How to plan a beginner golf holiday in Portugal's Algarve: where you can play without a handicap, booking a golf school, the best resorts to stay at, when to go and what to do about clubs.
A golf holiday is one of the fastest ways to learn the game: a few days of coaching in the sun, practice every afternoon and your first rounds on a real course, without fitting it all round work. For UK golfers, the Algarve in southern Portugal is the obvious place to do it, with short flights into Faro, mild weather for most of the year and around 40 courses spread along the coast.
The catch is that a first golf trip needs a bit more planning than a regular one. Most full-length courses ask for a handicap, lessons need booking, and where you stay makes a big difference. This guide walks you through planning a beginner golf holiday in Portugal, step by step.
Step 1: check where you can play without a handicap
This is the one thing that catches beginners out. Almost every 18-hole course in the Algarve asks for an official handicap certificate, usually with a maximum of 28 for men and 36 for ladies. If you don't have one yet, your playing options are the shorter courses that don't ask for a handicap, such as Penina's nine-hole Resort Course, Pine Cliffs (from the red tees) and Vale de Milho, plus a playing lesson with a professional.
Our guide Do you need a handicap to play golf in the Algarve? goes through the rules course by course. It also covers two ways onto the big championship courses without a handicap.
Step 2: build the trip around lessons
For a true beginner, coaching is what turns a frustrating holiday into a great one. Instead of booking odd lessons when you arrive, book a short beginner golf school before you travel. You get a structured plan over three to five days and usually a first round on the course with your teacher at the end.
A few examples from the academies' own price lists: the Pestana Beginners School costs €162.50 per person for three days of 90-minute sessions (minimum two people), and Penina's five-day Beginners Golf Clinic cost €284 per person in a group on its 2024/25 list, with clubs, a trolley and range balls included. Private lessons generally cost around €60 to €80 an hour.
Our guide to golf lessons in the Algarve compares the main academies, their prices and the beginner programmes, area by area.
Step 3: stay at a resort with a beginner-friendly course
The easiest beginner golf holiday is one where you can walk from your room to the driving range, the academy and a short course that doesn't ask for a handicap. That saves you a hire car, makes it easy to fit in an extra hour of practice, and some resorts give guests a lower green fee too. These four tick most of the boxes.
Penina Hotel & Golf Resort, near Portimão
The classic choice. Penina has a full academy, a large natural-grass driving range, and the nine-hole Resort Course, which needs no handicap, next to the Sir Henry Cotton Championship Course you can work towards. The academy's beginner clinic includes a game on the course with the professional.
Pine Cliffs, Albufeira
A clifftop nine-hole course that players without a handicap can play from the red tees, plus a golf academy with PGA instructors, all inside a large beach resort near Albufeira. Resort guests pay less for a round than visitors, and full club sets can be hired for €30 for nine holes, according to the 2025/26 price list.
Balaia Golf Village, Albufeira
A nine-hole, all par-3 course inside the resort, with a driving range where a bucket of 24 balls costs €2. On the 2025/26 rates, resort guests pay €40 a day for golf (visitors €50), and €80 gets you a day's golf with a half set of clubs. Its handicap rules are not clearly published, so email the club before you book if you have never had a handicap.
Amendoeira Golf Resort, Silves
A good fit if you want to take the coaching seriously. The academy has TrackMan, video analysis and putting technology, keeps groups to five students per teacher, and runs schools from half a day to five days. It also has a nine-hole par-3 Academy course, which the resort describes as the only floodlit nine-hole course in Portugal.
For more options, see our list of Algarve hotels with a golf course on site.
Step 4: pick a quiet time of year
As a beginner, a quiet course matters more than perfect conditions, because nothing is more stressful than a group waiting behind you on every shot. Spring and autumn are the Algarve's busiest and most expensive golf seasons. For a first trip, aim for February or the late September to mid-November stretch, when the weather is usually still good, green fees are lower and tee sheets are calmer.
Summer is the cheapest time for golf and the courses are quiet, but you will want to play early in the morning to avoid the heat. Our month-by-month guide to the Algarve golf season has the weather, daylight and price details.
Step 5: don't fly with clubs on your first trip
If you don't own clubs yet, don't buy a set for the holiday. Academies can lend you clubs for lessons, some beginner clinics include them, and every resort above hires sets out. If you want your own set for the week, you can rent golf clubs in the Algarve and pick them up at your hotel or at Faro Airport.
If you do already have a set, check what your airline charges before you decide. Our guides to flying with golf clubs on Ryanair, easyJet and Jet2 cover the fees.
A sample five-day beginner golf holiday
Day 1: arrive at Faro, check in, and hit a bucket of balls on the range to shake off the journey.
Days 2 to 4: a beginner school in the mornings, then practice in the afternoons on the range, putting green and chipping area. Most clinics finish with nine holes alongside your teacher.
Day 5: your first round on your own, on a short course that doesn't ask for a handicap, at a quiet time of day. Then lunch at the clubhouse to celebrate.
Once you have caught the bug, step up to a forgiving full-length course on your next trip. Our guide to the 10 best Algarve golf courses for beginners will help you choose.
Plan your trip on the map
Use our Algarve golf map to see every course, its green fees, handicap rules and facilities, and the hotels nearby. You can show only the courses with a golf academy, or set your handicap in the filters to see where you can play. For the wider planning (flights, car hire and how many rounds to book), read how to plan a golf trip to the Algarve.
