The famous village house where the famous go to eat

Advantages: A unique experience
Disadvantages: Probably not suitable for shy types or vegetarians

...Adega Vila Lisa is a very unusual restaurant, situated in a village close to Lagos and Portimao in the Algarve very near to where I lived and still have land. What makes this restaurant different from others in the Algarve is that there is no menu and you can't drink beer; only water or wine. You are probably thinking then why do I like it so much and visit often when beer is my favourite drink. A good question - and my answer is that an evening spent with Jose Vila and his partner, Lisa, is a unique experience. Firstly you wouldn't know the restaurant existed if you didn't know anything about the owner, the village of Mexilhoera Grande and the fact that this is one of the best and most famous restaurants in Portugal. There are no signs outside the restaurant and from the street, Rua Francisco Bivar - no 52 to be precise, it looks like...

Praski 17.10.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Adega Vila Lisa, Portimao

Apathy

Advantages: None whatsoever
Disadvantages: It makes you old

...product, why shouldn't clients be treated politely? I am sure they are underpaid, but I too have worked hard and earned little in this country but that never made me rude to the clients. It's a matter of education and customer service... And when I thought it was all over...well, it was not. Mea culpa now...That night I realised I did not have my fiscal no. with me... Guess! I left it in one of the last two shops I visited. Rang the next morning and they said it was in Albufeira's shop, so I asked for it to be left there and I'd pick it up (I was so not looking forward to go back). When I got there, it took three members of staff to look for it!! I just stood there, no strenght for anything else... Then the boy said that the manager of the shop frpm Portimao (closer to where I live) had been and he asked him to take it to...

lazuli77 12.01.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Everything that starts with A ...

Pretty Praias

Advantages: small village, relatively unspoilt
Disadvantages: occasionally dead fish

...Bom dia! Good day! Learn some Portuguese with me, praia means beach, the plural -s is pronounced sh. I want to tell you about the ones belonging to Ferragudo, a village in the Algarve, the southern region of Portugal, situated opposite Portimão, one of the bigger tourist centres west of Faro (where the international airport is). Our hotel is at the outskirts of Ferragudo (I don?t know if a village can have outskirts) up on the elevated coastline. We walk down through the garden to a big beach ending in front of a high cliff just there. On the first day we climb up some steps hewn into the cliff and follow a path through the scratchy macchia, bushes and low trees, (although Portugal is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the flora is Mediterranean), every now and then we come to a vista point from where we can see the whole coastline...

MALU 15.05.2007 (18.05.2007) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Ferragudo, Portugal

OH GOD, and this is ME!

Advantages: n/a
Disadvantages: erm...

...’t care. Whichever hubby puts on the supermarket trolley, he is the fussy one regarding toothpaste. [21] Favourite Restaurant I like the Chinese restaurant in Alvor and Portimao. Excellent service and reasonable prices. [22] Favourite Flowers I’m terrible with flowers names and I love many but for now it’d have to be gladiolus (spelling?). [23] Favourite beverage I started to like beer when I went to England. I don’t drink much but really like it. I also like Portuguese white wine. [24] Favourite sport to watch I only watch football every four years or so…now you reminded me of Euro2004. My mood is going down the hill. Doh! [25] Preferred type of ice cream Ice cream gives me migraine but I still have it. I prefer Walls ice creams – any will do, thanks. [26] Favourite Sesame Street Character My nickname was...

lazuli77 27.09.2004 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of All About Me

Don't visit once.

Advantages: Beaches.Friendly People
Disadvantages: Building and Road works

...Having visited the Albuferia region of the Algarve in 2002 I looked forward in anticipation to visiting the Algarve again this year. Praia Da Rocha in the Portimao area was our destination this time and the contrast between the two regions couldn't have been more different. From the beautiful low rise fishing village feel of the Albuferia district to the high rise tourist mecca of Portimao and Praia Da Rocha both have a lot to offer but are vastly differnet in appearance and appeal. Praia da Rocha boasts one of the most stunning and longest beaches you will find in the Algarve with beautiful smooth sand and clear waters it is not surprising to find it has been awarded a Blue Flag of European excellance. Access to the beach though is a bit daunting, involving descending down a number of steep steps, easy going down, not so...

caledonia 29.07.2002 (30.07.2002) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Algarve (Portugal)

Dont let the banks rob you.

Advantages: Security
Disadvantages: exchange rate fluctations and commission charges

...cash on holiday. Oh boy were we wrong. Having tracked down the Banco Totto in Portimao we stood for over an hour before being duly mugged for commission and expenses charges that totalled almost £28 to cash cheques to the value of £200. A ridiculous sum in anyones eyes. This experience lmmediately supported the view that travellers cheques were becoming an expensive irrelevance especially in Europe given the wide availabilty of cash machines that would accept both credit and debit cards at little or no cost for their use. This however left the problem of security. Was reliance on a combination of cash currency along with a debit/credit card secure enough given that we have come to rely on the guarantee of a travellers cheque? Our opinion initially was that providing you hire the use of a hotel safe for valuables which has...

caledonia 30.07.2002 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Member Advice on Money

Portugal Revised

Advantages: see above
Disadvantages: see above

..., except in the west part of Lagos. From Luz, a small resort about 5km from Lagos to Cape St Vincent (the most westerly point in Europe" there is very little to see or do. To the East, there is much more. Portimao, the largest town in the area is known as the "sardine capital of the world", and there are some famous resorts like Praia da Rocha, Albufeira and Carvoeiro. This area is renowned for having the best beaches in Europe, and from where I've been, only Skiathos in Greece has been better. Facilities. When we first arrived, Faro Airport was modern and well run, unlike the afore-mentioned Skiathos Town. Car Hire was very quick and easy. The Portugese drivers, however were terrible, and it was easy to see why Portugal has the highest accident rate in Europe. The apartment we stayed in was only 5 minutes walk from the centre of Lagos...

Yeahmate 03.03.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Lagos (Portugal)

Alvor Area.

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

...appointed Golf course (Altos Club). The beach is excellent but a bit crowded by the Praia de Vau access. Just a stroll to the left were more less crowded coves and beaches. A walk along the beach, cliff top coast road or on the road train takes you in to the more busy and commercial Praia de Rocha. The place has quite a few snack bars and shops to buy duty free, there are a few large hotels, one with a casino which charges a 4 euros entrance fee per person and the usual blackjack, roulette and a Portugese card game? A few pubs with large screen T.V. for sporting events. The place was quite typicall of many Spanish type hoilday resorts. Portimao is a small city type place with not much to do for the tourist. There are your usual shops for jewellery, shoes and early sixties type clothes shops few bars. There is a quay front with snack bars...

kunifer 16.09.2002 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Algarve (Portugal)

Mega Service From Megatur

Advantages: Efficient, Polite, Clean, Cheap,
Disadvantages: Only In Portugal

...journeys. They were also fully equipped with seatbelts for all passengers, something which is sometimes missing on foreign buses/coaches. For both transfers (each way) the driver's were early and waiting for us as we arrived on time. They also left the vehicle each time new passengers boarded to check their details and take their luggage and help them on board should they need assistance. What Megatur Have To Say The Megatur website states the following: "MEGATUR is a fully licensed Travel Agency and Transport Company, located in the ALGARVE providing a rapid and reliable airport transfer service, from Faro airport to all resorts such as Montegordo, Cabanas, Tavira, Faro, Quarteira, Vilamoura, Açoteias, Balaia, Albufeira, Praia da Galé, Armação de Pêra, Carvoeiro, Ferragudo, Praia da Rocha, Portimão, Alvor, Lagos, Praia da Luz...

carysb 12.05.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Megatur Airport Transfers

The Western Algarve - the Jewel in the Crown

Advantages: Cheap flights, lovely climate, beautiful beaches, superb golf, good food, lovely people
Disadvantages: I really can't think of any!

...promenade, or avienida, is a must for visitors, with a huge selection of freshly caught fish of all shapes and sizes. The upper floor of this market houses an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables and on the top there is a restaurant and wonderful views across the marinas and out across the miles of beaches which are Meia Praia and on towards Alvor and Portimao and beyond. The town is bustling through its traffic-free streets and picturesque squares where happy holiday makers stroll or sip coffee at the many open air eating places. In the evenings the streets are alive with happy diners enjoying the local fare. As well as being an important naval centre in the 15C through the pioneering discoveries of Henry the Navigator, Lagos also boasts the first slave market in Europe which today houses art exhibitions and craft shows. What more...

minervad 15.08.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Algarve (Portugal)