Hello.

I've just booked for 2 weeks at the Estrela do Vau in Praia do Vau. Online reviews indicate that it is a nice (4 star) apartment complex and as there are just 2 of us it was about the only place I could find in the Algarve not charging a huge under occupancy supplement!

Anyway, I gather that it is located between Alvor and Praia da Rocha. I like to do a bit of exploring during the day and definitely go out for meals in the evening, so I expect we will be visiting these other areas quite a lot and maybe going further afield. The official write up suggests using Taxis. I would be grateful if anyone can tell me:

1) Are there any reasonable bars or restaurants in Praia do Vau?

2) How long it actually takes to walk to Alvor or Praia da Rocha?

3) Is there a local bus service through Praia do Vau and if so is it frequent etc?

4) How much does it actually cost in a Taxi?

5) I see that car hire often gets recommended on here for the Algarve. I won't be driving in the evening as I will want to sample some Portuguese beer & wine :wink:, but how much does car hire cost to arrange locally? http://www.economycarhire.com gets some positive recommendations, although I would prefer to suss things out when I get there rather than book in advance. Unless someone can convince me that a having a car for (say) a week will prove really useful.

Thank you in advance for any help.