Last Minute Holidays in the Algarve – Its Not Too Late to Book Your Algarve Villa Holiday

If you haven't booked your summer holiday yet, it is not too late! Here at Villa in Algarve, we have hundreds of Algarve holiday villas and a few are still available for late summer and early autumn 2011.

Algarve Villas – click here to search our Algarve villas and Algarve apartments

Holiday Villas in the Algarve

The holiday villas available for rent through Villa in Algarve, range in size from 2 bedroomed townhouses with sun terraces in Carvoeiro and Rocha Brava through to large detached villas with beach frontages or set in land with breathtaking sea views, that can comfortably accommodate up to 16 people.

Many of our holiday villas to let in the Algarve come with their own private swimming pools and some come complete with well-appointed games rooms too. All of them however, are offered in superb condition and furnished and decorated to make your stay as comfortable as possible.

Located on Portugal’s popular Algarve coast, the villas, townhouses and apartments to rent here, benefit from the area’s fantastic Mediterranean climate. Indeed, the climate is so good here, that the Algarve has become one of Europe’s most popular holiday destinations. With an average of 3000 hours of sunshine every year the Algarve is actually sunnier than California and in the summer months, the Algarve will see around 12 hours of sunshine per day and have virtually no rain.

If it’s sunshine and heat you’re after, and for some there is simply no substitute, then head for the eastern coast. Here, the easterly press of the Mediterranean and the squeeze of the Atlantic from the west, keeps the temperatures up in and around Tavira, making the area seem just that bit hotter than the likes of Lagos or Luz. In the summer months of course, the variance is not enough to make any real difference, but in spring and autumn, you may just notice those few extra degrees.

Summers in the Algarve are hot, not unbearably so but certainly hot enough to make it well worth the trip. From June to September, long hot days and balmy evenings are the norm. Temperatures are up in the late 20’s regularly and rise to the mid 30’s in peak season but even this is not too uncomfortable as the sea breezes make it seem cooler and the low humidity means that as warm as it gets, it’s still a very pleasant, dry heat.

Activities and Places to Visit

Many people return to the Algarve time and again. It very quickly becomes a favourite holiday destination with holidaymakers returning to the same town, if not the same villa. It is interesting to see how much the place changes from one year to the next. The local government restricts building in the area so that it remains in keeping with the environment, but that does not stop improvements to roadways and it does not stop the constant upgrade and improvement of facilities and properties in the Algarve. So even if you’ve been here many times before, there is nothing better than wandering around and exploring to see how much the place has changed since your last visit and if this is the first time you’ve visited the Algarve, you’re in for a real treat.

Once here, you can explore the area to your hearts content. You can take yourselves off on lovely coastal walks, enjoying the scenery, you can explore by car or even by boat. What better way to properly appreciate the drama of the Algarve coast than from the deck of a boat you’ve hired for that very reason. If you want to stick to the shore, why not enjoy a lovely picnic together or go for a meal at one of the very fancy local restaurants. Alternatively you can enjoy lovely meals in very reasonably priced local bistros or cook up a feast of your own back at your Algarve villa.

This part of Portugal is famed for its fresh fish and meat dishes and the towns and villages of the area celebrate this fact, by regularly holding fresh produce markets. These markets feature stalls offering every kind of fruit and vegetable imaginable and a range of fresh meats and fish that will have your taste buds working overtime.

Every kind of fish is available here including Halibut, Salmon, Swordfish, Sole, Sea Bass, Sea Bream, Mullet, Turbot and Tuna. In fact the area has a centuries old tradition of tuna fishing, which is still alive today. The fishermen would lie in wait for the tuna schools as they made their predictable way from the open Atlantic, to spawn in the Mediterranean during May and June and if they missed their catch on the way in, the fishermen could always await the Tuna’s return journey, which would happen in July/August.

You can still see the fishermen of today, hauling their catch up onto Fisherman’s beach in the old part of Albufeira. There is a frenzy of activity as each boat comes ashore, the fishermen quickly unload the catch and get it into safe, cold storage as fast as possible and its good to know that within a very short time, one of those fresh finned fancies will be gracing a barbecue or a dinner table near you. On your travels, particularly around Tavira you will see the huge but now derelict fish canning factories, many of which will over time be levelled or converted as part of the future regeneration of this part of the Algarve.

Booking your Algarve holiday

It is not too late to book your Algarve villa holiday for 2011! Browse our web site now to search for Algarve villas and apartments to rent.