On day four we discovered Praia da Falesia, just east of Albufeira, which became our unofficial headquarters for the rest of our stay. This long stretch of beach in front of the five-star Sheraton Pine Cliffs hotel is beautifully uncrowded and approached down a sandy ravine covered with the umbrella pines so typical of the Algarve coastline.

By law, the concept of private beaches does not exist in Portugal but be aware that some hotels provide sun loungers, umbrellas and towels exclusively for their guests, and will charge non-guests around £10 a day to use them.

Several of our lunches took place in the Pine Cliffs beach bar – with its stunning views. After 3 pm, when the sun was no longer at its hottest, we would move 50 yards from the bar to the beach, stretch out in the sun and wait for the tea time arrival of the vendors who patrol Albufeira’s beaches selling crisps, ice cream and, most excitingly of all, freshly-cooked doughnuts, or bolos de Berlim (Berlin cakes).

Most of the longer beaches in the Algarve offer extensive water sports, from pedalos and body boards to the scarier Banana – a long yellow inflatable towed fast behind a speed boat. A ride on one of these is not for the faint hearted.

August is too hot to play golf or tennis in the heat of the day, but some of the more intrepid members of our party teed off at 9am and played nine holes on the nearby Pine Cliffs course, finishing around 11am. Tee-off times restart at about 4pm on most Algarve courses in August; coming down to the last of 18 holes in the glow of the late evening sun is a wonderful way to end the day and prepare for a good dinner and the dancing to follow.

In Albufeira, the so-called Strip, on the eastern side of the town at Areias de Sao Joao, is a magnet for after-dinner revellers. It’s a long pedestrianised street of bars and restaurants which attracts holidaymakers from all over the town.

The Algarve has several famous night clubs. At Vilamoura, there is Kadoc, famous for getting lively at around 1am and closing at 7am. There’s also Casa do Castelo, open only in August and very hard to get into. Housed in a beautiful cliffside house at Praia do Castelo, it has a series of terraces dropping down to the sea.

By the end of the week we were all browner and fitter from the regular swimming and golf – although our daily routine had degenerated into that of night owls who came home at 3am and got up around lunch time.

Having proved that the Algarve in August is just as much fun for singles as it is for families, we all vowed to return!