Algarve, Portugal » iberian peninsula

Algarve is full of summer fun

Constantin B. — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 10:52:02 +0000

While some of the major summer events have either concluded or are underway as you read this, the Algarve still has a bunch of great weather in front of it and some great events to go with it, so here’s a quick look at what you can expect from the region in the following weeks if you haven’t decided on going there yet.

The Olhao Seafood Festival is ongoing at the present time and will be so till the 15^th of August, so you could still make it there in time to taste some of the most delicious seafood that the Algarve has to offer, as well as appreciate some popular local live music.

Another culinary-centric event will be taking place in Vila do Bispo between August 23 and 25. This is the Festival do Perceve – barnacles’ festival – where the star of the show is the perceve, a species of goose barnacle very appreciated across the entire Iberian Peninsula. This festival complements the ones in Olhao and the Sardine Festival which ended on the 11^th.

By now you have missed the Silves Medieval Fair, which ended on August 11, however, you can set your medieval sights upon Castro Marim’s Dias Medievais, which will take place between August 22 and 25 at the town’s centre and its castle. This event too will include a plethora of tournaments, traditional games and all manner of activities related to the medieval era.

Then there’s the event which normally captivates a large number of people, Lagoa’s FATACIL, which takes place between August 16 and 25.

This event features around 600 exhibitors from the handicrafts, tourism, agriculture, retail and industry sectors not to mention great high-class entertainment such as concerts and equestrian displays.

These are just the major events that are still to take place in the Algarve, there are many more smaller parties, festivities and fairs around the region. The best way to see them is to employ some Algarve car rental services and check as many of them as possible.

Tourism occupancy rates are looking good overall

Constantin B. — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 10:17:04 +0000

Halfway through the summer high-season, tourism occupancy rates in the Algarve – and overall in Portugal – are looking good.

The optimism for future tourism is increasing in the country, and especially in the Algarve seeing as how a large percentage of the increased tourism is in the region.

There’s a 20% growth in occupancy levels for hotels and resorts – overall – with foreign bookings increasing through the biggest tour operators.

Many tourist establishments in the Algarve have reported successful occupancy rates, some establishments predicting that 90% of their accommodations will be booked throughout the summer, while most of them confirming a positive trend in their bookings.

The Quinta do Lago golf resort revealed that it has an occupancy rate for rental villas and town homes of around 85% at the present time and that the increase in golf rounds has contributed to this higher traffic. They also added that a lot of the business was in the peak months of July and August and it was made mostly of last-minute bookings.

Desiderio Silva – president of the Algarve Tourism Board and an official who we often-times talk about here – stressed that the tourism boost to the region is thanks to the divergence of clients from the Arabian tourist destinations, who now choose European alternatives.

The occupancy rate per room reported by AHETA – the Association of Hotels and Resorts of the Algarve – was 81.6% which means a 3.7% increase from the same month in 2012, however it also showed a rather sharp contrast between foreign and national markets.

There was an important increase in the number of Irish, Dutch and British tourists to the Algarve, their numbers increasing by 29.3%, 21.1% and 17.1%, respectively – those are some serious numbers – while Portuguese and Spanish visitors decreased by almost 10%, most likely an indication of the difficult economic times that the Iberian Peninsula citizens are facing.

Algarve winter holiday

Constantin B. — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 10:11:14 +0000

Going on an Algarve winter holiday might just be one of the best ideas that you’ve had since the moment that you started considering leaving your cold home for warmer shores. The Algarve is known for the great weather, and one might think that during the winter months it’s just decent weather here, but you’ll be pleased to know that average temperatures in October and November are somewhere between 19 to 22 Centigrade, and there are anywhere from six to eight hours of sunshine during the day, it’s absolutely great. Compare those temperatures to those just a bit north of the Iberian Peninsula and you get much lower numbers.

Now from December through to February it does get a bit colder here as well, something around 16 Centigrade, for about six hours per day. Those living in the temperate climate of Europe already know that during those months temperatures in the minus digits are normal and going above freezing is rather abnormal for many days. In the Algarve you’ll have some of the most pleasant winter climate that Europe has to offer.

We’ve pretty much made it clear that the weather in the Algarve in the winter is absolutely stunning, but what can you do while enjoying the great weather? Well pretty much anything that you’d normally do here in the summer, maybe with a little less sunbathing, but many other outdoor activities are still available to you.

Anything and everything, from kayaking and golfing to rambling and exploring the countryside are options at your disposal, and keep in mind that you can also use some Algarve car rental services in order to explore more of the region at your own pace. This is particularly useful for those who want to visit certain sites in the region that are in different locations, or for enthusiast golfers who want to enjoy as many courses as possible.

Algarve Golf Holidays

Constantin B. — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 08:24:39 +0000

Golfing holidays in the Algarve

Portugal’s Algarve region is quite possibly Europe’s most popular vacation destination. Due to its location on the southernmost region of the country and indeed of the Iberian peninsula, the Algarve benefits from some spectacular weather all year round. When you couple that fact with the almost two hundred kilometers of beach it shouldn’t come as a surprise why this region of Europe is so popular with tourists.

The Algarve, place for sun, sea and golf

Algarve Golf Club

Now those characteristics would be quite enough for the region as a tourist magnet but the Algarve offers so much more than just great weather and beaches, the region has great resorts, great food, unique culture and not least the best golf courses in Europe.

The popularity of golf has increased considerably in the past decade with more and more people, of all ages, becoming fans and enthusiasts of this originally Scottish sport.

All of these golf enthusiasts will be glad to find out that the Algarve is in fact home to well over thirty world-class championship golf courses all of which are situated within short one to two hour drives from any of the main resorts or cities in the region.

One of the many great things about golfing in the Algarve is the fact that the facilities here have been around for quite a while and they’ve been attracting a constant stream of players ever since so they are very well maintained and the services that they provide are top notch.

Another great thing related to Algarve golfing is also one of the main characteristics of the region as a whole, its wonderful weather. As stated earlier the weather itself would have been enough of a pull for visitors from the chillier areas of the continent but when you couple that great weather with the opportunity to play eighteen holes on a top tier course during the winter season it’s simple to understand why this is such a popular attraction to the region.

Enthusiasm for the sport, any sport, brings with it a certain amount of investment, be it financial or emotional, in the case of most games or sports it is both and golf is no exception; however when it comes to golf the financial investment can be a rather serious one when you’re talking about top notch, state of the art clubs. While these are designed to hit a golf ball with as much power and precision as possible they themselves are not designed to withstand hits, so transporting golf clubs can always turn into a problem.

The problem can be two-fold, one is related to the extra cost that one would have to incur in order to carry their clubs with them and the other being that there is no way of guaranteeing absolutely that they won’t get damaged or worse, stolen, during the trip, so this is a thing that many golfing enthusiasts have to deal with when they consider visiting the Algarve particularly for the golfing opportunities.

Thankfully since golfing is so popular in the area, adjacent industries have sprung up around it offering various services to golfing enthusiasts, services such as golf club hire services which will allow the golfer to get the best of both worlds, he or she will be able to play golf in this stunning environment and not fret about their prized golf clubs, everybody wins.