Portugal: The Algarve
For the 4th of July long weekend, we headed to the Algarve in Portugal. This has been on my list for a long time and it worked out perfectly that my big brother and sister-in-law were headed to Albufeira for a wedding over one of our long weekends.
There are no direct flights from Naples to Faro, the airport in the south of Portugal, so we flew TAP Airlines from Naples to Lisbon and then a short 40 minute flight from Lisbon to Faro. You can also take a 3 hour train from Lisbon or rent a car and drive. I am not normally a fan of connecting flights in Europe, especially during the summer when strikes and delays happen so often, but luckily we made the connection both times.
This weekend was mostly about spending time with family we hadn’t seen in about a year, but I’ll include the highlights and recommendations below. I absolutely want to get back to this area to explore more towns and more of the coastline.
Restaurants
We ended up eating in so we could relax together and enjoy the view from the condo, but we did one nice dinner out in Quarteira (a neighbouring town to Albufeira).
Jorge do Peixe Restaurante & Marisqueira: We were recommended this restaurant by some Portuguese friends of my brother who said they come to eat here every time they go home to the south of Portugal. This was probably one of the best seafood dinners I have ever had. There was easy parking nearby, a playground about a block away, and we were able to get in without a reservation. I highly recommend the cuttlefish and the curry.
Experiences
Fishing: my brother and I spent a day doing a big game fishing charter with Vilamoura Water Sports. It was a group charter, so we were with about 6 other people. This meant it was only $100 per person for the day, but also meant we had fewer opportunities to reel in fish because we were sharing the rods with other people. It was a beautiful day out on the water and the weather was perfect, so I was happy to be along for the ride. My brother (who has been fishing his whole life) did say that if he were to go again, he would try to find a charter that was a little less tourist focused and a little more “I actually know how to fish” focused.
Boat Day: if you’ve been following our travels for a while, you probably know that one of my favorite things to do, both in Naples and when traveling, is to get out on the water. We looked at some private rentals but everything was upwards of €1200. We didn’t want to spend that much so we started looking for group experiences. We ended up doing a beach barbecue with AlgarExperiences. This experience included a boat ride along the coast, including a stop at the famous Benagil Cave, and then a barbecue on a private beach. The beach had an open bar, snorkelling gear, paddle boards, and umbrellas. Honestly this was an amazing (and affordable) way to get out on the water as well as go to a beautiful beach only accessible from the water. One of my favorite parts of the day was swimming from the beach over to a huge cave (similar to Benagil) that had a beach inside that you could swim up to. The staff on this tour was fantastic and it was perfect for kids. The marina area in Albufeira was also a great spot for families - there were plenty of restaurants, gelato shops, shopping, and arcades.
Aquashow Park Hotel: while my brother and I fished and my sister-in-law went to the bachelorette party, my partner took our son to a water park. There were several water parks in this area and this one was recommended to us by my brother’s host. They had a fantastic time - ever since we went to Denmark and stayed in a holiday village with a water park, my son has not been able to stop talking about water slides. This was a perfect way for them to spend the day while the rest of our family was busy.
Accommodations
We were a bit disappointed with the Airbnb we booked, but it was right across the street from where my brother was staying, which made it a win in my eyes. There was nothing truly wrong with our Airbnb, but we had issues the entire weekend with a leaking air conditioner unit and the amenities, like the pool, were all a bit run down. My brother’s condo, however, was absolutely beautiful and the host was incredibly kind and helpful to us all. We were able to spend the majority of our time over there and used their pools, which were stunning. If we were to visit the Algarve again, I would absolutely find our accommodations through Be Cherish with Miguel.
