Alvor - Jewel of the Algarve

Advantages: Good amenities, good size rooms, good staff, split site
Disadvantages: Site split by road, distance from beach

...the Algarve - the chicken in peri-peri (or piri-piri) sauce is FANTASTIC! And the peri-peri chicken and fish (especially sardines) that is served in Alvor is even better. The range of trips available in the region is good and I would recommend the water park/animal park combination of Zoo Marine - very good value. Make sure you time you visit around the dolphin/sealion/parrot shows. There are a number of trips around the coast which are all reasonable value - they tend to all be fairly similar - 1-2hr cruise, short stop to view caves and have a swim, lunch and then head back. Take a look in Alvor for the full range of trips, the reps tend to have a very limited range available. There are also some great trips up to the mountains and even ones going as far up as Madrid! Overall I love the region, the people, the food and the drink. I'm not...

philwalsham 01.02.2006 (16.02.2006) · Read review
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Review of Alvorferias Apartments, Alvor

Alvor Area.

Advantages: Clean with miles of good unspoilt beaches.
Disadvantages: Some areas are remote and building work can be a problem.

...We took our first family holiday to the Alvor area of Portugal this year, September 2002. We booked what is know as a price buster hoilday in which the holiday company listed three possible aparthotels for our stay, the choice being in their option when we arrived. We obviously checked all three in the broucher and decided which, would, be our preferences in order. I don't know if this was by design or just bad luck, but we ended up in our last prefered choice, which was the hotel in the middle of nowhere. The beaches and the nearest town was 25+ minuets walk away. However the aparthotel, Vitors, Praia de Vau, was very good, with clean spacious rooms and good pool area. Praia de Vau, is very small with a few beach bars/restaruants (try the sardines) and a few off beach cafe's with some larger hotels a few minutes away near a large well...

kunifer 16.09.2002 · Read review
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Review of Algarve (Portugal)

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

...Just in case there is anyone who doesn't know, the Algarve is on the coast in Southern Portugal. Most tourists get there by flying to Faro and many of the cheaper airlines fly into Faro. Therre are about a dozen options for hire cars at the Airport so you can select your favourite comapany and then drive off to find your accomodation in the Algarve. Driving seems safe and with the help of our Tomtom we found our way around easily rememberring of course to drive on the right side of the road. The Algarve; Having been unimpressed with our accommodation (Albufiera Jardim 1) and stayed in for an appointment with our representative from Resort Point Services or Resort Promotions ( another long tale of woe) we decided that we were not going to be put off the area by this and decided we would explore. ALBUFIRA: On Sunday after our abortive...

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

...is just so damn cold with the Algarve lying on the Atlantic! It takes nerves of steel to venture into the water but after total submersion it really isn’t that bad and the water is actually quite refreshing, if a tad cold! I visited 3 beaches whilst in the Algarve; Olhos d’agua, Praia da Rocha and Alvor. Whilst Olhos and Praia were very nice and sandy, they were a little overcrowded (unless you walked along the shore for a few minutes) and you also needed to walk down some (steep) cliffs to get to them (not really suitable for the elderly, disable or for people with young children). But Alvor beach was superb, right next to a car park, golden sand and also not too commercial with only a few beach side cafes. The water was also calmer and the beach not too crowded either, definitely the best of the three that I visited...

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

Family fun in the Algarve.

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

...I went on holiday with my partner and my three step childen (ages 4, 8 and 10) so this is basically a run down of our family holiday in the Algarve. So where should I begin? With the price I suppose. About six months ago we rang up a travel agent and asked them for the cheapest holiday they had any time in September (the prices in August are that ridiculous we couldn?t afford to go). We didn?t really want a ?package? holiday as we were quite happy to hire a car so we could be mobile. A few days later they came back to us with a price of 800 pounds (my pound sign on my keyboard doesn?t work by the way!), considering there is five of us two adults and three children, I thought this very reasonable. For 800 pounds we got flights from Manchester to Faro and a weeks stay in ?Quitas das palmerias? apartments self catering. We had never...

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

BEAUTIFUL ALGARVE

Advantages: Beautiful Scenery
Disadvantages: Hard to park

...I went to the Algarve in 1995. It was our honeymoon present off my mum and dad. We booked through a company called Something Special,who specialise in holiday villas. When we arrived at the airport the reps were there to assist us in the car hire (which was included in the price).There were directions to the villa which were sent to us about two weeks before. All we had to do was pick up the key for the villa at a designated site. The lady there was lovely, she was called Linda, she manages Something Special villas and spoke very good english.Good job really as I don't know any portuguese. Once we got to the Villa we parked our car in the car port situated next to our villa and entered the villa. It was absolutely brilliant.We had two bedrooms,two bathrooms,a private swimming pool just for the two of us. The resort we stayed...

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!!

...The Algarve has been my holiday destination for the past 9 years. Each time I have stayed in a self catered villa inland. Although you do not get the luxury of a hotel you get the peace and quiet after a day in the main tourist attractions. I personally think that the best way to experience the Algarve is to hire a car and split your holiday into beach and inland. The Algarve has got large stretches of beaches with a variety of sandy and rocky beaches. This is great for sunbathing or rock pooling which can be really interesting for the adults and the kids alike. I know people who have been out fishing, surfing, jetbiking and swimming, and if you have kids hiring a pedalo with a slide can provide endless entertainment. The ocean is the Atlantic so swimming in the sea can be very cold, not advisable at Christmas. An alternative...

sleyley1 19.06.2007 · Read review
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Review of Algarve (Portugal)

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)

Algarve - Al Be Back Soon I Hope

Advantages: Good summer climate, nice people, good food, need I go on?
Disadvantages: Had to come home

...I?d been to the Algarve before, four years ago, staying just to the west of the famous town of Albufeira, which was as good an introduction to the southern Portuguese coast as any, although the ?Strip? of clubs, bars and Irish Pubs in the centre of Albufeira did tend to make you wonder whether you hadn?t stumbled through a rip in the space/time continuum, and come out with the date intact, but the location shifted to Southend or Blackpool during a heatwave! Anyway, we were encouraged by the fact that we didn?t HAVE to go anywhere near this part of town, and by the general friendliness of the area. Eating out is good value in Portugal ? why, we even managed to dine at the next table to ?Richard and Judy?, much to my wife?s angst, since she appreciates that kind of thing but was facing the wrong way! (Yes, she does look a lot older...

BNibbles 14.08.2002 (08.09.2002) · Read review
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Review of Algarve (Portugal)