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I found this website an excellent source of information for the Algarve and extremely competitive deals on car hire.
Gocar is a whole new way to explore and discover a city. It is a GPS guided tour that once you step on the Gocar will start telling you all about Lisbon but in a funny way. The car tells jokes, teaches you to speak Portuguese and even tells you all about the main sights of Lisbon. As a Portuguese, I tried and had a lot of fun.
Rua dos douradores,16
The western Algarve is probably the top surfing destination in Europe, with warm water, a not-too-touristy vibe, and of course consistent pumping waves. The Algarve Surfcamp is based in Carrapateira, a small village about 30 minutes drive up the the west coast from Sagres. The camp offers lessons and accommodation pretty much right on a spectacular beach. It's perfect for beginners and intermediates, while more advanced surfers are ideally located to explore the endless quality breaks on this stretch of coast.
www.nomadsurfers.com/en/europe/portugal/algarve/surfcamp/27.html
When the summer wind blows out all the other surf breaks on the southwest coast of Portugal, the place to head for is Praia da Arrifana. Sheltered from the prevailing north-westerly by stunning, hundred metre high cliffs, Arrifana sucks in any swell the Atlantic has to offer. The beach will produce rideable waves at all stages of the tide and, depending on the swell size and direction, there is likely to be something to suit all abilities. While Arrifana can become quite crowded - especially during the summer months when it is the favoured destination for many of the Algarve surf schools - there remains a pleasantly easy going vibe in the water. As the swell hits two metres or more, a world-class, right-hand point wave starts to break beneath the cliffs at the north end of the bay. The ride here is long, extremely fast and definitely not for the inexperienced or faint-hearted. When it’s working, sit up on the cliff-top bar with a beer in hand and watch in awe as the experts (and lunatics) show us how it should be done. Visit www.surfcampalgarve.co.uk for information regarding lessons, board and wetsuit hire, accommodation etc.
Praia da Arrifana is 6km west of Aljezur in the western Algarve region of Portugal
You are sitting by an old winery, now an eight-room guesthouse, glass of wine or port in hand, watching the setting sun gild the surrounding vineyards whose grapes produced the wine you're drinking. You are in the Upper Douro World Heritage Site in northern Portugal, looking down on the mirror-like water of the Rio Douro (the "river of gold"). Does life get any better than this?
Website (in Portuguese only at the moment) www.veigamouras.com, nearest place Ferrão, nearest station Pinhão, nearest big town Vila Real.
This place is gorgeous and we go every year since we discovered it. It's a really easy and unstressful drive from Faro airport and has a perfect location, perched up on a hill above the small village of Estoi with views down to the sea. Easy acess to all the great fishing villages and good shopping in Faro, as well as amazing wildlife, walks etc.
Nice clean guesthouse with original features and generally nice decor, and a secluded roof garden. Two metro stops from the centre, and very reasonably priced for what you get- I paid E120 for three nights in a single ensuite room.
Rua dos Anjos, close to Intendente metro station
A small medieval hill town in the North Alentejo region of Portugal, a delightful place for a holiday with its 14th century castle, Gothic doorways, small white houses and cobbled streets. A place where you can step back in time from the era of the Romans and Visigoths to the Moors and Christian crusaders.
Don't forget to visit the 13th Century synagogue and covered fountain in the famous Jewish quarter.
One of our favourite places in Portugal.
The surrounding countryside with the mountain range of the "Serra de São Mamede" with its abundance of flora and fauna is a great excuse to get out the walking boots.
A short 2.7 km family walk in beautiful Alto Alentejo countryside along ancient pathways with olive groves and cork oak trees.
Starting at the typical Alentejo village of Barretos, along cobbled roads which merge into ancient pathways only wide enough for donkeys and carts. As you look up you will see the dramatic, imposing town and castle of Marvão on the mountain rage of the "Serra de São Mamede". Continue and you will pass through the little sleepy hamlets of Vale do Milho and Fonte Salgueiro de Cima and finally returning to the village of Barretos.
This is a short walk recommended for families where there is an abundance of flora and fauna, from farm animals, including sheep and pigs to the wonderful Alentejo countryside of wild flowers and trees. Plenty to keep the kids occupied.
An affordable, friendly and inspiring yoga and pilates retreat in idyllic surroundings close to Faro beaches. Guaranteed sunshine, delicious food, congenial company and, most importantly, stimulating and enjoyable yoga and pilates classes morning and evening.
Led by Beata who brings the spirit of the circus to the yoga mat, with fun, laughter and lightness spilling over from her ongoing experiences as an aerial performer.
www.beayogi.co.uk/yoga-retreats.htm
+44-7973619633
bea@beayogi.co.uk
I went to Quinta Mimosa last year and I'll be going again. It really surpassed all my expectations. Its a beautiful part of the country and I could totally unwind. The yoga classes were excellent and there was the added bonus of Pilates classes, which was a first for me. Lovely pool, great food and top tuition. What's not to like?
Quinta Mimosa, Portugal, 20 min from Faro. A stunning yoga holiday in the beautiful Algarve, Quinta Mimosa is rural Portugal at its best! We would wake up to yoga classes with Bea, then wander down to the orange groves to pick fresh oranges to squeeze before heading off to brunch, where everybody gathered mid morning as the weather hotted up. Then we could swim in one of the two pools; head off to the sea or visit the local market in the lovely town of Loule. This July will be the third time I am visiting this retreat. I loved sitting quietly for meditation by the pool. The yoga sessions are inside a well-equipped studio, which is cool and tranquil; I could only hear the buzzing of the bees as we relaxed at the end of an enjoyable session. Returning from one of the afternoon excursions, there is an expert Pilates class before dinner! This retreat is well thought out, there is time to practice and time to play, it is very reasonable with great food and tuition. Shared accommodation from £430 to single acc £580.
20 minutes from Faro Airport, Algarve.
www.beayogi.co.uk or www.quintamimosaalgarve.com
A bright modern hostel situated in the centre of Lagos on the Algarve. It has sixty odd, four-bunk rooms, a kitchen, free breakfast, a central courtyard for meeting fellow travellers. An excellent place to meet people and rest up on the grand european tour.
Rua Lancarote de Freitas in the old town of Lagos.
www.theworldtraveller.net/lagos.html
Long-established restaurant/cafe on Placa da Liberdade. Marvellous space with excellent food and efficient waiting staff.
Placa da Liberdade, very close to Aliados Metro
A very good restaurant on the Cais da Ribeira. There are a line of these places. I went to most of them and this is the best. Good food and really great staff. They gave me a special table upstairs for the Portugal-Sweden match
Cais da Ribeira 29
I found a great restaurant in the Alfama on Rua dos Remedios, I think it’s number 127.
It’s small and new, very homely, serving a lovely mix of Portuguese cuisine with an Italian accent. The owner, Nino, is of Italian/Portuguese descent and grew up in South Africa, so he speaks perfect English (Afrikaans too if that helps anyone) and it turned out we have mutual friends there too!
The first night I had a delicious Lasagna al forno, even better than my own, and my partner had a typically Portuguese dish, Feijoada a Portuguesa which is a pork and bean stew, very tasty and much better than it sounded.
They also have things like fish lasagne, Lasagna al Bacalhau, lots of pastas such as bolognese, putanesca, aglio olio, peperoncino with a breaded steak, prawns in a cream and cheese sauce, and Bacalhau com natas (cod with potato cream and cheese). They’ll do pretty much any combination you want and it’s all good. We ate there twice and wished we’d discovered it earlier.
With a nice bottle of wine, neither of our meals for two came to more than about €25, as the main courses are mostly well under €10. Even for Lisbon that’s good value and the place is fun!
The Alfama, as I’m sure anyone reading this will know, is a very typical and ancient area of Lisbon, full of lovely little corners and alleys, it used to be more or less a slum but is now clean and safe.
Alfama on Rua dos Remedios. Next to a metro station.
This is Wolf County - one of the few remaining areas in Portugal and indeed in Europe! We spent four days based in Castro Laboriero exploring the national park, high, rocky and rugged with wild horses and the remnants of traditional peasant agriculture. We had a sunset/moonlight guided walk through a high plateau with leading wolf conservationists and journalists Pedro and Anabela Alarcão (www.ecotura.com), extensive views of wild horses, Hen Harriers and other birds of prey, a Wild Cat, neolithic rock carvings, and as for the wolves - plenty of excremental evidence but that was all!
Far North of Portugal up against the Spanish-Galician boarder, Eastern part of the Alto-Minho. From Oporto, travel Northwards up the coast to Viana Do Castelo, take the A27 then N 203 East.
Couple of miles away from Portugese-Spanish border in a remote mountainous corner. Well laid and not expensive rooms. Owners very welcoming and helpful and can help you up to get to the hot springs on the Spanish side.
Off the village of Lindoso on the way to the lake
Miradouro at Fenais da Ajuda by the northern coast of Sao Miguel in the Azores.
This is the main Island of the Azores. There are some bargain off-season offers. There's beautiful scenery - we were nearly always completely alone!
Explore the island by car and make sure to visit the many "Miradouros": sign-posted picnic places. They often have beautiful vistas and captivating gardens, sometimes several kilometres off the main road, which make them turn into mini-adventures.
The main town on Sao Miguel is Ponte Delgado. There are direct flights from Manchester in the off-season months
Fantastic custard tart available from most pastelarias around the city, although the original ones come from one shop in Belem (Antiga Fabrica dos Pasteis de Belem - you can spot it by the queues outside) where they call them Pasteis de Belem. Custard tart really doesn't do it justice, they are truly stunning and one is never enough.
At pastelerias across the city, or at Antiga Fabrica dos Pasteis de Belem, Rua de Belem 84-88, Belem
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