Lagos
Portugal.

Lagos is the Algarve backpacker capital: a 31k-resident Portuguese coastal town with six photogenic beaches inside a 25-minute walking circle, a 16th-century walled old town, and the most concentrated hostel scene in southern Europe outside the major capitals. Six central hostels run with 7+ scores: Boutique Taghostel (9.0, sea-view rooftop, marina-side), Olive Hostel (9.0, lived-in patio bar with a hostel cat), Orange3 Hostel (8.8, social-events with garden patio and bar crawl Wed-Sat), Topcity Hostel & Suites (8.8, only one with a rooftop pool and private bathrooms in every room), HI Lagos - Pousada de Juventude (8.0, most-reviewed in town with 1,272 stays and the cheapest central dorms) and Bora Dormir (8.4, fully renovated 2024 with the best thermal+acoustic insulation). The party scene is concentrated on Rua Cândido dos Reis (Rising Cock, The Macarena, The 17 — three party-hostels you book the bar crawl from, not where you sleep). Boat tours to the Benagil cave leave from the marina; Praia do Camilo with the wooden-step descent is the photogenic beach 25 min south; Sagres at Europe's westernmost cape is 1h by EVA bus. Faro airport (FAO) is 1h45 by bus, Lisbon 3h45 by direct train. Best months: late May-June and September; July-August is packed and prices double.