More questions about Spain Portugal driving trip
 

We are in the process of finalizing our hotels for our driving trip from France through Spain and Portugal for March/April. Everyone here has been so helpful-so I want to thank you all again in advance. Our itinerary is pretty close to being set with hotels reserved, except for 3 areas-4 nights in Southern Spain and the Algarve, and then 6 nights along the central Atlantic coast from the area around Vila Nova de Milfontes up to Porto (aside from the Lisbon area which we have booked) and then a final 7 nights taking us from Guimares back home to St Palais sur Mer France.

Here are the questions I have:

For the first 4 nights, I have it blocked out as 2 nights in Cadiz and 2 nights in Tavira. Do those sound like 2 good bases? And does 4 nights feel like enough time to at least get a feel for this stretch of the coast? We will be coming from Seville and driving to Monchique in that part of the drive. On another thread someone mentioned a town fairly near Cadiz called Conil de la Frontera. Does anyone have any thoughts about basing there versus Cadiz? Since we will have a car, we can visit other places and sometimes we find it easier with a car to base in smaller towns versus larger cities. We are are also open to ideas of other places to base in that stretch.

On the second section I am trying to nail down, I have it blocked out as 1 night in Vila Nova de Milfontes, 1 night in Sines, 2 nights in Tomar and then 2 nights in Aveiro. In that stretch we will be starting in Monchique and ending in Porto. I am wondering since the distances are pretty small whether we should choose 1 base for the first 2 nights versus splitting those, and just in general if these are the right places to base etc.?

Then finally on the last section, I am leaving us a week to do the drive from Porto back to our home in St Palais sur Mer, leaving from Guimaraes where we will be visiting a friend. Right now I have it plotted out as 2 nights in Vigo, 1 night in La Coruna, 1 night in Gijon, 1 night near Itzurun then the last night in Bordeaux. We have only visited the northern Spanish coast as far west as Bilbao-but we don't need to go back to Bilbao or the San Sebastian area since we have visited those areas previously. So again I would be interested in feedback on the overnight stops I have chosen and whether it would be better combine some of the 1 night stops into 2 night stops and just drive a little longer, etc.?

Any thoughts and feedback would be appreciated and of course specific hotel and restaurant suggestions are most welcome as well!

jpie,
For your first 4 nights in March, I'd spend 2 nights in Cádiz rather than Conil only because there's much more to do in this lively, interesting, atmospheric city.
It has an imposing cathedral, an excellent fine arts museum and archaeological museum, good choice of dining, nice urban beaches. For me Conil is best as a base in summer when it becomes much more lively with beach bars open and families on holiday.*
But if you'd rather stay in a truly beautiful perched, atmospheric Moorish white town and the area's gastronomic Mecca, I think you would love Vejer de la Frontera, right above the Costa de la Luz beaches and Conil. *It's the jewel of the pueblos blanks.

As to the second 2 nights on Portugal's eastern Algarve, Moorish-looking Tavira would be fine.
We spent 4 nights in the Tavira area in November and based outside of town rather than in town only because we loved our particular Moorish-style villa hotel and with the car it was an easy in-and-out.

For the second section, I enjoyed Vila Nova de Milfontes (on that same trip) on the Alentejo coast/Costa Vicentina, but wouldn't have wanted 2 nights there off season. I didn't find much of interest in Sines, since it's an industrial town.
And Sines & Vila Nova de Milfontes aren't far apart.
If it were my trip, I'd press on to the more attractive Setúbal peninsula.
We enjoyed our October stay in Tomar very much (but we have a friend with a home there) and the Convento de Cristo in Tomar was a highlight.
The distance isn't far from Tomar to Aveiro but this would give you the opportunity to stop in Coimbra to tour the University or visit the excellent Machado de Castro Museum (more interesting to me than the University) *or to visit the Conímbriga Roman ruins outside of town.
(You've decided to skip Lisbon on this trip?)

Finally, I'm personally not a bit fan of the cruise port/industrial city Vigo (not the prettiest of Galician cities to me) and wouldn't want it as my base.
From Guimarães (love this town!), I'd stay in Baiona instead (at the historic Parador facing the sea) or press on to lovely Pontevedra. But the drive from Guimarães to Pontevedra would take about 3 1/2 hours. *Pontevedra is one of my favorite Galician small cities (we stay at the Parador).
I'm assuming there's a specific reason you want to base in A Coruña rather than Santiago de Compostela (because you know Santiago and A Coruña puts you closer to Gijón?
If you're interested in spending that night in one of Asturias' most charming, picturesque fishing villages instead, you could stop in Cudillero to the west, of Gijón or in Lastres to the east (better Lastres closer to your next stop)
I know Itzurun (Zumaia) well, but of the picturesque fishing villages west of SS, I prefer neighboring Getaria, 7 km to the east.
I've used both as a base in the summer, but Getaria, for me, has far more charm and dining is much better.

Specific hotel recs (without knowing your budget but I'm going to assume "moderate" rather than luxury):

Cádiz---Parador if you can snag a good Amigos rate--has handy parking or the Argontonio, pay parking
Vejer---Casa del Califa or one of the Califa group's apartments or Casa Shelly Hospedería
Conil de la Frontera---El Fuerte Conil (but it's resort-like)
Tavira---Vila Campina outside of town & gorgeous or the Pousada in town because it has a handy covered garage
Vila Nova de Milfontes---Monte do Zambujeiro
Setúbal peninsula---look at the offerings of Secret Places & I-escape
Tomar---Dos Templarios (plenty of free onsite parking) or the new Thomar Boutique (but street parking)
Aveiro---no recs because I've never spent the night
Baiona---Parador if you can snag a good Amigos rate, easy on site parking
Pontevedra---Ditto with its Parador & free on site parking
A Coruña---Meliá, NH or Eurostars, whichever is easiest with the car
Gijón---Parador for easy of parking
Cudillero---Casona de la Paca, member of Casonas Asturianas & Rusticate plus easy parking, not in village, easy in-and-out
Lastres---Casa Eutemio with fine traditional restaurant, facing the water, member of Casonas Asturianas
Zumaia/Itzurun---I'd choose a Casa Rural on the hill outside of town, like the Jesuskoa
Getaria---San Prudenzio on the hill surrounded by vineyards or Saiaz Getaria in village (they'll park for you)

I'll be happy to give you my restaurant recommendations after you finalize your stops.
*

jpie
The reason I've listed so many Paradors is that their "Best Rates Available" in March and before Holy Week can be extremely competitive, even better than the 5-night plan or senior rate or pilgrims' rate. I'm enrolled in the Amigos program and receive their e-newsletters notifying me of special sales, and there surely will be some great rates next March/April prior to Palm Sunday. For example, Baiona or Pontevedra for €100 in late March.

Maribel-thanks a million for ALL the information. I will start to dig in and figure out these areas. Up until now, the places I listed were just kind of "place holders" based on mileage so now I can start to really look into each of your suggestions and see how they will fit into the rest of the "jigsaw travel itinerary puzzle".

"(You've decided to skip Lisbon on this trip?)"

No, we will be going to Lisbon for a few nights as well. We ended up plotting kind of a crazy zig zag route, originally based on the limited availability we found at O Artista Boutiques in Lisbon actually, although now their availability seems to have opened up a bit. So I guess if I want to I could rethink the routing-although we are kind of okay with it since part of the area we want to explore in Portugal is more inland and the zigging actually makes that easier in a way.

So our route at the moment looks like this:

Leave St Palais on March 25th and essentially head directly to Cascais for 2 nights-stopping in the St Sebastian area, Salamanca and Coimbra along the way. From there we go into Lisbon for 3 nights at the O Boutique (leaving the car parked underground-right now I am actually looking at leaving it at the lot near the cruise terminal since the route in from Cascais looks like it stays outside Lisbon along the water).

After Lisbon we will go out towards Spain through Beja and head to Seville for a few nights and then down to the Cadiz area and then back along the Algarve. We have one night booked at the Monchique Resort and then we head up towards to Porto via Tomar Aveiro and then have booked 5 nights in Porto at the Myo Design House. We check in there on April 12th, Easter Sunday actually, so the week prior we will be staying at either 1 or bases between Monchique (the Sunday before) and Porto. That time period between Monchique and Porto will be holy week and is the "section 2" of my question. We aren't really interested in necessarily being some place where that week is a spectacle-we have been to other holy week celebrations in other town before. So maybe I am thinking we spend 3 nights in the Setúbal peninsula area and 3 nights in either Tomar or Aveiro?

After Porto we head for 2 nights to Guimares. We have a friend there but don't really want to stay with her-don't think she really the space. So I need to look at places to stay there. After that is where we head up to Asturias and Galicia. At the moment I have given us 7 nights to explore that area-but that part is especially flexible so we could extend that if we want. If we stick with a week then we would be back home on April 25th-so 31 nights. Do you think 7 nights is a fair amount of time for that area given that we won't be stopping in either Bilbao or St Sebastian area on the way back?

Also-a quick question about Vejer de la Frontera. Do you know if it is a place we you can at least get a car up to the town and just leave the car parked somewhere or do you have to leave the car below and cart luggage up stairs-that probably wouldn't work for us. From google images it looks like at least part of the town does have car access.

Thanks again for the help-once I have the route more firmly in place I will definitely be interested in foodie ideas :) And feel free to question any of my choices! It has been 40 years since we have been in Portugal. That was a driving trip as well on our honeymoon in a Citroën deux cheveux that belonged to my husband's grandmother. I remember we had to push it most days to get it started and in Lisbon, a thief used a knife to cut open the soft roof and steal my suitcase-talk about honeymoon memories LOL! Luckily at the time we were moving to Hawaii to start school so I only arrived with a bathing suit some jeans and a couple of tee shirts. Speaking of cars, we just signed our reservation with AutoFrance for our Open Europe Peugeot car and we have requested a new 3008 automatic drive plug in hybrid-so that should be an improvement over the deux chevaux!

"I'm assuming there's a specific reason you want to base in A Coruña rather than Santiago de Compostela (because you know Santiago and A Coruña puts you closer to Gijón?"

No we don't know this area at all-so everywhere is new to us. And I am not so concerned with driving distances because right now that week getting back home is wide open so I could extend if we wanted to shorten the driving times. And Since the area is relatively far and remote I would rather take our time a bit since I am not sure we will get back to that part of Spain again very soon.

"Specific hotel recs (without knowing your budget but I'm going to assume "moderate" rather than luxury)"

In terms of hotel budget I am actually kind of open. O Artista is a splurge for us-it is running $280/night for 3 nights on our dates and Porto Myo Design is $150/ night for 5 nights on our dates. But I am making more budget choices in other places along the way. I have found some good deals BTW at the Eurostar chain-the Regina in Seville has a good package that includes free breakfast and parking for $88/night and in the Eurostars Clara in Salamanca is only $68 with free parking.

In general we prefer apts over hotels so that we can at least have coffee/breakfast in our room. But on this trip we are moving around a lot with a fair amount of single nights so hotels or paradors on those nights are fine as well. More importantly always is access for the car. At Myo Design for instance they are on a street that is pedestrian only during much of the day but we have scouted out a pay lot nearby where we will just park the car and leave it for the nights we are there. And then the other thing (aside from good wifi) I try to get in all out properties is A/C because even in April you can be surprised! Although honestly most places in southern Spain and Portugal seem to have A/C and I doubt we will need it anyway.

Hi jpie
I thought maybe you weren't giving up on Lisbon-Cascais but just didn't include it in your post because you had already pinned down the O Artista Suites. And I know understand that you'll visit Coimbra on your way down rather than on your way back up. Now I understand much better.:)

I don't think you'll find Holy Week celebrated in Portugal in as much of a spectacle way as in Spain (ime, at least). I really think that Tomar will be more interesting for you than Aveiro, and from Tomar you can make excursions to Alcobaça, Batalha, Aveiro or Viseu (a really lovely, charming, pretty city)--whatever you didn't see on the way down.

In Guimarães with a car we stayed at the Monastery Pousada Santa Marinha above the city (for free & easy parking). We're PPG frequent guest members of the Pousadas/Pestana. The rate will be about €150 for your dates. The da Oliveira, a former Pousada, sits right in the middle of the pretty historic quarter, does have free parking and should run about €100. We'll probably stay there when we return.

I adore Asturias and like Galicia very much (but my love affair is with Asturias), and I would want at least 7 nights in that area. If you could extend your stay, I think you'll fall in love with Asturias, the gorgeous Picos de Europa and Sierra del Sueve areas and the whole Costa Cantábrica, "Green Spain".

Another inexpensive idea for Getaria, next door to Itzurun/Zumaia and with free parking: the small txakolí winery hotel, Hotel Rural Gaintza, on a hill but walkable to the village (and to get back up, you can take the escalator then the elevator at the Balenciaga Museum, then a flat walk.) It's a cute and tidy place and produces excellent txakolí

Vejer--the Califa & Palmeras del Califa sit on the main square, Plaza de España (the plateau), accessible by car, so you can drop off luggage then park in the main, secure carpark outside of the walls on the ring road. I believe parking costs €12/day. This is what we did with our car. The Califa, however, has no elevator but does have a/c (a must for us, as well as really dependable wi-fi). Vejer accommodations don't have elevators. So if that's an issue, you could stay elsewhere and visit on a day trip.

The Eurostars hotels often have great package deals. There are 3 Eurostars in Santiago.
While A Coruña is a pleasant Galician city, Santiago de Compostela is the jewel. In addition to the Parador Hostal Reis Católicos on the Praça do Obradoiro (pricey) facing the cathedral, I've stayed at the San Francisco Monument Hotel, just steps away, and it has free parking (plus indoor pool). And the AC Palacio del Carmen has free parking & indoor pool. But there are many lovely boutique options in Santiago plus those 3 Eurostars.

You have a great deal on that car!
Hope this helps!

As much as I love Conil De la Frontera and Vila Nova de Milfontes, I would not stay there in early spring 'cause the towns will be pretty dead.
Cádiz will be much livelier than Conil and you can easily daytrip to Conil to get a feel of the town.*
Agree with a previous poster about Sines not being very attractive. Better spend more time around Lisbon (Setúbal, Sintra) or spend a few days in Évora instead.*

jpie,
Out of season, on our recent November trip, Vila Nova de Milfontes was indeed rather quiet since the surf schools were closed for the season. The best restaurant, arguably, on the Alentejo coast, the Tasca do Celso, (a "foodie" find), however, is definitely worth the stop for lunch though (if it isn't Monday when it closes).
Tasca do Celso.

Hmmm-so listening to your advice I think then that we will either spend 2 nights in Cadiz itself or maybe spend 1 night in Vejer and 1 night in Cadiz. Not having an elevator isn't a deal killer especially for 1-2 nights. It looks like I should probably nail that down soon as booking.com is showing both cities pretty booked up (around 90%) for both areas. At least with free cancellation I can change my mind later if I find something else.

So after Cadiz we would have 2 nights in Tavira then go to Monchique-but that would indeed put us driving up the coast on a Monday when Tasca de Celso will be closed. So I am thinking that maybe since we have 6 nights between Monchique and Porto that maybe I will stick with the 2 nights in Cadiz area, 2 nights in Tavira and then add 1 night somewhere in the western Algarve around Albufeira maybe and then change my booking in Monchique to Monday instead of Sunday so that we could stop at Tasca de Celso on a Tuesday instead of being in that area on a Monday :) Alternatively we could spend three nights in Tavira or 2 nights in Monchique and explore the western Algarve coast from there....any opinions on this?

That leaves us 5 nights before Porto so maybe we just base in Tomar for those 5 nights? It is about 4h30 from Monchique to Tomar-so about the right amount of driving for a day with lunch at Tasca de Celso. Do you think 5 nights is too long in Tomar? We would use is as a base as you suggested to see other places. I am thinking we can explore more of the Setabul area while we are in based in Cascais earlier in the trip so maybe don't need to stop there for a night or 2 on the way up the coast after Monchique.

For the Asturias section, I am glad to know that you love that area Maribel! I think since that is that last stretch of our trip that maybe I should book us 3-4 nights in Santiago de Compostella for the next base after Guimares as a start (maybe have lunch in Ponteverda?) and then just leave the rest of the trip open in terms of booking and plan on 6-7 nights stops to get back to France. Since we don't have anything to stop us from extending our trip at that point and we are flexible about where can stay I am hoping at the end of April we might be able to leave that portion open. I will check booking.com for the areas in Asturias and see how booked they are for those dates and see what I think.

Anyway-all the opinions are much appreciated. I tend to forget how dead some of the coastal areas can be off season-so while we don't mind a bit of a stop in areas like that-I think you are all right to steer me towards areas that might be a bit livelier that time of year.

One last question about the Amigos program. Is that something you pay for so that you can get cheaper rates at the paradors and pousadas and does the program cover both?

Hi jpie,
I'll be back later to answer other questions, but quickly....the Amigos program covers only the Paradores. I signed up for the email newsletter that alerts me to special discounted rates. There are almost always specials. You can sign up online, and as a first time Amigos guest, you now get a free breakfast at your first Parador stay and a welcome drink at all of your Parador stays. No charge for belonging to Amigos.

The Pestana hotel group manages the Portuguese Pousadas, and Pestana has its own frequent guest program. No charge for signing up.

The Pousadas and Paradores are not related, but share the same concept of restoring former palaces, convents, monasteries, ducal palaces, castles, Arab fortresses, etc. and converting them to special lodging.
Some Pousadas and Paradores however, are purpose built and contemporary, like the new-is Pousadas in Lisbon and Cascais and the Paradores in Aiguablava (closed now for renovation), Salamanca, Ayamonte, El Saler, etc. The beachside Paradores are purpose-built, but the Cádiz Parador has a long history as a hotel and has fairly recently been very nicely restored.

Jpie,
I would stay far, far, far away from Albufeira.
For the western Algarve, I would choose the Lagos area, but you can easily explore the western Algarve from Monchique. 3 nights in Tavira (we had 4) and 2 in Monchique would be fine, I believe, but I've never stayed at that hotel in Monchique, so I can't opine on that particular lodging.
You can explore the Costa Vicentina from Monchique and do a day trip to Silves and access the "end of the world" (always rainy and windswept) of Cape St Vincent in Sagres.

5 nights is a bit too much in Tomar, I think.
I love Santiago de Compostela, as do other Fodorites, so I would certainly plan on using it as a base for Galicia.

Another vote for Tasca do Celso. Definitely the best in Milfontes.
I thought Odemira was nice for a visit, too.
In case you like to hike, the Fisherman's Trail - that is part of the Rota Vicentina - is a fantastic trail that runs along the Alentejo coast.

Lagos may be the best place to stay in the Western Algarve, although I'm not a big fan (was far too crowded in early summer).

Okay-after reading your comments we are looking at this (haven't booked yet):

2 nights in Cadiz (visit Vejer de la Frontera for a meal-lunch or dinner and check out Conil)
2 nights in Tavira
1 night in Monchique (Sunday)
1 night in Vila Nova de Milfontes (Monday night and have lunch at Tasca do Celso Tuesday)
2 nights in Evora (Tues, Weds.)
3 nights in Tomar (Th Fr Sat)
on into Porto Sunday with lunch in Aveiro

We could also stay 2 nights in Tomar and 1 night in Aveiro

So what do you think of breaking it down like that. My DH thinks it might be worth 1 night in Vila Nova even off season just to avoid the drive back and forth to Monchique (1h40 minutes each direction) and that would make an easy stop for lunch there on Tuesday before we head out to Evora.

Maribel-thanks tor the amigo info. I went ahead and signed up and will look at least at the Cadiz one and will explore offerings in the Asturias and Galicia areas as well. And I have started to look at some of the Pousadas in Portugal as well.

After Guimares I am still thinking I will start by booking us 3 nights in Santiago de Compostela and explore Baiona and Pontevedra on the way up. Then hopefully we can sort of leave the rest of trip open so we can explore Asturias more on a "meander" home.

So what do you think?

Hi jpie,
Your revised plan sounds fine. I like it.
While at our hotel just south of Vila Nova de Milfontes closer to Zambujeira do Mar, we did a bit of the fishermen's trail of the Costa Vicentina. There are nice walkways down to the beaches, which will be fairly quiet in early spring but they're quite beautiful and protected from wild development since they sit within a Nature Park. Vila Nova de Milfontes itself has nice beaches and from Monchique you may want to take a little detour to Praia das Furnas and/or Praia da Malhão.
https://algarve-south-portugal.com/v...tes-guide.html

I'm very glad that you included Evora in the inland Alentejo, also one of my favorite Portugal destinations. I've based 5 times in Alentejo, 4 times inland and once on the coast. I've stayed or dined in all the Pousadas there (on business) except for Beja.
You might want to consider the guided tour to Evora's megaliths by Evora Megalithica, if that sort of thing is of interest. It gets great reviews.
https://www.google.com/search?q=ebor...ed+tours&cad=h
Evora does has some nice "foodie" finds, like the small, chef-owned (and Michelin recommended) Origens and the gastro bar Enoteca belonging to the Cartuxa winery in town. For hotels I've used the Pousada, the Mar de Ar Aqueducto and the Albergario do Calvario right across the road, both with easy in and out parking. My only hesitation with the latter is their non-refundable policy.
https://origensrestaurante.com
https://www.cartuxa.pt/en/base/14/38

For lunch in Aveiro you might want to consider the the industrial-chic restaurant Mercado do Peixe, is hard to miss as it sits on top of the fish market hall at Largo da Praça de Peixe with views over the colorful houses and the canal. It opens for lunch at 12:00 pm. (http://mercadopeixeaveiro.pt)
And across the street there is the new and very upcoming O Bairro restaurant that opens for lunch at 12:30 pm. (https://www.facebook.com/obairrorestaurante/)

For your Asturias portion, in addition to the Parador in Gijón (slightly outside of the city), there's a beautiful Parador in Cangas de Onís, just south of the coast in the Picos de Europa region, a lovely setting. We've also used many members of the Casonas Asturianas group in our Asturias wanderings.
Some are restored 19th century "Indiano" mansions. https://www.casonasasturianas.com/en/

Just some thoughts.

jpie,
I just remembered that since you like serviced apartments for some of your longer stays, for Tomar there's the "Flattered to be in Tomar" apartments, which have a one-bedroom. The web page indicates that there is free parking in a big lot, and these apartments are well-equipped, nicely done, but the building doesn't have an elevator. They're also on booking.com.
Just another lodging idea...

Our drive from Evora to Tomar in the Ribatejo region only took about 2 hrs. 15 min. hours.

In Tomar for a nice and very inexpensive lunch with delicious desserts, we liked the cute Amor Lusitano. It also functions as a deli selling local wines, olive oils and other gourmet products such as convent sweets. Our friend who built a home outside of Tomar sent us there.
https://www.amorlusitano.pt

Thanks Maribel-you must have esp since I was just looking at the "flattered to be" properties. We may do that in Tomar since we will be there 3 nights. And as usual thanks for the foodie insights :)

Okay after MANY revisions, I think we have our stops and housing settled for most of our trip! We are purposely leaving everything open after 3 nights in Santiago de Compostela until we get home to St Palais sur Mer so that we can extend or shorten that part. Also, for those of you who may have been paying close attention (Maribel I am looking at you) :) we originally had a kind of a zig zagging path between Spain and Portugal, but since O Artista in Lisbon opened up a bit on date availability (and happily our new dates are cheaper!) we put together more of a "circle route". So here is the new revised itinerary:

Night 1 St Jean de Luz (Saturday March 21, 2020)
Night 2 Salamana (EuroStars Las Claras)
Night 3 Seville (Eurostars Regina)
Night 4 Seville (Eurostars Regina)
Night 5 Cadiz (private apt.)
Night 6 Cadiz (private apt.)
Night 7 Tavira (Pedras del Rei)
Night 8 Tavira (Pedras del Rei)
Night 9 Monchique (Monchique Resort)
Night 10 Vila Nova (Private apt)
Night 11 Evora (Private apt)
Night 12 Evora (Private apt)
Night 13 Lisbon (O Artista)
Night 14 Lisbon (O Artista)
Night 15 Lisbon (O Artista)
Night 16 Cascais (Private apt)
Night 17 Cascais (Private apt)
Night 18 Tomar (Flattered to be in Tomar)
Night 19 Tomar (Flattered to be in Tomar)
Night 20 Tomar (Flattered to be in Tomar)
Night 21 Coimbra (Private apt)
Night 22 Porto (Myo Design House)
Night 23 Porto (Myo Design House)
Night 24 Porto (Myo Design House)
Night 25 Porto (Myo Design House)
Night 26 Porto (Myo Design House)
Night 27 Guimares (staying with friends)
Night 28 Guimares (staying with friends)
Night 29 Santiago de Compostela (Private apt)
Night 30 Santiago de Compostela (Private apt)
Night 31 Santiago de Compostela (Private apt)

Thanks to all who have helped! I am going try this time to see if I can do a more "real time" trip report as we travel-but if that won't work I will take good notes on food and lodgings in hopes that I can help some other folks headed to that part of the world!

I'm glad you're almost done and that you could book apartments since I remember that it's what you prefer on this road trip.
If you need any more local "foodie finds" in the above-mentioned cities, just yell! I have a giant Rolodex! :)

I will be sure to let you know-and I hoping to find some good places for you along the way since I know you get to that area a lot! I think we are going to try 1-2 paradors on the trip home in northern Spain BTW but we will see what it feels like by then.

jpie,
Your place west of Tavira sits very close to our Vila Campina, near Barril beach. Very nice, relaxing area. There's terrific (and cheap) seafood to enjoy at the outdoor grills of Casa Corvo in Fuseta, that our hostess recommended to us-about a 15-min drive west. But even closer, in Santa Lucía, 2.5 km away from your place, which is the octopus capital of the Algarve, you can dine well at any of the riverfront places, like Polvo & Campaniha (if you like polvo=pulpo). Have fun!