The majority of the town is made up of late 19^th and early 20^th century buildings, when we’re talking about the older part of town, while the rest of Portimao is made up of modern apartment blocks in a variety of colors, hues and shades. It is interesting to note however that most settlements in the region have much longer histories, Portimao is a rather young place that managed to develop despite being surrounded by older towns. You can quickly get here by using some Portimao transfers from Faro Airport.

Because of its age, Portimao offers a special type of holiday experience, a more modern take on it. The shopping opportunities abound, especially in the centre, which is jam-packed with shops offering everything from clothes, gifts, souvenirs and electrical goods to general household items and whatever else you might expect to find in any town on the globe.

Of course entertainment is never far from the spectrum of shopping so there are also a lot of bars, restaurants and cafes where you can have yourself a sit and a rest while enjoying a snack or a nice refreshing beverage, be it hot or cold. The town is not exactly a resort town, so it can get rather busy in the center and the residential areas, however if you’re interested in seeing the more relaxed side of Portimao all you have to do is to head down to the river front.

Alongside the river front you’ll find the ‘Manuel Bivar’ gardens as well as some very famous regional fish restaurants situated near the end of the waterfront – all you have to do to get there is to follow the wonderful smell of barbecuing sardines.

Those who have employed some Portimao car hire services will quickly notice that the roads in and around Portimao can be a bit confusing, and more than just a bit congested because on some of the narrow streets you’ll find cars parked on both sides of the road. This happens even though car parking spots exist all around the town and there’s a very large free car park on the waterfront.

Portimao - Praia da rocha

While in Portimao you will simply have to visit the Portimao Marina, the colors that you’ll see there are quite unexpected to say the least. This is possibly the only place where you can see ochre and terracotta together; you can find the marina at the eastern end of the Praia da Rocha, this is also where you’ll find the Tivoli Arade and Nikki beach resorts.

As far as Portimao activities go, there are a plethora of things that one can get involved with, for instance boat trips. Not only boat trips but actually pirate ship trips which take you visiting the caves in old boats.

There are a couple of museums and art galleries to keep the culture vultures occupied and interested and a port built in the 17 century to protect the mouth of the river Arade. Located at the end of Tomas Cabreira avenue, this makes a great observation point to see across Ferragudo, Praia da Rocha and the marina.

Other activities that you can partake in are visiting the Zoo Lagos, located on the outskirts of Lagos however, so you’ll need a ride there, or go to the the Zoomarine at Guia, a vehicle of sorts will also be ideal for this destination.

This has only been a very short and quick description of what you should expect from Portimao, once there you’ll obviously find more things to see and do, even if it’s just strolling around the place taking in the atmosphere, rest assured that you won’t get bored, how could you with the beach in such close proximity.

The city of Faro is the administrative center of the entire Algarve region and due to this characteristic the city is oftentimes used as starting point by visitors to the region. Just like most other cities or towns in the region, Faro’s population is relatively small, barely topping fifty-five thousand, however it is one of the more larger towns in the region.

Faro – Popular Travel Locations

Algarve Faro Portugal

It is true that many visitors use Faro as a type of a gateway for the rest of the Algarve, this is likely where they’ll be landing and the city is situated in such a manner that it provides easy access to other resorts in the region, so it’s not difficult to understand this approach to Faro, but the city can be a very interesting holiday destination in itself.

Similar to the entire region’s settlements, Faro features ruins from both the Roman and the Arab eras and one of the most popular attractions of the city is its “old city” or Cidade Velha part which is still surrounded by its original 9th century protective walls.

Inside these walls, on what was once the site of the Roman Forum, you’ll find a 13th century Cathedral that faces an 18th century Episcopal Palace, and also nearby you can see the 16th century Convent which now is the home of the local Archaeological Museum.

Keeping with the theme of religious-related buildings, Faro is also home to the Nossa Senhora do Carmo church which is one of the best examples of gold-leaf woodwork in the country but it has another claim to fame, a more macabre one. Its chapel is lined with the bones of over a thousand two hundred monks who lived there during the centuries.

Faro is home to a small maritime museum which on the other hand boasts a collection of small replica boats as exhibits, so this might be an interesting place to visit for any boating enthusiasts.

A large chunk of modern Faro is made up of apartment buildings and attractive shops and eating establishments, this means that you can get a complete experience while visiting Faro, getting a sample of the old and a taste of the new.

Faro’s beach, Praia de Faro, is about seven kilometers long, yes you read that right, seven kilometers of gently sloping sand so this practically guarantees that you’ll always find a spot that is not crowded.

As mentioned earlier, Faro is usually considered the starting point for an Algarve holiday because it is surrounded by many other destinations in the region. To the North there’s the inland village of Estoi where you can see some remarkable Roman ruins of a villa which will astound you when you see the comforts that its owners enjoyed about two thousand years ago.

To the West you’ll find the well known holiday resorts of Quinta do Lago and Vale de Lobo, both of them being five star resorts featuring golf courses, tennis court, riding schools and many more things that will surely make your stay there enjoyable.

Faro Related Link List

CarHireFaro

Find cheap and quality Faro car hire services.

Portugal Low Cost Transfers

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Portugal Car Hire

Get cheap and quality Portugal car hire services.

Faro – Algarve – Portugal – Weekend trip

The Algarve region of Portugal is considered by many to be the perfect holiday destination thanks to its great mix of characteristics. The Algarve has absolutely wonderful weather, modern amenities which make for a truly luxurious holiday experience, it is very family-oriented but it also offers a vibrant nightlife, great opportunities for practicing sports and other outdoor activities and last but not least, great food.

The Algarve packs a lot of fun for young and old alike

Algarve Beach

The way in which this happens is thanks to the size of the region itself, a bit over two thousand square miles, and directly linked to this the number of various resorts, villages and cities that dot its coastline and landscape.

As mentioned earlier, the reason why the Algarve is such a popular tourist destination is due to a combination of factors, main among these factors being the weather, however its location in Europe helps as well since it is reachable from most any spot in Europe in more or less three hours by plane.

Also, once you get there, regardless which airport in the region you touch down at, you are only a couple of minutes away from your accommodations by car, and whether you choose to rent a car while there or to employ some airport transfer services, they will all prove to be very good value for money.

The truth of the matter is that many people visit the Algarve because it offers such a wide variety of attractions, starting with the great weather – over three thousand hours of sunshine per year – continuing with the almost two hundred kilometers of great, clean beaches – which themselves can be categorized further – and of course you have to add to these the unique culture and history of the region, the great food and last but not least, the amazing golfing opportunities the region offers.

While the Algarve is a warm and sunny place for most of its visitors, for a serious percentage of those it is one of the premiere spots on the globe for their sport of choice, golf.

There are over thirty world-class golf courses that can be found in the region, most of them not more than a quarter of an hour’s drive from a main resort or city. In fact golfing is so huge in the region that you can employ special golf transfer services to take you to and from specific golf courses throughout the day, not to mention the services which allow you to rent golf clubs for your stay. And make no mistake about it, any golf enthusiast you will need these types of Algarve transfer services because there are so many courses to try out, you will not be satisfied with just the few that are in close proximity to your accommodation.

The great thing about the Algarve is that it is not just about one or two things, it’s not just about the golf, or the sunny weather, or the great beaches, it is about all those things together and much more that makes it such a popular holiday destination with people of all ages and interests.

Algarve Related Link List

Algarve Transfer from Faro Airport

Low rates for Faro Airport Transfers to anywhere in the Algarve, Portugal and Andalucia, Spain.

Algarve Car Hire, Portugal and Madeira

Low rates and quality services for Algarve car rental services.

Portugal car hire

Best car hire prices on the internet for the Faro, Lisbon and Porto areas.

The Algarve – Travel Guide VideoClip