Trip Report - Algarve with kids, March 2008
Jun 5th, 2008, 10:34 AM
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Trip Report - Algarve with kids, March 2008
Our family of four (including my husband and two daughters, ages 14 and 11)recently travelled to Portugal for 18 days - a two-week stay in two timeshare resorts on the Algarve and a four-day stay in Lisbon at the end. Thank you to everyone on this site for all of your advice - we used it extensively in our planning, especially for our three-day stay in Lisbon at the end of our trip. I will post that report separately though, for easy access.
We flew from Montreal to Lisbon through Paris on Air France. Great trip, decent in-flight meals, and great connections in Paris - the carrier actually sent an employee to meet our flight to guide our way through the terminal so that we all made the next flight.
We rented a car from the terminal in Lisbon from Auto Europe. We pre-arranged this with our travel agent in Canada and it was expensive, but we got a Volvo wagon which was very comfortable for all of our travelling and easily carried my husband's fishing rods and all of our gear.
We drove straight down to Albufeira where we were spending our first of two weeks on the Algarve. I don't normally drive a standard and was a little flustered at first - sleep deprivation was really kicking in by that point and I had to wonder what I was thinking to take a transatlantic red eye flight and then jump into a car with standard shift and drive another 3 hours or so on unknown roads in a different country...but we all lived to tell the tale! Happily, the way out of the airport was very well marked and the Autoroute between Lisbon and the Algarve was a wonderful four-lane divided highway with rest stops all along the way. Unfortunately, we spent a fair bit of time at these rest stops as our youngest was car sick (also a sleep deprivation issue, I think), but I can attest to the cleanliness of the washrooms and the strength of the coffee!
Our first week, we stayed at Club Albufeira, an older timeshare resort; more basic than North American timeshare, but with a woodburning fireplace and a lovely patio overlooking the (very cold!) pool and beautiful gardens. Our second week, we stayed at the Pestana Palm Gardens near Carvoeiro, a little fishing village west of Albufeira. This resort is a lovely newer resort on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Although both resorts claimed to have heated pools, I could only get into the hot tubs...
We found Albufeira and the surrounding area to be a bit too touristy for our liking and we all laughed at the many restaurants that advertised pub food and roast beef and yorkshire pudding lunches on Sundays...There is, however, a lovely small old section of town though and we had a wonderful meal at A Ruina, a beautiful restaurant in an old stone building built into an ancient wall and overlooking the beach. The grilled fresh fish was wonderful and our eldest loved the mussels which were very large and flavourful and the octopus salad.
Carvoeiro was much more to our liking - small and quaint, with a town square overlooking the beach. I tried the famous Algarvian grilled sardines at a nice little restaurant there and much as I wanted to like them, I can't say that I did - too fishy and bony for me...
We were very glad to have a car for this two weeks as we enjoyed exploring the many beaches in the area and taking day trips to small towns all along the coast. Again, there was a wonderful autoroute that stretched across the region and that made day trips very easy. Typically, we would drive on the autoroute to the farthest point that we were visiting that day and then poke along the smaller more picturesque routes and towns along the way back to Albufeira or Carvoeiro.
Some of the highlights of our day trips were:
-strolling along Avenida da Republica by the marina and Praca de Pombal in Vila Real de Santo Antonio, at the farthest eastern point of the Algarve, across the river from Spain;
-lunch at O Costa, a wonderful fish restaurant overlooking the fishing boats moored in the water in Fabrica;
-Praia Manta Rota, with its miles of wide deserted beach...;
-Tavira, which is a very special town known as the "Venice of the Algarve" - this was my youngest's favourite town. We loved climbing through the narrow alleys up to the church at the top of the hill overlooking the town at sunset - my one regret of the trip was not having dinner in the lovely modern restaurant around the corner from the church with its spectacular views of the city below;
-exploring the walled old town near the waterfront and the pedestrian malls in Faro - and having coffee under the orange trees in the square in Cidade Velha;
-sunsets spent at the beach, especially Olhos d'Agua with its brilliant green moss covered rocks and our wonderful fish dinner overlooking the beach at La Cigale afterwards;
-market day (Saturdays) at Loule, a small town in the mountains north of Faro - we explored the market and then walked through town to Igreja de Sao Clemente and the castle ruins;
-lunch at the Pousada overlooking Sao Bras de Alportel;
-hiking on the cliffs from Vale de Centianes to Algor Seco;
-exploring Silves, a small very picturesque town north of Carvoeiro - this was my eldest daughter's favourite day - walking through the pedestrian malls and then from the small park in front of Castelo dos Mouros, up through the narrow streets and alleys of the old town to the Cathedral with a stop on the way at the very interesting Museu Arqueologia;
-walking along the fisherman's pier at Ferragudo far out into the water and looking back at the lighthouse and Castelo de Sao Joao;
-drinks in the late afternoon at the Tapas Bar overlooking the beach in Caroveiro;
-exploring Portimao, Praia da Rocha, Lagos (especially the wonderful Museu Municipal Dr. Jose Formosinho) and Ponta da Piedade, a beautiful walk down through stone stairs and walkways to see the ocean and beautiful rock formations;
-our last day trip to the farthest western point of the Algarve, Cabo de Sao Vicente, otherwise known as the "End of the World" - very barren and windswept cliffs but beautiful just the same; and,
-very nice service and fabulous cataplana at the O Terheiro do Infante overlooking a windsurfers' beach in Sagres.
All in all, we had a wonderful two weeks. The weather was sunny and clear almost every day, and although we are not heat-lovers, it could have been a tad warmer for our beach picnics. The kids braved the ocean to swim a little bit the first week, but by the second week, the wind had picked up and we spent more time exploring towns than lying on the beach.
We happened to be there just before Easter - it was very quiet and we typically had restuarants and beaches to ourselves. But the tourism infrastructure is enormous in this region and we were told many times that in just a few weeks, things would change and the area would be teeming with people. We were happy to have gone when we did.
A few last tips:
-Modelo grocery stores have the most wonderful frango piri-piri - grilled or BBQ chicken with a very tasty sauce - to go at their deli counter - perfect for quick dinners and picnics the next day.
-do not order cappucino - it always came with whipped cream and not steamed milk froth on top. Instead, order "white coffee" - fabulous espresso with steamed milk!
-fishing season is over in March on the Algarve - my husband carts his darn rods around wherever we go and has caught fish everywhere except here...but local fisherman got quite a kick watching him try...
-you will pay for the appetizers that they bring unasked to your table at the start of a meal, such as bread, cheese, olives and makeral pate, so think twice before you mindlessly munch away. At most restaurants, what you get is not worth the price (charged by the number of people at your table)...the wonderful exception to that was at the Pousada at Sao Bras de Alportel.
-shellfish is very expensive here and we found it to be generally overcooked. The exceptions to this are clams and mussels which were very good and very reasonable.
-while I usually drink red wine, I discovered vinos verdes very early on in our trip - very wonderful!
We flew from Montreal to Lisbon through Paris on Air France. Great trip, decent in-flight meals, and great connections in Paris - the carrier actually sent an employee to meet our flight to guide our way through the terminal so that we all made the next flight.
We rented a car from the terminal in Lisbon from Auto Europe. We pre-arranged this with our travel agent in Canada and it was expensive, but we got a Volvo wagon which was very comfortable for all of our travelling and easily carried my husband's fishing rods and all of our gear.
We drove straight down to Albufeira where we were spending our first of two weeks on the Algarve. I don't normally drive a standard and was a little flustered at first - sleep deprivation was really kicking in by that point and I had to wonder what I was thinking to take a transatlantic red eye flight and then jump into a car with standard shift and drive another 3 hours or so on unknown roads in a different country...but we all lived to tell the tale! Happily, the way out of the airport was very well marked and the Autoroute between Lisbon and the Algarve was a wonderful four-lane divided highway with rest stops all along the way. Unfortunately, we spent a fair bit of time at these rest stops as our youngest was car sick (also a sleep deprivation issue, I think), but I can attest to the cleanliness of the washrooms and the strength of the coffee!
Our first week, we stayed at Club Albufeira, an older timeshare resort; more basic than North American timeshare, but with a woodburning fireplace and a lovely patio overlooking the (very cold!) pool and beautiful gardens. Our second week, we stayed at the Pestana Palm Gardens near Carvoeiro, a little fishing village west of Albufeira. This resort is a lovely newer resort on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Although both resorts claimed to have heated pools, I could only get into the hot tubs...
We found Albufeira and the surrounding area to be a bit too touristy for our liking and we all laughed at the many restaurants that advertised pub food and roast beef and yorkshire pudding lunches on Sundays...There is, however, a lovely small old section of town though and we had a wonderful meal at A Ruina, a beautiful restaurant in an old stone building built into an ancient wall and overlooking the beach. The grilled fresh fish was wonderful and our eldest loved the mussels which were very large and flavourful and the octopus salad.
Carvoeiro was much more to our liking - small and quaint, with a town square overlooking the beach. I tried the famous Algarvian grilled sardines at a nice little restaurant there and much as I wanted to like them, I can't say that I did - too fishy and bony for me...
We were very glad to have a car for this two weeks as we enjoyed exploring the many beaches in the area and taking day trips to small towns all along the coast. Again, there was a wonderful autoroute that stretched across the region and that made day trips very easy. Typically, we would drive on the autoroute to the farthest point that we were visiting that day and then poke along the smaller more picturesque routes and towns along the way back to Albufeira or Carvoeiro.
Some of the highlights of our day trips were:
-strolling along Avenida da Republica by the marina and Praca de Pombal in Vila Real de Santo Antonio, at the farthest eastern point of the Algarve, across the river from Spain;
-lunch at O Costa, a wonderful fish restaurant overlooking the fishing boats moored in the water in Fabrica;
-Praia Manta Rota, with its miles of wide deserted beach...;
-Tavira, which is a very special town known as the "Venice of the Algarve" - this was my youngest's favourite town. We loved climbing through the narrow alleys up to the church at the top of the hill overlooking the town at sunset - my one regret of the trip was not having dinner in the lovely modern restaurant around the corner from the church with its spectacular views of the city below;
-exploring the walled old town near the waterfront and the pedestrian malls in Faro - and having coffee under the orange trees in the square in Cidade Velha;
-sunsets spent at the beach, especially Olhos d'Agua with its brilliant green moss covered rocks and our wonderful fish dinner overlooking the beach at La Cigale afterwards;
-market day (Saturdays) at Loule, a small town in the mountains north of Faro - we explored the market and then walked through town to Igreja de Sao Clemente and the castle ruins;
-lunch at the Pousada overlooking Sao Bras de Alportel;
-hiking on the cliffs from Vale de Centianes to Algor Seco;
-exploring Silves, a small very picturesque town north of Carvoeiro - this was my eldest daughter's favourite day - walking through the pedestrian malls and then from the small park in front of Castelo dos Mouros, up through the narrow streets and alleys of the old town to the Cathedral with a stop on the way at the very interesting Museu Arqueologia;
-walking along the fisherman's pier at Ferragudo far out into the water and looking back at the lighthouse and Castelo de Sao Joao;
-drinks in the late afternoon at the Tapas Bar overlooking the beach in Caroveiro;
-exploring Portimao, Praia da Rocha, Lagos (especially the wonderful Museu Municipal Dr. Jose Formosinho) and Ponta da Piedade, a beautiful walk down through stone stairs and walkways to see the ocean and beautiful rock formations;
-our last day trip to the farthest western point of the Algarve, Cabo de Sao Vicente, otherwise known as the "End of the World" - very barren and windswept cliffs but beautiful just the same; and,
-very nice service and fabulous cataplana at the O Terheiro do Infante overlooking a windsurfers' beach in Sagres.
All in all, we had a wonderful two weeks. The weather was sunny and clear almost every day, and although we are not heat-lovers, it could have been a tad warmer for our beach picnics. The kids braved the ocean to swim a little bit the first week, but by the second week, the wind had picked up and we spent more time exploring towns than lying on the beach.
We happened to be there just before Easter - it was very quiet and we typically had restuarants and beaches to ourselves. But the tourism infrastructure is enormous in this region and we were told many times that in just a few weeks, things would change and the area would be teeming with people. We were happy to have gone when we did.
A few last tips:
-Modelo grocery stores have the most wonderful frango piri-piri - grilled or BBQ chicken with a very tasty sauce - to go at their deli counter - perfect for quick dinners and picnics the next day.
-do not order cappucino - it always came with whipped cream and not steamed milk froth on top. Instead, order "white coffee" - fabulous espresso with steamed milk!
-fishing season is over in March on the Algarve - my husband carts his darn rods around wherever we go and has caught fish everywhere except here...but local fisherman got quite a kick watching him try...
-you will pay for the appetizers that they bring unasked to your table at the start of a meal, such as bread, cheese, olives and makeral pate, so think twice before you mindlessly munch away. At most restaurants, what you get is not worth the price (charged by the number of people at your table)...the wonderful exception to that was at the Pousada at Sao Bras de Alportel.
-shellfish is very expensive here and we found it to be generally overcooked. The exceptions to this are clams and mussels which were very good and very reasonable.
-while I usually drink red wine, I discovered vinos verdes very early on in our trip - very wonderful!
Jun 5th, 2008, 10:59 AM
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Thank you, you brought back many happy memories of this area.We, also, went in the two weeks just before Easter for a number of years and it is a great time to go...even got in swimming a few times!
Jun 5th, 2008, 04:29 PM
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thanks so much. We're leaving next week for Lisbon,the Algarve, and an Alentejo bike trip with our 16 and 22 year old daughters so this is great. I hope you describe your experience in Lisbon before we leave (that gives you 6 days). Also, how do you say white coffee in Portuguese?
Jun 5th, 2008, 05:33 PM
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Liz: You brought back wonderful memories for me also. DH and I spent two timeshare weeks in the Algarve in February a few years ago in Portimao and Alvor. We loved being almost alone in the Algarve and I think the winter is the correct time to go, even though our apartments were cold at night. We loved the small towns especially. And I could tell Carvoeiro would be a nice place to stay. Thanks for the good memories. Wish we could go back this winter, driving up in to the mountains was so interesting, and Lagos was a favorite too.
Jun 5th, 2008, 08:19 PM
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Liz et al:
For Portugal lovers, here are my pix from our May visit...Lisbon and vicinity, the Alentejo, Marvao, the northern mountains, Obidos, Nazare'/Sitio, Sintra and vicinity.
The country is exceptionally photogenic...hope we captured some of it. If you go to "slide show" it may stall four or five times...simply go to the pic where it paused and re-start from there...otherwise, just pick out the pix you would like to see.
Hope you'll enjoy, and decide to visit again...we will!
Stu T.
http://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/Portugal2008
For Portugal lovers, here are my pix from our May visit...Lisbon and vicinity, the Alentejo, Marvao, the northern mountains, Obidos, Nazare'/Sitio, Sintra and vicinity.
The country is exceptionally photogenic...hope we captured some of it. If you go to "slide show" it may stall four or five times...simply go to the pic where it paused and re-start from there...otherwise, just pick out the pix you would like to see.
Hope you'll enjoy, and decide to visit again...we will!
Stu T.
http://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/Portugal2008
