TRAVEL GUIDE TO ALGARVE, PORTUGAL

1° Day: Tavira

We arrived at Seville airport at 10:00 o’clock on the 1st of July, and once we filled the forms for renting the car we left for Portugal. First stop along the way has been in a small city just passed the border: Tavira. Even if it is not a well-known place, it’s delightful: the historical centre is very interesting, beautiful beaches and it also has one of the most important fishing harbour of the region.
We have had some difficulties finding the hotel, which is right in the centre, to get there we have had in need to follow a few one-way streets. The owner of the place told us where to park free of charge and where to catch the ferry for Ilha de Tavira.
This island, lying just a few hundreds metres from the coast, offers 11 km of beaches and different bars and restaurants. To get there, there are ferries every hour from the historical centre or from a small harbour in “Estrada das 4 Aguas”; from the centre it takes a little longer (10 minutes) because it follows the Rio Formosa, and a return ticket costs 1,90€.
The hotel is called “Residencia Imperial”, reserved on booking.com for 70€ per night, breakfast included. It is located conviniently in the centre, and because of locals and restaurants tends to be noisy until late but sleeping here just for one night it won't be a problem.

We have had lunch at a bar nearby the hotel and we caught the ferry to the island, nevertheless the cloudy sky wasn’t tempting at all. As soon as we arrived an english girl gave me a free ticket for a beach umbrella and two sunbeds because they were leaving for the city, another victim of my great charm… then I realised why they have left! At the beach there was a strong chilling wind, it was very tough staying there but luckily the sun came out soon.
The water was crystal clear but very cold, no wonder since we are talking about the Atlantic ocean! Late in the afternoon we went back to the city, and while we were reaching the hotel we gave a glance to the restaurants for our dinner.
Since none of them was particularly inspiring I gave a quick look on TripAdvisor and I found out that the best restaurants were on the other side of the bridge, a slightly longer walk from the centre. I usually prefer to choose restaurants on my own, but I have to say that this time TripAdvisor came in very handy since we discovered an excellent place: "Briza do Rio"
It was very crowded so I recommend to get there very early or book in advance. There are tables inside the restaurant and others on the street. Our menu has been: Goat cheese served over apple slices topped with honey and almonds, friedpan squid, grilled seabream, seabass fillet served with a saffron sauce, for dessert we had a “crema catalana”, all washed down with a white wine called “Monte Velho”.
The food was delicious and fresh, very well cooked and our bill was only 55€. This has been the first of a lot of wonderful Portuguese dinners..

2° Day: Albufeira, Carvoeiro

After breakfast we left in direction of Faro, for a visit to the historical centre.
We parked our car in a wide free parking near “Largo de Sao Francisco”, with a short walk we entered the old town which is rounded by walls. The visit doesn’t take long and there is a possibility to catch a ferry to go the beach, that however is possible to reach by car using a bridge near the airport.
Our next destination has been Albufeira, one of the most popular turistic places of Algarve, 40 minutes travel from Faro. It doesn’t take long to understand that the place is packed with british turists, whom have taken possession of this city that doesn't have a portuguese style: escalators to the beach, restaurant and shops of all kind, crowded place. In my opinion it is an avoidable stopover.

First image: A craftsman busy in cutting tipical tiles, in the historical centre of Faro. Second image: Albufeira beach

In late afternoon we arrived at Carvoeiro, where I booked two nights at the B&b Villa Welwitshia . This accomodation is very beautiful, not too far from the centre, with a wide bedroom with a nice living and veranda, leading directly to the swimming-pool…and we have taken advantage right away!! The fare for a night was 60€, breakfast included.
The village is turistic, however characteristic and livable, the beach is a small cove enclosed by rocks. We spent our evening at the restaurant “Jota Lita”, we ate “Frango piri-piri” (chicken with spicy sauce) and a steak with a sauce made with Porto wine.
We ordered for dessert two gigantic slices of Cheesecake, very sweet, and at the end of the dinner the waiters have left a bottle of Porto on every table…they shouldn’t have dare! The dinner cost us 36€.
Very tipsy, we left the restaurant, wanted to go for a walk, but the chilling wind that was blowing strongly suggested us to go in the pub on the other side of the street (Round up saloon), where there was live music on. The lad that was singing was very good, and the songs were English classic pieces, to entertain the turists that were mainly from Britain. Differently from Albufeira, Carvoeiro is a quiter city, suggested for families.
The customers at the pub were mainly from 40 years old and over. We have drunk few beers and sung along all evening long.

3° Day: Percurso dos sete vales suspensos

After breakfast we reached Praia da Marinha, a beach considered among the hundred most beautiful in the world, for trekking on the path named “Percurso dos sete vales suspesos”. It is a marvellous coastal itinerary on the crest of the cliff , 6 km long, that takes up to Praia Carvoeiro while admiring various beaches from the top. CLICK HERE to see the path.
Technically it isn’t challenging, but there are a series of climbs and descents that combined with the summer heat can create some difficulties to persons not fit enough. Along the path there aren’t any shelters from the sun, and once arrived at Benagil there are some restaurants and bars for get some rest.
We stopped at Praia do Carvalho, a very beautiful beach reached thanks to suggestive steps carved into the rock. Here is where I had my first bath in the Ocean! The first impact is traumatic, then a strange sensation comes in: seems like the water burns, so much is freezing… I felt almost anesthetized!! The problem was that my hands got cold very soon and I had to keep them moving. In one of cliffs that surround the beach has been carved a very tiny path , a lot of children were having fun walking on it, although it was at 15 metres high without any protection!!
My wife has stopped here, while I carried on up to Praia do Vale Centianes to take some other pictures. It was almost midday and with the sun at the Zenith the polarizing filter works at full power and there is the chance to have the best water trasparency.

Later in the afternoon we came back to our rented car and then at the B&B for some relax at the pool.
Some tips: the best time to do this trekking is may/june, when many plants are blooming and there is no summer sultriness. It is also possible to catch a taxi at Carvoeiro (there are some of them waiting in the village) going to Praia de Marinha, if you don't feel like walking the path backwards.
Remember to bring with you plenty water and comfortable shoes. Following the advice of the B&B’s owner, José, we had dinner at the restaurant “Taberna Portuguesa”. The advice has been really precious, everything was great: King prawns with spicy sauce, fried squid, grilled seabass and seabream, chocolate mousse, all of this accompanied by a flavoured wine. We spent 63€. After dinner we went back right away to the B&B since we were very tired because of the long walk we have had during the day.

4° Day: Praia de Dona Ana, Praia do Camillo

I have choosen today’s beaches looking at some postcards in a small shop in Carvoeiro!! We arrived in the morning at the stunning Praia de Dona Ana, near the centre of village Lagos, but we choose not to go because it was already crowded, so we just took some pictures from above and then we carried on towards Praia do Camillo.
The latter is reachable through long wooden steps, very characteristic. Actually, there are two beaches linked with a tunnel carved in the rock. Thanks to the tall cliffs there are shaded areas, where it is possible to repair from the sun in the hottest hours of the day and taking a nap…While we were there a lonely english guy came along and seemed very tired and felt asleep. Looked like he had just finished a marathon.
Late in the afternoon we regained the road on direction of Sagres where I had booked our last night in Portugal at “Atalaia” (apart.atalaia@gmail.com), for 60€.

The landscape here is completely different from the places we have visited so far, greener and wilder.
As soon as we arrived in town we have noticed many shops such as Quicksilver, Rip Curl, testyfing the presence of many surfing and windsurfing lovers that come in this area. Actually the wind always blows very strongly, but in the two days we spent here the sea was flat.
Our room was right in the centre of the village, wide and clean. The landlord was very kind and willing to give us all the informations we needed. Dropped our luggages we went to visit the Martinhal beach…Spectacular! Fine white sand and Carribean style sea, unfortunately the wind lifts the sand making almost impossible staying there and enjoy it longer.
For this reason we moved to Praia do Beliche towards Cabo do Sao Vicente, this beach is more sheltered because enclosed in very tall cliffs, and to reach it is needed descend a long flight of steps. Later we went to the lighthouse of Cabo de Sao Vicente for the sunset, the landscape is breathtaking, one of the most beautiful and suggestive in Algarve.
For dinner we choose the restaurant “A Casinha”, with a romantic and relaxed atmosphere, where we enjoyed a lovely “Cataplana”: it is an item of cookware used to prepare Portuguese seafood dishes, popular on the country's Algarve region. It is traditionally made of copper and shaped like two clamshells hinged at one end and able to be sealed using a clamp on either side of the assembly. The dinner cost us 47€.

5° DAY: Praia beliche - Seville

In the morning we came back to the Beliche beach to enjoy our last hours on the seaside. The particularity of this place is the late morning low tide that creates a large foreshore, and gives access to some caves on the sea and it is possible to reach a beach nearby that is even bigger and spectacular.
Among these caves there was a naked woman layed on the rocks taking pictures of herself. She went on for many hours leaving the bathers confused…it was a shame that she wasn’t goodlooking, to say the least. :).

Early in the afternoon we left for Seville, 3h and 30 minutes travel. I had already booked the accomodation on booking.com at the hotel “Patio de las Cruces” in the historical centre for 38€ per night. There is a car park nearby at 20€/24 hours, in alternative is possible to find parking place along the streets of the city centre. The hotel is very pretty with a nice inner patio, even though is in a turistic area this place is really quiet.
After a quick shower we went for a wander amongst the numerous alleys of the city, with no particular destination, letting us be guided by inspiration. We stopped at “Bodega Donaire”, a tapas bar in the “Barrio Alfalfa” far from the turistic places near the cathedral.Food was great, as the price, I indulged myself ordering any tapas and sipping Sangria.
Tapa are nothing more than a smaller portion of the dishes, sold for 3€ each. In this way is possible to taste many different food moving from a bar to the next, a sort of Italian aperitif that becomes a proper meal.

Some shots in the center of Seville

6° Day - Seville

Very kindly, at the hotel they let us leave our luggages for the all day, in this way we had the chance to walk around town more comfortably.
After our breakfast in a bar in the centre, we went to visit the famous “Plaza de Espana”, scenery of numerous movies including Star wars, it is definetely the most spectacular place in town.
The Plaza de España complex is a huge half-circle with buildings continually running around the edge accessible over the moat by numerous bridges representing the four ancient kingdoms of Spain. In the centre is the Vicente Traver fountain. By the walls of the Plaza are many tiled alcoves, each representing a different province of Spain. Later in the afternoon we went to the airport to catch our flight back home.