Hi Have never been to Portugal and we are thinking about going end of July next year. This will be a big family holiday: 5 adults and a very mature 13 year old boy. We have to be within a short walking distance of a sandy beach (no pebbles/shingle), I have had a look and the old town looks very nice, but would like to be within a 15/20 min walk of new town? strip? (not sure of the layout). We know we most probably won't be self catering, but are unsure whether to do B&B, HB or AI. Any suggestions on places to stay or at least the location we should be looking for?
I have been told that the sea is chilly, surely this won't be the case in August?
Thank you.
The half way point for what you are after is around the Cerro Alagoa area and the Hotel Vila Gale Cerro Alagoa is a good hotel ( I have stayed there twice ) it has a good pool area its own pub with a bit of entertainment, you can get B&B or HB but the best thing I find is to be B&B and then go to some of the great restaurants for a meal.
I find that the Algarve is one of the cheapest places to eat abroad, and this hotel is about the twenty minutes walk you are looking for, there are lots of other hotels and apartments in this area have a look on the hotel reveiw pages for some more ideas.
Dave.
We have stayed in the Paraiso Albufeira and had a great time there. Wouldnt hesitate to go back and wonder if this hotel might suit your needs.
Its in a great location kinda midway between the Strip and the Old Town. Both are within walking distance. On the doorstep you have a couple of large supermarkets, Pingo Doce and Modelo. You can go self catering at the Paraiso , B&B, H/B or all inclusive. We went self catering and thoroughly enjoyed this (we didnt cook!!). Theres lots of restaurants who do really cheap breakfasts and we found eating out in the evening to be very reasonable.
There's a taxi stance nearby and also the mini train stops just a few minutes along from the Paraiso. Theres only 3 stops on this train, just passed Modelo, Middle of the The Strip and Fishermans Beach. I have posted the link below for the train, Paraiso is just minutes from where the train stops.
The hotels has a courtesy bus which will take you in and out of the old town. We often used to walk in the evening (as its downhill) and get a taxi back (never more than 4 euros). http://www.turistrem.com/en/index.htm
Hope this helps a little.
I have to declare a vested interest as a bar owner, but do not do AI, you will be disappointed - as Dave says - B&B is the best bet.
Post a Reply
Please sign in or register an account to reply to this post.