Hi charlie_ocs,

Firstly, there's lots of information about Albufeira and the general area on http://www.albufeira.com including maps and a very good forum. Well worth a good look around.

Albufeira is a large town, with the infamous "Strip" on the newer east side of town and the more family-orientated Old Town on the west side. Sao Rafael is a couple of miles west of the Old Town, with the Marina in between the two.

Depending on where you are staying, you might be able to walk to the Old Town but it would probably take half to three-quarters of an hour.

There is certainly one small supermarket (like a Spar) in Sao Rafael, but there are large supermarkets in all directions - a short taxi ride if you're not hiring a car.

There are many restaurants in the area, ranging from beach cafes to fine dining. Again, you might need a taxi for some of them. Of course, in Albufeira itself there are lots of restaurants suitable for all budgets and tastes.

As to general things to do in the area, it depends on what you like to do. Certainly the beaches are beautiful, and Sao Rafael is probably our favourite. There are many typically Algarvian coves along the coast going westwards, and then Gale beach is a 2 mile stretch of sand which goes right to Armacao de Pera. There are water parks and Zoomarine and a largish commercial centre called Algarve Shopping. If you feel like exploring further (and have a car) there are lots of nice places to visit in both directions, and Albufeira is ideal as it's situated centrally in the Algarve.

Hope this is of help and please post again if you have any more questions.