Portugal’s lesser-visited areas including Algarve-alternative beaches where you can stay from £19 a night

THE Algarve has always been a big hit with motorhomers, offering year-round pleasant temperatures and lots to see and do on those glorious beaches.

But unlike most motorhomes disembarking from our ferry at Santander on Spain’s northern coast, we weren’t heading straight for the holiday hotspot.

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Portugal has so much more to offer than the sun-kissed beaches of the south, especially if you like your vitamin D fix mixed in with a healthy dose of adventure and a side of culture.

Our first port of call was Portugal’s only national park, the strikingly beautiful Peneda-Geres, where a week of hiking, cycling and traditional cuisine awaited us.

The afternoon sun was high in the sky as we arrived at the Parque Cerdeira campsite in Braga, our base for the week, bathing the surrounding forest and gnarled peaks in a golden light.

In no time at all, Harrison and Dorothy, aged nine and six, were off playing in the campsite’s adventure park, while Kim and I sat and planned the week’s hiking routes.

It was the last of these family rambles that showcased the best of the park, taking us up through dense forest, out on to lush alpine meadows and eventually high up into the Serra do Geres, rewarding us with sweeping views of the surrounding mountains and distant valleys below.

It’s not just an army that marches on its stomach, but small children, too, and thus with every walk came the chance to sample local mountain cuisine.

The weather might have been warm, but that didn’t stop us tucking into meals more in keeping with winter.

Nearly all the local restaurants serve such dishes as feijoada, a hearty pork and bean stew, as well as the ubiquitous mountain soup, caldo verde, which is cooked over red-hot embers in huge cast-iron pots that look more like bubbling witches’ cauldrons.

Our route from the tranquillity of the mountains would not take us to the coast, at least not yet, but instead to the Douro Valley. Famed for its terraced hills where the vineyards produce some of the world’s finest port wine, it also benefits from a Mediterranean climate.

What’s more, during spring it is free from the hordes of tourists and wine aficionados who flock here in the summer, allowing us to soak up the sun and culture in relative peace and quiet.

A little bit of local knowledge from a friendly campsite owner saw us heading for Pinhao, the wine capital of the region, to catch a train to Pocinho. We were told the journey would give us the best views of the valley, but before that we were treated to one of the most charming train stations in Europe.

The station walls at Pinhao are adorned with beautiful blue and white azulejos — traditional Portuguese tiles — depicting scenes from the region.

The old train eventually pulled out of the station, clattering along the track as it wended its way through the heart of the valley, rows of meticulously tended vineyards climbing up the steep terraced hillsides, topped with Hollywood-style signs denoting the various port houses to which they belonged.

The children stood with their heads out of the windows, their faces full of contentment as we trundled along.

This really was the perfect way to see the valley in all its resplendent glory. We eventually made it to the coast and to a small town that is steeped in traditional Portuguese fishing culture, as well as being home to some of the biggest waves in the world.

Situated on the Silver Coast, which is a great alternative to the Algarve, Nazare has thankfully retained its charm, despite the rising number of visitors coming to see the waves and daring surfers.

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Its narrow, cobbled streets are home to various family-run restaurants, each serving an array of fresh seafood as well as the omnipresent bacalhau, or salted cod.

Strolling down from the old town and along the shore, we were greeted by great lines of barcos, the local fishermen’s boats, painted in bright, vibrant colours, their nets hung out to dry in preparation for the following day.

There were no big waves during our time here, not that Harrison and Dorothy were complaining as it made for perfect conditions to spend a few days playing on the beach, a fitting end to our time away.

We know there will always be those who prefer the better-known resorts and destinations that the Algarve offers, with their pristine pools and beaches.

But as we discovered, for those wanting a little more variety and adventure in their winter break, Portugal has an abundance of alternatives waiting to be explored.