Hi Jo,

There are a few restaurants near where you're staying, and if you click here you'll see some reviews by people who've stayed at the Ponta Grande Resort giving some useful info for you.

The ideal would be to hire a car, although if you're going outside July/August you should be able to get taxis fairly easily.

There are lots of good bars and restaurants in the Old Town which is about 2 miles from Sao Rafael. We like O Penedo for its views right across the bay, and also Casa da Fonte, Atrium, Bailote and Anna's. Some restaurants I can thoroughly recommend which are your side of the Old Town are Luau and Castelo do Bispo up above the Marina, and nearer you is O Marinheiro. Further on to the west are Solar das Oliveiras and O Museu dos Salgados.

The Strip area of Albufeira is about another 2 miles beyond the Old Town.

The beaches are fabulous. Your nearest would be Praia Grande at Sao Rafael which is a large sandy cove with typically Algarvian rock formations. There are also Arrifes, Coelha, Castelo and Evaristo (all with excellent beach restaurants), and then you get to a very long sandy beach which goes on for miles from Gale to Armacao de Pera. There's a very good beach guide on Albufeira.com, as well as lots of other info and great interactive maps.

There's a large shopping centre called Algarve Shopping near Guia which is a few miles from Sao Rafael, but smaller supermarkets are dotted about the area. Of course, in Albufeira there are also plenty of supermarkets, and in the Old Town there are small shops of all descriptions.

Hope you have a great holiday!