Praia da Bordeira is well-known for its winds and waves and that’s why it is so popular with wind and surf sports enthusiasts. So much so that not many actually go into the little village itself really, especially since the main road that goes into the village is rather new and people have not grown yet accustomed to it. The road is however, wide and planted with rows of palms and flowerbeds.

The small church cannot be missed and it is said that it has been standing since before the major earthquake that shook the entire region centuries ago. The inside of the church is quite stunning featuring a heavily carved and gilded wooden centre piece, the church being dedicated to the patron, our Lady of Incarnation.

The village of Bordeira is located in a basin that is surrounded by green countryside that is protected by the government.

As opposed to most other small villages in the region, which are whitewashed, Bordeira has many buildings that are painted with vibrant colours which accent the building’s features. The many small and stone cobbled roads are planted with orange and lemon trees thus giving the place a very traditional village feel, some of the houses sitting staggered high above one another.

The village is quite small so there’s just a café/bar and another restaurant used by the locals, as well as a shop. The village is a thriving little community with not many ruins because even what was once the communal bake oven/house has been converted into living accommodation.

Getting to Bordeira can be made that much easier with some Algarve car hire services.

As opposed to most other potential visiting places that you’ll find in the Algarve, Silves is set on the banks of the Arade River, a charming town peppered with orange and lemon trees and deeply steeped in history.

Actually the town was a very affluent Moorish capital in the past, it was known as Xelb back then, and it was so important because it was the main access to inland Algarve, thanks to the river. Unfortunately that did not last very long because the river is now too silted up to allow for large vessels to use it.

In any case, what you definitely must take away from visiting this town is its most prominent monument, the Castelo de Silves.

This is now the best preserved castle in the entire region – so just for that you should schedule an Algarve low cost transfer to Silves, but that is not all.

The castle sits upon the hilltop, overlooking the town, and beside it you’ll find the local Cathedral. Going up to the castle will offer you some spectacular views from the battlements. The castle has eleven towers, two of which are barbicans, and somehow the thick walls have survived, enclosing an area of 12,000 square meters. Four of the eleven were rebuilt during the 14^th and 15^th centuries feature Gothic doorways. During the Moorish period, the castle was the residence of the lord of the city.

The nearby Cathedral of Silves is one of the few remaining Gothic monuments in Algarve that still have ancient tombs.