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
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Algarve (Portugal)

Are the new Villa the old Forest..

Advantages: Martin O`Niell
Disadvantages: Losing O`Niell

...Full name Aston Villa Football Club Nickname(s)' The Villa', 'The Villans', 'Villa', 'The Lions' Founded 1874[2] Ground Villa Park Aston Birmingham B6 6HE England (Capacity 42,640) Chairman Randy Lerner Manager Martin O'Neill League Premier League 2007-08 Premier League, 6th In 1982 Aston Villa won the European Cup. In fact English clubs won it six years in a row and dominated Europe, Forest and Liverpool winning 5 more, a couple of UEFA Cups thrown in for good measure. England will have the most winners in the competition when Manchester United beat Chelsea in the Moscow final with a totals of 12 victories. Football is coming home and those European glory days are returning for British football with an English club making the last four Champions League finals. Aston Villa could well be involved in winning the big...

thedevilinme 17.05.2008 (19.12.2009) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Aston Villa

  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

...I quite like this travel-writing lark ~ so if anyone needs a holiday tester, please let me know! The Algarve, Portugal was not really my holiday of choice, but more a holiday of cheapness and convenience. You see I can only take holiday in the school holidays due to teaching so this generally hikes up the price of my holiday and also means that wherever I go, I am almost guaranteed to have hoards of kids dive bombing me in the hotel swimming pool! Myself and a couple of mates were looking for a cheap holiday and managed to find one for £250 to the Algarve, the only trouble was that we wouldn't know where we were staying and to be honest, the Algarve never really appealed, but it was cheap so off we went, and one of the biggest bonuses was that the flight was only 2 hours 15 mins from Stansted ~ superb for 30+ degree heat!!! GENERAL...

moose 31.07.2002 (01.08.2002) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
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
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of 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
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Algarve (Portugal)

Villa's in Villamoura

Advantages: sun,sea and sand
Disadvantages: dodgy food at small cafes

...I have had a few holidays in the Algarve now, Personally I found the best way to experience the Algarve, is to rent a Villa and hire a car. We stayed at Villamoura, this is a purpose built complex of small Villa's to the Fantastic 10-12 Berth Villa's. Nearly all have a small private pool, garden and barbeque, they tend to be spotless clean and well equipped with maid service 2-3 times a week. On first thinking about booking a Villa it may seem as an expensive option, but the more you can spread the cost by sharing with friends or family the better. Villamoura is quite relaxing place, a short distance away is small boat Harbour, with a selection of bars, cafés, restaurants and a few shops, there is also just of the front, a pizza parlour and a larger supermarket, For those who fancy a flutter there is also a large Casino down...

dreamscancometrue 17.12.2005 (19.12.2005) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Algarve (Portugal)

James Villa Holidays

Advantages: Great properties, unique experiences, wonderful holidays.
Disadvantages: None - although might not be suitable for all travelers

...Over the past 3 years we have used James Villa Holidays six times. Our initial experience was in Gale, Algarve; we went on to stay in La Font, Pollença, Mallorca three times; and more recently have stayed at La Boheme in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote and Forteza in Kalami, Crete. Our first taste of James Villas was in a 2 bedroom apartment in Gale, Algarve. The apartment itself was spacious and well maintained, with a large patio, fully equipped kitchen and TV/Satellite unit in the comfortable living room. Although the choice of English-language channels was limited, one doesn?t generally go on holiday to sit in front of the idiot box, and as we understand a modicum of German, the German MTV channel was most entertaining. As is the norm in our experience with James Villas, the supplied literature concerning the accommodation and local area...

maganda1980 08.05.2007 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of James Villas

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
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Tavira, 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
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Algarve (Portugal)

Hotel Villa Patrizi, Rome

Advantages: Good location, good value for money, polite staff
Disadvantages: Small rooms

...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Why we chose the hotel ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My boyfriend and I decided to take a weekend city break in Rome, we were joined by his parents who travelled seperately. We looked on Expedia for a good deal and we found one with reasonable BA flights and 3 nights stay at Hotel Villa Patrizi. We looked at the information and pictures of the hotel on the internet and it looked good so we decided to book it. Now we have been to the hotel, and looking back at the pictures, they are true to life and do not decieve you in anyway that the hotel looks different to what it does. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ About the hotel ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hotel Villa Patrizi is a brand new 4 star hotel located in Rome. As you walk into the hotel there is a pretty sitting area full of beautiful, lively and colourful flowers. If the weather was nicer...

lilyellowfish 04.02.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Villa Patrizi, Rome