Sunshine, sardines and spoilt fishing villages in the Algarve

Advantages: Sunshine, beaches and scenic rocky coves, interesting inner towns
Disadvantages: Irish bars, fast food and tacky tourist shops

...and make me very sleepy and my other half does not drink wine especially when driving so we did not venture to the vineyards. We did however find a very pleasant restaurant where we enjoyed a cataplana even tastier than the one we tried in Albufiera in that it was a creamier sauce and the pork was not on the bone or fatty so we were happy with our choice. I also tried a Limoncello (I read a review on Dooyoo about this and was keen to sample it) and was most impressed. It was refreshing, lemony and light and I will definitely have a go at making some when I get back home. SUMMARY: I?m not sure that I would come back to the Algarve; it was nice to enjoy sunshine and some of the beaches and coast line areas are lovely but I felt the whole area lacked something; It might be that we were put off by our awful accommodation and initial impression...

catsholiday 16.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Algarve (Portugal)

  MOOSES GUIDE TO THE ALGARVE

Advantages: Loads to do/see, reasonably priced, great for seafood lovers
Disadvantages: Many places will rip you off, bull fighting

...a nightmare to drive around! We were supposed to visit a nightclub which attracts English DJs called Kadoc on the outskirts of Vilamoura that is reputed to be a good night, however we never made it, so I would be interested in knowing your opinion if you have been there so we know what we missed! One thing is that if you are after decent nightlife, don’t go out before 10pm as everything gets better after midnight, although you may find it difficult to eat after 11pm as the restaurants become bars. FOOD & DRINK ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The Algarve is known as one of the major fishing areas of Europe and all the menus have heaps of fish dishes! I used to be a full vegetarian but now eat fish, thank God! But my mate who is still a full-blown veggie had problems, unless she wanted pizza or salad ~ she had to go hungry! But if you are a big fish...

moose 31.07.2002 (01.08.2002) · Read review
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Review of Algarve (Portugal)

  Harvester Restaurants

Advantages: Always one close by, quick turn out, children are welcome and catered for.
Disadvantages: Toilets can be quite disturbing, not all dishes taste as good they are described.

...Harvester Restaurants Restaurant Reviewed: Stag and Hounds Winchester Road Basingstoke Hampshire (next to Comet and Home Base) The Harvester chain of Restaurants have over 2000 outlets across the United Kingdom and owned and operated by Mitchells and Butlers, who claim to be the UK's leading operator of managed pubs, bars and restaurants. Harvester claim to offer healthy eating, drinking and entertainment in one reasonably priced outlet. **** Parking and Getting a Table ***** As with most of the Harvester's I have visited, there is usually ample free parking at the rear of the establishment. However on Saturday evenings and Sunday lunch times these places are heaving with customers, so avoid the crowds, go early and if possible ring and reserve a table. The Stag and Hounds is no exception but fortunately...

mrsmopples 27.02.2007 · Read review
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Review of Harvester Restaurants

Family fun in the Algarve.

Advantages: Water parks, weather and accomodation.
Disadvantages: Three tired kids this morning!

...expensive restaurant (we didn?t do it again in a hurry!!) Generally though, we travelled around the Algarve eating at different locations and trying out the different night life on offer. It?s different when you have got kids, you aren?t looking for the bar with the cheapest alcohol (considering one of us was always driving) or the best night club, you want the place where there is lots for kids to do and nice food and something for your selves to do too. The best place for this (we found) was Albufeira, this is about half an hour drive from Armacao de Pera (where we stayed) there were lots of bars and some very English pubs with lots of different nationalities. We found that there were lots of English, Dutch and German people not just here but generally where ever we went these three nationalities seemed to prevail. (Apart from at our...

carminator 19.09.2003 · Read review
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Review of Algarve (Portugal)

TAVIRA A QUIET TOWN ON THE ALGARVE

Advantages: Small and friendly
Disadvantages: None for us.

...TAVIRA a small town on the Algarve, this is a very quiet place so if looking for Night Life , look elsewhere. If you are looking for Peace and Quiet and the Beauty of Nature then come to Tavira. Fly into FARO Airport, usually at the time of year we go, Early January for a pickmeup after the Xmas and New Year, I am disappointed if we have to pay more than £50 return on Easyjet from either East Midlands or Stansted. The flight times are good for us From East Mids normally 06:30 departure. Arrives FARO about 09:15. Tavira is located about 24 Kilometers towards the Spanish Boarder. We book our Transfer thru WWW.AUTO-FARO.COM They charge 40 Euros each way for the 4 of us. No extra charges that is what you pay even if flight late. They are very good and friendly, the Taxi driver will give you a little tour of Tavira...

poshtroika 21.01.2008 · Read review
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Review of Tavira, Algarve, Portugal

Tosa Restaurant

Advantages: Read Opp
Disadvantages: Read Opp

...Introduction I was recommended this restaurant by a friend who was really impressed by the quality of the food and service of this restaurant from her visit. I was interested to see this for myself on a wintery evening at the weekend. The restaurant itself is located in West London which is a quite posh and upmarket area. To the left of the restaurant was an office building and to the right was a back store retail outlet. Directly opposite this restaurant was an Allied Irish bank outlet. I was pleased overall as the location made it easily accessible on the public transport network in London. The restaurant is located near Stanford Brook W6 area of London and is just a few minutes away by walking to the restaurant. Fast Facts Food: Japanese, Chargrilled, Fresh, Authentic and Tasty Location: West London Stanford Brook...

costas1234 21.12.2009 (23.12.2009) · Read review
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Review of Tosa Restaurant, London

BEAUTIFUL ALGARVE

Advantages: Beautiful Scenery
Disadvantages: Hard to park

...in was called Vilamoura.It was a lovely place with a nice Marina.It is quite an exclusive place,the restaurants situated round the marina were quite pricey.As a treat though you can have a special night out watching the world go by. Great place for people watching. Albuferia which was a short drive away had more on offer to the people wanting a bit more nightlife.There were hundreds of restaurants and bars,but struggled to get a decent car parking space. That was the only complaint we had, I suppose most touristy places are like that for parking. I would recommend going to the Algarve, and one day will return....

belinda9 19.02.2001 · Read review
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Review of Algarve (Portugal)

Holidaying in The Algarve

Advantages: It's hot in the summer with great beaches
Disadvantages: The tourists- it gets absolutely packed with them!!

...to the beach which the kids seem to love is using one of the many water parks along the Algarve. This really does provide an entire day (or days) of entertainment as some put on shows, have fun water aerobics classes and a huge variety of slides and pools. The restaurants are varied and you can get everything from English, Dutch, German and Italian in the main towns if you would rather have an alternative to the delicious Piri Piri chicken. Taking a trip out to see amongst the caves and rock formations along some parts of the coast is very fun but make sure you choose one with either a translator or an english speaking boatman. This is just to allow you to understand what they say after pointing to one rock and the next explaining what the local portuguese think the rocks look like. If you enjoy golf there are many many golf...

sleyley1 19.06.2007 · Read review
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Review of Algarve (Portugal)

Restaurante Santa Eulalia

Advantages: Beautiful Views, Fresh Food
Disadvantages: Added Extras That Cost, No Descriptions Of Food

...Based high above the sand, overlooking the Santa Eulalia beach and accessible via steps or by road, this restaurant caters for the residents of the adjacent 5 star hotel. To our surprise you needn't be a client to sample the cuisine. The Restaurante Santa Eulalia is 50% of a food complex with the other 50% being a bar and snack area called "Cafe Bar Atlántico". The Cafe Bar Atlántico opens daily until 8pm offering snacks, bar meals and ice-cream until 7pm, when the restaurant takes over the catering side of things and offers a proper meal. The menu is fairly extensive and whilst I shan't list the contents, it includes appetisers, starters, a fish list, a meat menu and a comprehensive list of seafood specials which were the only things in the menu not to be priced. The majority of the meals served at the Restaurante Santa Eulalia...

carysb 05.07.2008 · Read review
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Review of Santa Eulalia Restaurant, Albufeira, Algarve

Excellent Algarve

Advantages: Great for familys, nice beaches, very cheap
Disadvantages: touts on the beach, Albuferias old town.

...priced, I will know next time to take lunch with us! All in all it was a good day out and would recommend anyone going to the Algarve to visit Zoomarine. There are a number of water parks which range from £10 - £15 per adult and £8 -£12 for children, we personally did not go to any but were told that "the big one " was the best, maybe we will try that next year. We took a taxi into Albuferia old town for the day, the taxi cost around £2.50 and to be honest I wish we had not bothered, it was horrible, there were hardly no shops open and the streets were lined with beggars, we ate in a restaurant at lunchtime and it was awful, so we took off down to fisherman's beach for the afternoon, well to say it was packed is an understatement it was mobbed, we could not find a place to sit and if we wanted a sunbed they were charging £8.00 each! I...

tmullen3 11.09.2002 · Read review
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Review of Algarve (Portugal)