A 'WORKCATION' LEFT ME TIRED AND OVERWHELMED BUT I FOUND THE PERFECT PLACE TO RECOVER

‘Quiet vacationing’ sounds like a cute name for a low-key holiday, doesn’t it? Perhaps a short stay in a countryside cottage, or a few days in a beach hut…

But it’s actually whole lot more depressing than that.

To put it simply, this travel trend is when you go on holiday, but commit to doing a certain amount of work – whether that be from the beach or your AirBnB.

Your boss might not even know you’re away.

It’s similar to other workplace trends such as the ‘workcation’, when a business trip is combined with leisure – for example, working for a week in a villa in Ibiza.

As a freelance journalist, the idea of working-from-anywhere at first seemed like a great idea, so last month I booked a trip to Portugal – a top European destination for digital nomads – and planned to spend six fast-paced days between the country’s two largest cities: Porto and Lisbon.

I imagined working in coffee shops and hotel rooms by day, and exploring the bustling streets and cheap eateries by night.

But not long before I was set to travel, my rose-tinted sunglasses lifted and I realised that this so-called ‘break’ wasn’t going to be much of a break at all. Once I’d finally logged off, would I even have the energy to switch from worker to tourist?

Fearing I had made a terrible error, I decided to make the most of my location and give myself a few more days to explore the place with a trip to tourist-fave, the Algarve – and despite any reservations, I am so glad I did.

Why the Algarve?

After visiting Portugal’s two main and most popular cities, it made sense to venture down to its most sought-after beach destination. Plus, having experienced a a few rainy days in northern Porto (and only a couple more before I’d be heading back to drizzly old Manchester) a trip to the ‘California of Europe’ felt more than welcome.

By the time I arrived in Albufeira, on Portugal’s south coast, I’d spent the the majority of the last week either indoors staring at my screen, or on a three-hour train journey from one region to the other. I was tired and a little overwhelmed and more than ready to swap the blue light of my laptop for some well-deserved sunlight, and those espressos in coffee shops for beers by the pool.

I’d been to the Algarve once before, and knew it was a destination for Brits abroad and golf enthusiasts, so I wasn’t really going for a dose of culture – I’d had that in Lisbon and Porta.

Instead, I wanted to do nothing but relax, hence why I opted for a two night stay at the luxurious W Hotel, which has a spa, a poolside bar and is perched right on the beachfront, rather than a more quaint or authentic Airbnb or hostel.

The W is a 10-minute taxi from Albufeira’s Old Town and was also perfect for keeping a healthy distance from the crowds of tourists that flock to the destination during summer.

And relax…

When I got to the hotel, one of the first things I did was find myself an optimally placed deckchair next to the pool and ordered a pint.  I spent the next couple of hours blissfully dipping in and out of the pool and catching up on all the sun I missed out on when I was busy at my hotel desk the week before. 

Of course, I couldn’t spend all day just lying by the pool drinking beer, so I also looked into getting myself a massage at the hotel. After all, following the week I’d had trying to cram everything in on my ‘quiet vacation’, I more than deserved it.

Thankfully, the W Algarve has a brilliant spa (called the Away Spa) with six treatment rooms, a gym, a sauna and steam room, an ice bath and more. So, on my second day, not long after breakfast, I got a wonderful energising massage for €115, complete with a citrus scrub. 

I’ll admit the treatments aren’t cheap, but I was glowing inside and out when I left the massage table an hour later, and I could hardly remember the tech neck induced knots in my back from endlessly hunching over my laptop.

It’s aso worth noting that there are loads of other spas in the area, too, with the Garden Spa, in Falésia Hotel, is the top rated on Tripadvisor.

Venturing out

Although I was loving my full-on hotel relaxation, I also know that If there’s one thing about the Algarve that you cannot miss, it’s the beaches. 

The Algarve was named one of Europe’s most popular beach destinations for a reason, and I’d hazard a guess that the clean sandy beaches, distinct rocky enclaves and clear waters had a hand. 

Praia do Evaristo, the beach by the hotel, was a tiny little bay, protected by large golden cliffs. We spent the whole day there, soaking up the sun (read: getting burned) and dipping in and out of the wavy sea. 

What was so lovely about this particular beach was that it was closed off, with very few people, and a lovely little beach bar. Plus, it was a five minute walk from the room.

Food for thought

While the meals at the W were insane – did I mention the giant crab?! – it’s always nice to get out into the real world, even if just for an evening.

Albufeira’s Old Town is extremely lively and very, well, British. That is, it’s built for tourists and caters to the assumed palettes of those tourists. There’s Indian restaurants, souvenir shops, sports bars, Irish bars – pretty much everything you’d expect on a classic Brits Abroad destination. 

It was interesting to head into the Old Town as someone who tends to lean towards the more cultural escapes. It was a little tacky and the food (a chicken kebab with chips) wasn’t great.

That being said, it was cheap, fun and nostalgic, and I was not in the mood to explore, so if you lean into it, you can have a silly night out here.

After a couple of days of simply blissing out and doing nothing, I was able to reflect on how the last few weeks had actually been for me.

I realised that while working holidays – or quiet vacations, if you still prefer to call them that – are a great way to break up the monotony of your daily life with a big fat dose of culture and sunshine, it’s also really important to give yourself time to relax, too.

The Algarve, with it’s constant sunshine and glorious coastline, was the ideal place to do exactly that. I couldn’t recommend it more.

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2024-07-05T13:34:13Z dg43tfdfdgfd