EGA handicap limits of 28 for men and 36 for women. You confirm your handicap at check-in, and staff can ask to see an official certificate before you tee off, so bring it. Buggies take a maximum of two players and must stay on the courses; under-16s cannot drive them. Non-playing companions can follow a group only with approval from the golf reception, must meet the dress code and can join only at the 1st tee. Collared shirts, tailored trousers or shorts with belt loops (no drawstrings), socks and golf shoes are required. Children under five and dogs are not allowed on the courses.

The courses at Vale do Lobo.

Royal Course

The championship course, par 72, and the one to book first. Its best stretch comes late: the clifftop 16th, then a dramatic drive from the 17th tee. Earlier, the 9th green sits almost surrounded by water. Roquemore’s nine sits further inland on gently rolling ground, away from the sea views.

Ocean Course

Two of Cotton’s original nines, which the club calls out for its par-4 11th and 14th and the par-3 15th. The sea appears as you crest the 11th, and the 14th drops towards the beach before a par 3 that runs along the shore. It finishes on a par 5 that climbs steeply to a green with a permanent grandstand. It costs the same as the Royal, so it makes an easy second round.

The round, in perspective.

Sir Henry Cotton, the three-times Open champion, laid out the original golf at Vale do Lobo in the late 1960s. That layout was later split. The Ocean is made from two of Cotton’s first nines. The Royal keeps nine Cotton holes and adds nine routed further inland by the American architect Rocky Roquemore in the late 1990s. The Royal is a par 72, rated 72.7 with a slope of 133 from the white tees. Its 9th green is almost an island, and the 16th asks for a carry of about 224 yards from the back tee over a gaping cliff-edge ravine to a large green, with room to bail out right. The 17th tee shot follows straight after. A composite of 13 Royal and five Ocean holes staged the Portuguese Open in 2002 and 2003. Houses line many fairways, so the walks between some greens and tees are long.

Know before you go.

Handicap

Men 28, ladies 36; certificate may be checked

Buggies

Two players maximum; drivers 16 or over

Spectators

With reception approval, from the 1st tee

Dress

Collars, belt-loop trousers or shorts, socks

Twilight

From 13:00 to 15:30, by month

Make the trip work.

The rate card splits November, May and October into two bands each, so on the 2025–26 card moving a trip from early to late November cut the 18-hole fee by €30, and April cost more than March. Twilight starts at 13:00 from late November to January and at 15:30 in spring, with sunset slots later still at the same nine-hole price. Play the Royal on the calmest day of your week, because the 16th is far harder into a sea breeze. Resort owners and their families pay separate rates, so if you are renting from an owner, ask whether their discount extends to you. The golf shop opens at 06:30.

Faro airport is about 20 minutes by car. Leave on the EN125 towards Portimão, turn off for Almancil, cross the town and follow the signs south to the resort gate. Lisbon and Seville are each about two and a half hours’ drive. The resort’s car hire office at the Parque do Golfe also rents bicycles by the hour or day.

Where it is.

Nearby: 1. Quinta do Lago (3 km) · 2. Pinheiros Altos (5 km) · 3. Pestana Vila Sol (5 km) · 4. The Old Course, Vilamoura (7 km) · 5. Ombria Golf Course (16 km) · 6. Salgados Golf Club (24 km) · Compare all The Algarve tee times

Somewhere to settle in.

Vale do Lobo rents its own collection of apartments, townhouses and villas, from one-bedroom units to large detached houses with pools. One four-bedroom villa looks straight onto the Royal’s 16th, and several townhouses sit within walking distance of the Praça and beach. The resort’s Play & Stay package pairs one- or two-bedroom apartments with golf for three, five or seven nights. The Dona Filipa Hotel, opened in 1968 as the Algarve’s first five-star hotel, is inside the resort near the beach. Almancil, about 10 minutes inland, has supermarkets and simpler rooms.

Make a trip of it.

Quinta do Lago’s South, North and Laranjal courses are the next estate east, and San Lorenzo and Pinheiros Altos are close by. Vilamoura’s courses are a short drive west for a change of scenery. Off the course, the resort has tennis and padel courts, a fitness centre and the Royal Spa, which offers golfers a €15 discount on full-body massages. The beach below the cliffs is a long, open strand, and Loulé’s covered market is about 15 minutes inland.

Find your season.

Winter is the value window: from mid-November to February the 18-hole rate sits at its lowest. October is the most expensive month. The club’s Amateur Week runs from 24 to 30 January 2027, and Foursomes Week, held since 1983, from 23 to 29 May 2027. Both come with accommodation and unlimited-golf packages, and both fill the tee sheet.