Changes - enormous. The town centre has been pedestrianised, the fishermen banished from the beach to the new marina, there is an escalator and a lift to the beach and even since the pictures below were taken, the beach has been made 50metres wider to try to slow down the erosion of the cliffs.

There are some good pictures on this website

http://www.albufeira.com/360/

There has been masses of new building around the edges of town.

Do's - enjoy. Take care at night, leave expensive phones etc in hotel. Don't - flash your money around.

Rocamar is just outside the centre of town. Steps to the beach in front (and the lift back up!). Five minutes walk and you will be in the old town centre. A lot of places will still be closed, March being out of season, but there's still a good choice. In the town, Rock Café and Sir Harry's will probably be the only places open for live music. They are both in the square.

Thanks very much for that detailed reply and the link is great...you are right don't recognise the beach front...arhhh the Fishermans Beach had such character.
I hear there are muggings in and around Albufeira now, is it Montechoro area or where I am staying?
Would you think that Montechoro area would have more going on in March than the Square? We are only looking for a few nice bars and restaurants...its a bonus if its hot weather as we are out of season.
Just a bit worried that with it being out of season we will be more vunlerable as less people around....so no matter where we are it will have to be a cab back to the Hotel!

It seems that good old Albufeira is a very changed place since 1998...but then so is the whole world.

I have not heard of any recent incidents and anyway in March there are not enough tourists around for the low-life to be bothered with. All bar a couple of the problems during April and May were over in the Montechoro area.

Montechoro is much more heavily geared towards visitors than the town, so there will be greater percentage of places closed in March.

If you are out and about in the old town, you would possibly have to walk further to the taxi rank than back to Rocamar itself - and the one way traffic system means that everything has to go round in a big circle to get anywhere.

About 20,000 people now live and work in Albufeira all year round, so there will always be places to go.

I hope you have a good time and fingers crossed for the weather.

Thanks very much. One last thing can cabs be called so we can be picked up at a local bar?

Yes taxis can be called eg to go from Rocamar to somewhere, but not if you are in a bar or restaurant down in the old town. You have to go to a taxi rank.

The number is 289 583 230.

There are two taxi ranks in the old town. One is in the Avenida 25 de Abril, the main street leading to the beach. A taxi from there to Rocamar will involve a journey of nearly two miles by road to travel a distance of about 500 yards if you walked.

The other rank is at the top end (ie outside the pedestrian area) of the Avenida da Liberdade and that is itself nearly twice as far on foot from the square as is the Rocamar. Then the taxi must still go a mile or so by road.

Thanks again for great info, I am a little bit concerned about coming home in the dark as I think if I remember rightly the road up to the hotel is dark and lonely...but getting a taxi is more of a hile than the Hotel...bad planning of the Hotel I think. I can change to the Hotel Sol E Mar what do you think?

cheers
Liz

The Sol e Mar is barely 200 yards from the Rocamar, so why change?

There are street lights everywhere now and plenty of people about,even in March.