Hi Alan,
We stayed in Praia do Vau in September. There is very little there - 4 restaurants (none very good) and a beach, no shops or anything else. It is halfway between Praia da Rocha and Alvor. PDR has loads of restaurants, mainly fish & chip, burgers etc with happy hours for EastEnders, Emmerdale etc and Irish bars. Your best bet would be to travel to Alvor where there are loads of lovely restaurants serving typical Portuguese food. It would be hard to recommend just one but they are more expensive down on the front where the emphasis is more on the fresh fish which has just been caught. A taxi to Alvor costs about 5 euros.

Which hotel are you staying in?

Thanks for the info roswell,
We are staying at the Terracos apts.
Had a look on the web re Alvor,looks our sort of town so will go for the big blow out there.
Are there actually any decent bars in Vau in which to have a few beers,game of pool,music etc?

Have you booked a package holiday Alan? Am just wondering if the resort is right for you from what Roswell has said.

Yes,we have booked a package holiday Glynis.
It does look like a quiet resort,our last holiday was in Cala n Blanes,menorca and that was quiet yet we still had a great time and met some superb people.
Just looking forward to seeing somewhere different and a bit of sunshine,plus the odd Super Bock(our local tesco's now sell it) or 20

Alan,
H.T. member Algarve Addict ( not Algarveaddick ) holidays regularly in Praia do Vau and will, I'm sure, be able to answer your questions in depth. If she doesn't appear with the answers soon, try contacting her by private message.

Hi Alan,
There are no bars in Praia do Vau, only 4 restaurants and a beach. For nightlife of any sort, you need to travel to PDR or Alvor.

Hi
I am sure you will enjoy Vau as you already realise it is only small .Have never stopped at the Terracos do Vau but have heard good reports about it.There are some really good restaurants in Vau ,there is the Jacaranda which during the day is a bar where you can get snacks and a drink but at night turns into a restaurant it is run by Robin who is English and Hanny his wife who is Dutch and a very good cook it is lovely to sit out at night for a meal,but if you only want a drink they are happy to serve you
Next door is a bar where if you enjoy football they have all the matches on.Also there is a Pizza restaurant that does lovely garlic bread!Across by the beach there are a couple of good fish restaurants frequented by the Portugese a lot. Again lovely to sit there as the sun goes down .
The beach is fantastic and when the tide is out you can walk all the way along to Portimao marina.
If you want to go somewhere different at night there is a bus stop in Vau that will take you into Alvor where there are restaurants to suit every taste and pocket.Also if you walk the other way into Praia da Rocha on the cliff top one of the first restaurants you will come to is the Casa Da Rocha again worth going to but book if you want to go Sunday as it is very popular with the Portugese.If you need any more help just ask Sorry one more thing for shopping the best thing to do is have a taxi to the Continente shopping centre and have a good buy in .Taxi rank just outside when you come out But there is a small supermarket in the grounds of the Jardim do Vau and anyone can use it,they do lovely fresh rolls and handy for fresh milk etc

Thanks for the informative post Addict.
Sounds right up our street,a small resort with livelier options nearby.
I had a look at some pictures on trip advisor,the beaches look stunning.
I do believe I saw some pics of yours on there!

Have just been looking at a Praia da Rocha website as we were planning to go there some evenings,anyway all the comments on there were about the price of guinness,Rangers and Celtic pubs,Irish this and Irish that.Is it really like that?
If they want Rangers and Celtic pubs then why not go to Glasgow for a holiday:que

There are loads of Irish bars in PDR and restaurants selling English food - fish & chips, burgers etc. If you, like us, prefer something more Portuguese, then Alvor is the place to go. Unless you want a long walk, you'll need a taxi to Alvor or PDR and Alvor is more worth the money.

Like yourself,Alvor looks like my sort of town.Was going to go into PDR some evenings as we thought there would be more things for my two son's to enjoy,mini golf,air hockey,pool etc, that kind of thing.
Will have to make a point of avoiding the fake Irish boozers,sure there must be a few decent bars in PDR that arent plastered in shamrocks and leprechauns.
I dont like Guinness anyway.

Just wondered having never been to portugal, would it be worth us hiring a car for two weeks from the airport or getting a taxi from faro to praia de vau. I'm unsure of the cost for a taxi although its gonna be expensive i think seeing as its over 70 km away < i think thats right?.

So i guess my questions are would you hire a car? its not a problem driving over there for me i've always drove abroad just never been to portugal so i'm a bit unsure.

And what are the alternatives to driving ourselves. the quotes we have had for car hire in july is £300 for 2 weeks which i expected really.

Any help much appreciated thanks

Oh and a heads up on the resort would be nice although i've read all the reviews and understand its quiet but thats what we like and this is the reason we picked this area. Another reason we wanted to hire a car i suppose to get about and explore..........

I went through Praia do Vau on a bus on Friday. If you do want to get out and explore, a car will be invaluable. Renting one at the airport would save you the transfer cost. A taxi is far too expensive. A pre-booked transfer might be 40 Euros but if you think you will need a car, all that gets wrapped into one.

Praia do Vau is a bit off the main bus routes and getting anywhere else means going first to either Portimao (5km) or Alvor (2km). However the local mini-bus network is a good and cheap means for getting to and from Portimao, Praia da Rocha and Alvor.

Hi
IMO Praia de Vau is a nice quiet resort with a beautiful beach. If you get the time tides right and you like walking it is a beautiful walk along the sands into Praia de Roche. Alvor (which is where we stay and love) is also a short walk in the opposite direction. It is also possible to walk along to Praia de Roche then carry on along the coast line to Potimoao. Alvor is a lovely little fishing village which still retains its Portuguese character and IMO well worth a visit. Praia de Roche is larger with more high rise buildings and busier. Portimoao is a large town with plenty of good quality shops.
IF you dont like walking there is a very good bus service from Paia de Vau to all these places. I know a lot of people say hire a car however for us part of the holiday is just to sit back and let someone else do the driving. It also gives us a chance to meet the local people which we like. We have never hired a car and find getting around on the local bus very easy. Buses to places further afield than the local area leave from Portimoao. You can get buses to Lagos, Ferragudo, Carvario, Monchique, Albuferia etc. There is also a good train service to Lagos and Faro.

The Patrimonio bar in Praia de Vau had a Euro a pint during the daytime in the winter (much more expensive on an evening) and Claires in Praia de Roche did decent/nice 3 course meals for 7 euros and also did a euro a pint. With all bars though be careful of pricing, for example a large beer can be a euro but a cup of tea or wine could be 3 euro, so check prices before ordering.

We think this area of the Algarve is the nicest so I hope you enjoy it.

There is a good bus service to Alvor if you didn't want ot walk or get a taxi. It isn't a Portuguese bar, but I can recommend the Seattle Bar on the front at Alvor (near life boat station) for Sunday lunch. We went there in December, the 3 course lunch was beautiful and there was a live rythm and blues band playing, the cost was only 10 euros a head, however drinks were approx 3 euros each.

thanks for the reply von,Alvor seems to get more credits than PDR.Have made a note of the Seattle Bar,especially with a live band.Most resorts we have been to seem to thrive on karaoke Naff all worse than witnessing some dopey Karen Matthews lookalike attempting a beyonce song.

We have just come back from Praia do vau and the beer is still euro for large beer at both Jacacaranda and Patrimonia ,when we first started going we always hired a car but now prefer to use the bus as has been said they are very frequent and you can always change in Alvor or Portimao to go further afield ,the trains are also good value but you do have to be more careful as some of the stations are a GOOD walk from the town.Altough faro and lagos are ok.
Just wish we were back there now

Sorry forgot to say Faro to Praia do Vau return with Polotur transfers is 106euros

Algarve addict,
Was Polutur ok? We are thinking about using them for our return to Cabanas in June as the taxi fare is now a lot more expensive.
Pat