Villas in Carvoeiro - Why Choose a Holiday in Carvoeiro This Summer?

What Makes Carvoeiro a Great Holiday Destination?
Villas in Carvoeiro are the perfect choice if you want a holiday resort in the Algarve which is relatively unspoilt and still retains much of its original charm. There are many beautiful villas in Carvoeiro with swimming pools, ideal for couples, families and large groups. You will find the Algarvians very welcoming so any one of our villas in Carvoeiro will feel like a home from home!

Carvoeiro was originally a small fishing village where foreign villa owners were few and far between. When it was a little known resort it was not unheard of for a friendly restaurant owner to pay a visit to villas in Carvoeiro to ask if they could open their restaurant for you! Gradually Carvoeiro became increasingly popular with tourists and has grown into a lively tourist town (a town since 2001) enjoying a picture-postcard setting on the rocky Algerian coastline.

Along with many newer family-friendly villas in Carvoeiro, the older part of the village near the beach has lots of cobbled back streets weaving among the many charming Algarvian cottages. Carvoeiro has an interesting history dating back to the Roman times and involving pirates. There was also a famed battle in 1544 between Portuguese seamen and the notorious Turkish pirate Xarramet.

The Appeal of Villas in Carvoeiro
Villas in Carvoeiro are stunning and are well equipped with all the modern conveniences, the use of a swimming pool and secluded gardens or terraces. Whether you are a couple or holidaying with family and renting one of our stunning villas in Carvoeiro there is plenty to do here for people of all ages.  Activities include relaxing on one of the many superb beaches, renting a boat and exploring the coastline, deep sea fishing, golfing, playing tennis, swimming in the fun-filled water parks, visiting the theme parks and small zoos, shopping as well as dining in the child friendly eateries. Carvoeiro has many fine restaurants offering a variety of different cuisines including Portuguese, Indian, French, Thai, Italian and Chinese.

Here were shall look at what makes Carvoeiro such great tourist destination and why it draws visitors year after year.

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Idyllic Beaches to Relax and Unwind on
Praia do Carvoeiro is a picturesque beach surrounded by a sheltered rugged rock formation where you can cool off in the crystal clear waters. Beaches are enjoyable for the whole family and if you forget your towel, flip flops, costume or swimming floats in Carvoeiro, you don’t have to worry as there are plenty of shops nearby where you can stock up on all you need. After catching some rays, just amble along to the one of the nearby restaurants to enjoy fresh fish for lunch or to cool off with an ice-cream.

If you are renting villas in Carvoeiro, the beach can get very busy during peak season so if you have hired a car and want a change of scenery head to the golden sands of Prairo de Centianes just east of Carvoeiro or Benagil (in the direction of Vale Da Milho Golf course) which has musical performances on summer evenings. Another interesting place to visit is the island beach of Praia de Barrill (part of Praia Ilha de Tavira) where you need to walk across a pontoon narrow bridge and ride a miniature train or walk across a track to get there.

Fantastic Destination for Families
Carvoeiro is a family-friendly resort which is easy to reach as it is just 30 minutes from the airport. Just 1 km east of the beach in Carvoeiro is an impressive rock formation called Acgar Seco where you climb down the steep steps and take a look at the grottos. You can also take a boat ride from the beach to explore the hidden coves and grottos or go deep sea fishing for swordfish.

If you want a more active holiday, head for Carvoeiro Tennis Club, at the resort complex  Carvoeiro Clube, which has 12 courts and practice facilities.  For horse, lovers, there are many riding places around Carvoeiro including the nearby Quinta da Gill Riding Centre at Lombos near Lago. If you are renting villas in Carvoeiro and the children are looking for adventure outside the town there are many fascinating places to visit including the Zoomarine, where you can see wonderful displays by seals, sea lions and dolphins. The children will also love a day at one of the many water parks such as Slide and Splash and Aqualand.

Equally Good For Couples
Couples can hire a car from Easygo Car Rental or Algarve Car Hire and explore the Algarve’s breathtaking scenery including the fascinating rugged coastline. For retail therapy you can visit the bustling nearby tourist towns of Lagoa, Portimao and Albufeira, or if you prefer sight-seeing take a trip to the historic town of Silves which is overlooked by a red sandstone castle.

For couples who want to try their hand at golf, the Algarve is famous for its golf courses so tee off at one of the many nearby golf courses such as Gramacho or Pinta golf courses (both 18 holes) or the nine hole Vale de Milho course.

Relax and unwind in the evening by having a chef cook in your villa or visit some of the town’s excellent restaurants such as O Indiano (O Castello) restaurant with rustic decor and a romantic setting including a small terrace where you can enjoy magnificent views over the beach. Restaurant Maxime is a Dutch/French restaurant using local ingredients. It is situated on the main strip of restaurants called the Estrada do Farol and is a bit more expensive than other restaurants but you can enjoy extras like an amuse bouche before starters and champagne sorbet in between courses. Happy’s is a busy family-friendly restaurant where you can expect to see swordfish, steak, mixed meat kebabs, piri piri starters and sardines on the menu.

The Weather is Glorious!
The Algarve has a wonderful climate with beautiful blue skies and 3,000 hours of sunshine a year. Temperatures average around 24-29C in summer and between 13-17C in winter. Temperatures are at their peak in July and August.

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Algarve Villa Holidays: Spotlight on Lagos Part Two

Here on this blog we produce monthly articles to help you plan your Algarve Villa Holiday or just enjoy a few moments day-dreaming on a dreary winter day! Last month we reviewed holidays in Lagos Algarve - looking at Lagos town, the accommodation, the beaches, the marina, the coastline and the dolphins. This month we continue our exploration - and look at what there is to do here in terms of sports, shopping, restaurants and nightlife.

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The Sports

There are all sorts of sporting opportunities in Lagos from golf at the excellent courses of Parque de Floresta, Belavista and Palmares, to surfing including mountain biking, off-roading in buggies, boat and jet ski hire, water skiing, scuba diving, sailing, fishing and snorkelling, There is tennis and bowling, squash, swimming and of course, there’s always the gym. Horse riding is also available nearby at the Quinta do Paraiso, so whatever sport you’re into, you’re bound to find something to get the adrenalin pumping.

The Shops

Lagos’ fish market, in the centre of the town is second to none. A wonderful selection of fresh sea food is available and you simply wont buy fresher. Upstairs there’s a fruit and veg market and up another level is a terrace restaurant, so you can effectively make your food choices as you climb the stairs, to be seated and served when you reach the top. The top floor also gives you a great photo opportunity, as the view is lovely.

There are two supermarkets in town. The Mondelo and the Intermarche, both with a good selection of all your favourite foods but if you want English imported foods, these will be more expensive. There’s a photographic store so you can have your snaps developed or buy another memory stick (because you are going to need it). There’s a post office or “Correios” where you can buy stamps to send postcards home and there’s an Aladdin’s Cave called “O Coixote” which stocks local arts crafts, antiques, gifts, jewellery and lots more besides.

Other stores include accessory and jewellery stores, women's clothing boutiques,
unisex fashion boutiques, shoe shops, leather goods stores, gift shops, wineshops, a bakers, a Pastelaria e Gelataria' featuring yummy cakes, tarts, ice creams and regional specialities, a ceramics, pottery and household furnishings store, arts and crafts stores, furniture shops, antiques shops, fabrics and soft furnishings, in fact, everything you’d imagine from a fully functioning, self sufficient, sizable, holiday town

The Restaurants

As you might expect, there are good quality restaurants a plenty in Lagos, so if you decide to go out for a meal a few times, rather than cook for yourselves, you’ll have plenty of choice. Arguably the best Italian in town is Borsalino, reasonably priced a child friendly, the food is excellent. If your preference is for something a little more Portuguese and romantic then try Restaurante dos Artistas, priced in the mid range, this is ideal for those lovely romantic holiday meals. It has been said that they serve the best food in Lagos, by far.

If you’re feeling a little homesick and fancy a good old English breakfast or brunch, pop along to Oasis where they serve up a cracking full English. The staff are very friendly and the food is excellent. Lagos is very family oriented with many excellent restaurants happy to welcome younger children and cater for all tastes and budgets.
Many of the restaurants have tables spilling out into the streets for that typically Continental/Mediterranean dining experience.

The Nightlife

The nightlife in Lagos is a mixed bag, but in a good way. Whatever your musical tastes, there is something to suit. The Duna Beach is a popular nightspot and arguably the best nightclub in the Algarve. Up to the minute tunes combine with a stunning beach location to make a great night out. The Wolfs Lair is another top spot with interesting decor that takes you to medieval times. It's open till 4am so you could stay there all night if you wished. Close by is the Bon Vivant rooftop terrace which is a great spot for a "sundowner" (a last drink as the sun goes down or, the first drink of the evening). A lot of the bars in Lagos are British owned so you wont have a problem with the language, even the German bar keep at Bar Terapia speaks perfect English. There are sports bars and karaoke bars, Irish bar, reggae bars and techno music bars, so there’s something to suit everyone.

You don’t even have to go in. For some, just wandering about and soaking up the atmosphere is an experience in itself. Check out the main square in Lagos, this regularly stages events, which are fun and exciting and lots of them are free.

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Algarve Villa Holidays - Take the Family to The Algarve Next Summer for Sunshine, Beaches and Loads of Activities!

Looking at options for your 2012 family holiday? Have you considered Algarve Villa Holidays? Truly Algarve provides a wide range of well equipped Algarve Villa Holidays perfectly suited to families. The Algarve’s year round climate, beautiful beaches and local hospitality continue to make it a popular destination with visitors returning year after year. With many excellent resorts to choose from offering a wealth of activities for the whole family, you’ll be spoilt for choice.

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Algarve Villa holidays offer a home away from home; each villa is individually decorated providing good quality and comfortable accommodation. For those families with babies and infants, highchairs and cots are provided on request. Many Algarve Villa Holidays offer private pools and barbeques, with well maintained surrounding grounds offering a safe haven for children. If you haven’t stayed in a villa before, you may not have considered the many benefits - there’s no fixed timetable as with a hotel, so get up when you want, eat when you want and relax in the privacy of your own surroundings without interruption from other guests. Welcome packs containing grocery essentials can also be provided, as can airport transfers.

Year Round Climate
The Algarve benefits from the best climate in Europe, with year round blue skies, 3000 hours of annual sunshine and only a short period of rainfall between the months of November and March. Due to its location in the Atlantic, temperatures in the high season are slightly lower than other European destinations, offering perfect weather for tourism and making it particularly attractive to families with younger children. Sun worshippers need not be disappointed as the Algarve enjoys particularly long sunny days and glorious warm evenings.

Temperatures in the Algarve range from 15 degrees to around 31, but never dip below freezing in the winter. Such a pleasant year round climate sees increasing numbers of families visiting the Algarve, to maximise the long hours of sunshine. With almost guaranteed sunshine and a destination offering countless activities for all the family there will be no shortage of things to do and definitely no wet afternoons to fill with things to keep the children amused.

Even families on a tight budget will be assured of a fantastic holiday, the cost of living in the Algarve is renowned for being relatively inexpensive compared to neighbouring European holiday destinations and it’s many fine sandy beaches provide the perfect location for a family picnic, lazing in the sun, building sand castles and splashing in the beautifully clear water.

Beautiful Sandy Beaches
The Algarve’s extensive coastline is blessed with a wealth of long sandy beaches and small sheltered coves; a calm clear sea coupled with water temperatures of around 22 degrees in the summer months make it a bather’s paradise.

Whist there is no end of beaches for you to visit during your family holiday to the Algarve, our recommendations for the most family friendly beaches include:

Praia da Gale, an excellent all-round choice for families providing safe swimming and watersports. Offering a quiet, tranquil beach, Praia da Gale offers the perfect place to escape the bustling resort of Albufeira. The beach offers trouble-free parking, a friendly family atmosphere with ample places to eat. Better still the length of the beach means that it rarely feels overcrowded.

Praia do Vau - Alvor is a pretty sandy beach situated in a sheltered bay. Again this beach offers a fantastic choice for families, providing a good selection of places to eat, safe swimming and plenty of peace and quiet so you and your family can relax and enjoy the Algarvian sunshine.

The Eastern Algarve’s Praia Verde, which takes its name from the pine tree forest which borders the beach, offers sandy dunes, a couple of beach bars and a restaurant offering a relaxed day out for families with children.

Those families looking for a little more action in the way of water sports and other beach activities including diving should head to either Praia da Luz, a half mile sheltered sandy beach near Luz and Lagos or Meia Praia located in the West of the Algarve also near Lagos which offers miles of golden sand. Both beaches are well suited to those holidaying with children of any age providing plenty of activities to keep them occupied whilst you watch them have fun from the comfort of one of the many sun beds on offer.

Fun for all the Family
What better way to spend your summer holiday than visiting a destination with a reputation for its hospitality and family friendly atmosphere. Many of the locals speak either English or German as a second language, so language should not pose a barrier.

Children are welcome in restaurants and bars, allowing you to eat your evening meal as a family whilst sampling a glass or two of the good local wine. The Algarve’s extensive coastline also means that most restaurants have an excellent array of fish on their menus, most of which will have been caught only hours before.

The Algarve offers resorts to suit families with children of all ages. Those with younger children should look at the smaller resorts of Praia da Luz, Caroeiro, Vilamoura and Vale do Lobo, whilst those with teenagers perhaps better suited to the larger resorts of Albufeira and Lagos due to the choice of nightlife, shops and cinemas.

For the sports enthusiasts the year round sunshine means that the Algarve is able to offer a multitude of family friendly outdoor activities to suit all ages including fishing, horse riding and tennis. Many of the Algarve’s beaches offer an array of water sports including scuba diving and water skiing, and budding golfers can take advantage of one of the many fine courses on the island.

Whatever resort you choose we are sure you and your family won’t be disappointed. The Algarve is truly a wonderful holiday destination offering fun for all the family.

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Algarve Villa Holidays - Spotlight on Lagos

If you are thinking about an Algarve villa holiday next summer, then why not come and stay in Lagos? Read on to find out more about this popular Algarve villa holiday destination.

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Lagos Town

The A22 motorway now takes you all the way from Faro International Airport to Lagos and without pushing it, the journey should take about an hour. You’ll pass some lovely scenery en-route but don’t worry; there are many more photo opportunities to come. The historic town of Lagos is now a lively and very busy place, popular among tourists and holidaymakers. This belies its quiet fishing village past, of which there are still plenty of reminders.

Lagos is in the western Algarve, not the point breaks and craggy rock faces of Sagres, where all the adrenalin junkies hang out, but a chilled out, more grown up version of its loud and kiddy-centric neighbour in central Algarve. The town is guarded by a 17thC fort, which was erected to protect the town and their piece of the coast. The building now houses a small museum with information about Portugal's maritime history and is worth a look if you’re into that sort of thing.

The third largest town on the Algarve, Lagos is a maze of winding cobbled streets, lined with pavement cafés, restaurants and bars. Some dimly lit, brooding and seductive, others laced with neon and pumping out eurotrash. Antiques and art shops abound here in a town desperate to cling onto its culture and history. Somehow though, this quaint old fishing manages to serve both masters, combining the charm of it's past, with the demands of a modern and popular Algarve holiday destination.

One of the ways Lagos manages this juxtaposition of both age and style, is by staging street entertainments on a regular basis. Throughout the year you will find buskers (some paid, some not) and performance artists displaying their skills, eager to pose for a photo or two. You’ll find street markets and a whole calendar full of festivals and many times the two will clash, filling the main square and streets with revellers. The Portuguese are also passionate sports fans, especially when it comes to their football, so if a high profile game were also to coincide with a festival, as often happens, there’ll hardly be room to move on the streets – It’ll be fun though.

The Accommodation

At Villa in Algarve we have a wide selection of Algarve villas and apartments for rent in Lagos, sleeping up to 10 people. Villas to rent and apartments for hire in Lagos in Portugal are extremely popular and are sure to suit almost everyone. In the beautifully landscaped Jardim da Meia Praia, development for example, you’ll find superb 2 and 3 bedroomed townhouses, sleeping 4 to 6 people respectively. Elsewhere in the town, you’ll find self-catering apartments for rent with fully equipped kitchens, comfortable beds and balconies, some affording superb views of the countryside, whilst others present breathtaking views of the coast. You’ll find individually styled Algarve holiday villas which offer a luxurious base, from which you can either explore the beaches or simply lounge around your own private pool surrounded by lush green gardens.

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The Beaches

Lagos lays claim to eight beaches, namely; Batata, Estudantes, Camilo, Dona Ana, Luz, Meia, Pinhão and Porto de Mós, though, it should be said that 1 or 2 of them are shared with the neighbouring town of Luz. Meia is by far the largest and most popular beach in Lagos, stretching from the edge of the bay, to the Alvor estuary. The beach presents miles of soft white sand and crystal blue waters, and there is a wide range of beach bars and restaurants to choose from.

The Marina

The recently constructed marina is postcard pretty and a wonderful place to while away a few hours people and boat watching. Besides its permanent moorings, many of which, themselves are not cheap, it is usually full of expensive yachts passing through on their way to or from the Mediterranean and the Americas. From the marina you can book boat tours, hire yachts and go on deep sea-fishing outings. Or if you’d rather stay on firm land, you could climb the steps of the 17th Century “Forte da Bandeira" which guards the entrance to the harbour. If you climb the steps, to the top of its outer perimeter the view from there is amazing. The Fort houses a small but very interesting museum which is dedicated to the Portuguese Discoveries.

The Coastline

The coastline here in Lagos is a great mix of soft sanded beach and rugged rock formations, making this location ideal for families and groups of mixed ages. You can choose between laying on a beach, reading a book and sunbathing, or clambering around the rocks, looking for sea creatures in the small pools of water left behind by the tides.

If you fancy going on a boat trip, pop down to the harbour at Lagos, you’ll find several guides there that will be only too pleased to take you for a tour to the many caves along the coast. They are very friendly and will happily regale you with stories of pirates and smugglers, some true, some maybe not quite so true. Other guides will give you a running commentary on the different rock formations, their names and the folklore that goes with them. These interesting and informative tours tend to last for around three quarters of an hour but the guides are more than happy to extend this, stopping to explain some of their favourite features in detail. They will navigate around and in some cases, under the intriguing rock formations and take you into caves, pointing out the many secluded beaches that surround the town.

The Dolphins

If you do decide to go on the dolphin safari you really need to book the day before, as they tend to be very popular. Your party will be taken out in a rubber inflatable boat, with an outboard engine. The captains are very experienced and you are issued with life jackets so it is very safe. The boats can get up to about 40knots (46mph) which is great because even if its really hot, the breeze will cool you down. Remember to take lots of sun cream with a high spf number though because the sun reflects off the water, intensifying its power.

Dolphin watching is a truly exhilarating experience. The dolphin's relationship with man has been well documented throughout history and many stories are told of how these magnificent creatures have saved lives by protecting people from sharks and guiding lost ships to safety. Sadly, most people only ever get to see the dolphin in captivity but on a Dolphin safari, you get the opportunity to see the dolphin in its natural environment.

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Algarve Villa Holidays - Spotlight on Luz

Luz is a great all round Algarve villa holiday destination in western Algarve. Read on to find out all about Luz town and the accommodation, beaches, coastline, sports, shops, restaurants and nightlife in Luz Algarve.

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Luz Town

Luz is a resort town close to Lagos but a little further west along the A22. The motorway leading from Faro International Airport to the town of Sagres on the Algarve’s western tip, will connect you to Luz in a little over an hour, which is good news if you have youngsters because they won't have time to get fractious. They’ll be too busy looking out of the car windows and too excited about their holiday to worry about anything else.

Once you arrive in the town, you’ll notice how really quite different it is to the towns in central Algarve. Here it seems, there’s more going on. The sea is a little less quiet, not choppy or rough but just that bit more exciting. You can wind surf here and there are rocks to climb. The beach is clean and tidy and the waters are still very safe, but there’s more action here. There are banana boats and huge rubber rings, which get towed behind boats and there’s water-skiing and jet skiing.

It is a lively and popular tourist location, close enough to central Algarve not to be too rough and rugged and yet far enough west to be interesting. There is more to Luz than laying on a sun bed catching some rays while the kids play in the sand. You can do this of course, there’s nothing to stop you, but if you want to explore and clamber about the rocks and caves or go wind surfing then it is all here for you to do.

The Accommodation

Luz was once a quiet fishing village but over time it has become recognised as a favourite holiday resort and as a result, there has been some extensive development, particularly to the west of Luz Beach

At Villa in Algarve we have a wide selection of Algarve villas and apartments for rent in Luz, sleeping up to 10 people. Villas and apartments for hire in Luz are extremely popular as is the wonderful purpose built development called Estrela da Luz, which has a range of different sized apartments to suit couples, groups of friends and families alike.

Elsewhere in the town, you’ll find self-catering villas, townhouses and apartments to suit parties of up to ten people. Many of them are beautifully furnished and decorated to the highest standards, coming with their own, private pools. Some afford superb views of the countryside, whilst others provide wonderful coastal views. You’ll find unique Algarve holiday villas in Luz, which offer a luxurious base, from which you can explore the beach and the surrounding countryside or where you can simply lounge around poolside and get lost in that book you picked up at the airport.

The development of Luz, around the central beach or “praia”, is almost exclusively 'low rise', consisting of apartments and villas of all sizes with facilities principally aimed at family holidays. Many of our villas in Luz are beautifully located in the village itself so they are perfect if you are looking for a resort, which blends character and history, with the demands of a modern holiday destination. Luz has something for everyone and its safe, sandy beaches are a real boon for many visitors.

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The Beach

The beautiful beach at Luz boasts miles of soft white sand and crystal blue waters and there is a wide range of beach bars and beachside restaurants to choose from, serving up tasty lunches and evening meals.

The Coastline

The coastline in Luz is a mix of soft-sanded beach and rugged rock formations, making this location ideal for families and groups of friends of mixed ages. You can choose between laying on the beach, reading your book and sunbathing, or clambering around the rocks. Many young adults take this past time very seriously and you’ll often see them in Luz, as they prepare their kit for the rocks and rougher waters of Sagres and points further west.

The Sports

Water-sports are available including windsurfing and boating. Tuition is available for water skiing and diving if you fancy learning something new. The key to getting up out of the water, as the Luz water skiing instructors will tell you, is straightening your legs out in front of you. Sounds easy doesn’t it! The area is also good for surfing. The Luz Ocean Club offers tennis courts, a fitness gym and swimming pools, and the sports centre in Burgau offers squash, tennis, aerobics and other facilities as well as evening barbecues and live music.

The nearby riding centre in Bensafrim offers rides, instruction and day-long picnic rides. Bird watching can be arranged at various protected reserves in the area guided by experienced ornithologists. The Luz Water Sports Centre offers scuba diving, windsurfing, fishing, sailing and snorkelling. There are also 3 excellent golf courses nearby at Parque de Floresta, Bela Vista & Palmares.

The Shops

Luz supports quite a good range of shops that will provide for all of your shopping needs, whether that’s day-to-day food shopping or present buying for the folks back home. There’s a small café and cake shop on the left hand side (coming from the 'square') just past the Ocean Club, which is the best place to get bread and croissants first thing in the morning. There’s a bookstore, for those essential holiday novels and they will even do exchanges, so you can give them the one you bought for the plane, in exchange for something else. There are boutiques, fashion shops and beachwear shops for your flip-flops and beach towels. There is a butcher for all your barbecue meat and there are a number of craft shops selling genuine, and not quite so genuine, original artworks. There’s a car rental office in case you decide you want to trip around a bit and they also hire out quads, scooters and pushbikes too. There are furniture and soft furnishing shops as well as interior designers too. Luz also has two dentists as well as a pharmacy and opticians. There are supermarkets, a post office and a fresh fish, fruit and veg market, in fact, if you can imagine living here full time, which won't be difficult, you’ll have everything here that you’ll need for the home, and if its not here, its a quarter of an hour away in Lagos.

Restaurants and Nightlife

There are a number of very good restaurants in the village serving a variety of local and International dishes, There’s Italian and English as well as Portuguese. Check out Lote 1, Pastelaria Chicca, Cafe a Fabrica and Jake's Bistro, they all come highly recommended. As well as restaurants, there are some great beach bars too and in the centre, some lively pub type bars that turn into small discos or clubs later.

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Autumn and Winter in the Algarve

Arguably one of the best times to visit the Algarve, the autumn and winter months of September through to December are never what you’d call cold. They are at worst warm and you can still get a good colour with temperatures reaching the mid 30’s at times. This time of year many of the tourists and holidaymakers of the summer have disappeared, leaving miles of golden sanded beach for you to explore, at your leisure.

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Flights to the Algarve, from the UK and other parts of Europe are that much cheaper at this time of year, making for a great value break. There’s also less traffic on the roads so your trip along the A22, that glorious stretch of tarmac leading out from Faro Airport, will be a breeze and when you get to your destination, whether it’s a villa in the eastern Algarve town of Tavira or an apartment in the central Algarve golfing resorts of Quinta do Lago or Vale do Lobo, you’ll feel nicely refreshed from your journey.

The same is true if you’ve taken a villa in the western Algarve town of Sagres, or made it round the point to Castelejo or Arrifana, or stopped anywhere along that piece of the coast at Zavial, Mareta, Tonel or Beliche. Here the journey time from the airport might be that bit further, but it is well worth it, especially if you are into action sports like surfing and climbing or just prefer the more rugged scenery that this part of the Algarve is famed for.

During the autumn and winter months, there’s increased availability in terms of accommodation. You’ll find that you’ll be able to look at hiring a villa or renting an apartment that, during high season, might have been out of budget. You’ll find also, that pretty much everything else, drops in price too. You can hire cars and motorcycles cheaper, your can get a table at a restaurant more easily and the service is likely to be better, since they’ll have more time. This is great because you’ll often get an impromptu lesson in Portuguese thrown in to the bargain.

If you’re into bartering, you won’t have to barter quite so hard and if you do, you can often come away with some good deals. The only price you pay for this increased flexibility and friendliness is the risk of the occasional shower and temperatures that are not quite as hot but it is still shorts and T-shirt weather here, most of the time.

Some people prefer the lower temperatures, making for a different style of holiday. Sports such as tennis are great played in the lower temperatures – and for golf enthusiasts lower green fees are charged out of season and there are fewer people to ‘play through’. This even applies to the championship courses of Vale do Lobo and Quinta do Lago.

If golf is not your thing; how about a pleasant stroll in the Algarve countryside? At this time of year, tramping around the Ria Formosa Natural Park is lovely and there is lots to see. The forty four thousand acres of wood and park land are largely protected by a string of islands that form a natural barrier against the off shore elements. This barrier shelters a large, tidal salt-water lagoon which is home to a diverse mix of wildlife, both animal and vegetable. The vast green space is of particular importance to numerous wintering waders and ducks and the reed beds here form important nesting sites for many of them.

During the autumn, the lagoon regularly attracts 20,000 or so water birds including; Eurasian Wigeons, Greater Flamingoes, White Storks, Eurasian Spoonbills, Little Bitterns, Purple Swamphens, Black-winged Stilts, Pied Avocets, Grey Plovers, Common Ringed Plovers, Kentish Plovers, Bar-tailed Godwits, Ruddy Turnstones, Dunlins, Little Terns and the bird that has become the symbol of the Ria Formosa, the Collared Pratincole.

If you are in Portugal and the Algarve for Christmas, you are in for a real treat. Things get started as early as December the 8th, that’s way before most of us in the UK have even got into the festive mood! Festivities and firework displays will generally happen throughout December but Christmas proper is celebrated on the evening of December 24th. This tends to be a comparatively quiet, family affair, but the celebrations kick off again afterwards, in the run up to New Year when there are yet more firework displays, culminating in the big ones which take place over the water.

All of the main resort towns will have their own highlights and the shopkeepers make a special effort with decorations, lights and trees. Goods wise though, you’ll find nothing much changes, there isn’t the big Christmas consumer push that there is in the UK. In Portugal, and even in the most Anglicised parts of the Algarve, Christmas is still, first and foremost a family affair. That’s not to say, they don’t like to party, of course they do and they love their festive treats too, but when it comes to buying presents and in particular, Christmas cards, the Portuguese are a little more, reserved.

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Algarve’s “Golden Triangle” Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo and Almancil - See It To Believe It

The Golden Triangle is the name given to the area between Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo and Almancil. This area, located barely 20 minutes drive from Faro International airport, contains some of the richest real estate in Europe with studio apartments priced at a cool quarter of a million Euros and villas available at anything up to six and a half million. Here at Truly Algarve, we specialise in Algarve holiday villas and Algarve apartments to let throughout the Algarve, including the prestigious resorts of Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo and Almancil.

Our luxurious Golden Triangle Algarve villas and apartments are ideally placed for playing at some of the best golf courses in Europe. But if you disregard the golf, what is it about this location that makes it so special?

Algarve Villas - click here to view our full range of Algarve holiday villas and apartments or browse for villas in the Golden Triangle resorts

Villas in Quinta do Lago | Villas in Vale do Lobo

Property

Property in the Golden Triangle is highly regarded and sought after because of its build quality and location. The Portuguese government have long since known that the Algarve is their country’s crowning glory and their best hope of attracting tourism, holidaymakers and serious external investment. The Golden Triangle is the jewel in that crown and for that reason; property development has been very closely monitored and restricted. These restrictions ensure that any development in the area, is carried out sympathetically, so as not to adversely affect the intrinsic beauty of the area.

Landscape

The beauty of the landscape is here for all to see and the villas and apartments have been thoughtfully designed to complement their surroundings. Most of the villas for rent in the Golden Triangle are offered with beautifully landscaped gardens and even those that have not been professionally landscaped are so well and regularly tended that you would think they have been. This attention to garden detail means that you can relax in very beautiful surroundings with lush green, manicured lawns, amid colourful flowerbeds and verdant trees.

Shopping
No holiday destination worth its salt, would be complete without some decent shopping and the Golden Triangle is no exception. What is exceptional about the Quinta shopping centre in Quinta do Lago, is its range of fashionable boutiques and wonderful restaurants. There is a choice of excellent Chinese and Italian food along with a traditional English pub, just in case you fancy a little taste of home. Quinta shopping offers a host of other delights and is well worth your perusal. The centre has some lovely open air terraces and wide esplanades lined with designer fashion, jewellery and cosmetics emporia. Also for your day to day shopping needs, for bread and eggs rather than designer handbags or watches, there’s the Bougainvillea Plaza, just next door. Here you’ll find all the super markets, banks and newsagents necessary to keep life ticking along as usual.

In Vale do Lobo there is a small shopping area in the main square that overlooks the sea and there are a number of others in and around the resort entrance. The most widely used supermarkets and shops and the local chemist is at Almancil. Slightly further afield, but well worth a visit for souvenirs and gifts is the Forum shopping centre on the outskirts of Faro. It has in excess of 120 shops and around 20 restaurants and there’s a hypermarket for your groceries.

Weather

The Algarve’s climate is one of year round sun. It’s going to be warm-hot whenever you go, it’s just a matter of how hot. August and September are usually the hottest months with temperatures rising to the mid to late 80’s, but even if you were to take a holiday villa in the Algarve in January, you’d still experience temperatures in the 60’s.

Facilities

The facilities on offer in the Golden Triangle are second to none. There’s world-class golf here, and lots of it. The Golden Triangle boasts no less than 6 championship courses, the 'Royal' and 'Ocean' courses at Vale do Lobo and the 'Pinheiros Altos' and 'San Lorenzo' courses as well as the 'North' and 'South' courses at Quinta do Lago. There’s the fabulous shopping we’ve already touched on, but there’s far more than that. There are salons and health and beauty spas, there’s tennis and a wealth of other sports available including water sports either in the ocean, or on one of the many man made lakes in the area.

Restaurants and Eateries

As you would expect, there is a great choice of restaurant in the Golden Triangle. Not least of which, is La Terrazza in Vale do Lobo. This stylish Italian serves up pizza and pasta dishes as well as meat and fish specialities, all prepared and cooked in an open plan kitchen so you see the chefs at work. Other restaurants and eateries in Vale do Lobo include; Amore, a modern pasta and pizza restaurant, La Place, which serves up gourmet French cuisine in very elegant surroundings and provides stunning views of the sea from most of its tables. There’s Ken Lo’s “Memories of China” in Tennis Valley. Here, the late Ken Lo, has set up this refined eatery with a wonderful view of Tennis Valley. Monty’s is still another recommendation, dishes include tempura prawns, lamb shank and seared salmon and they do a great cumberland sausage and mash for those less adventurous souls.

The Breeze Papagaio Beach Restaurant overlooking the beautiful Vale do Lobo Beach has been refurbished quite recently and now looks much more contemporary with its aluminium and white resin furniture. This gives the place a wonderfully relaxed holiday feel. If you’re watching your diet, or just want to eat more healthily, Spikes in Vale do Lobo, is the restaurant for you. They serve up appetizing salads alongside fresh vegetable soups and grilled meats served with vegetables. In Quinta do Lago some equally tasty treats await and you can pop along to any of half a dozen or so very tempting eateries, among them Koko Lane, Casa do Lago, Gigis, Casa Velha, Koko Beach and The Quinta do Lago Clubhouse, all of them with delightful menus of fresh meats and fish cooked to order and served at your table.

Bars and Night Life

Much of the night life in Quinta do Lago is based around the stylish shopping area known as Quinta Shopping. Here you’ll find “De Barra”an Irish themed bar, you’ll also find Master Pub and The Melting Pot. Elsewhere in Quinta do Lago there’s the T Club piano bar and disco and in the Bougainvillea Plaza you’ll find Bar DCK and Trigonometria.

In Vale do Lobo check out the Beach Bar. It's right on the beach, so you can’t miss it! This place turns from a great stop off for a tasty light bite during the day, to a sports bar/night club in the evenings. Another great nightspot is the Gecko Club in Vale do Lobo. Here the music is a mixture of everything from the latest dance tunes to some of the all time great classics.

Language

Another reason The Algarve is such a popular holiday destination, particularly among the British, is that English is so widely spoken here. You can quite happily ask a bar steward or a member of the waiting staff for your favourite drink in English and they will understand you perfectly. Their response will doubtless be in English too, albeit, with a Portuguese lilt. That said, as with anywhere in Europe, if you make an effort to speak the language, the natives will respond with an encouraging smile and maybe even a brief language lesson to help you on your way.


Algarve Villas - click here to view our full range of Algarve holiday villas and apartments or browse for villas in the Golden Triangle resorts

Villas in Quinta do Lago | Villas in Vale do Lobo