Those who will be heading here will notice how easy it is to get around the town thanks to it having been built on a grid system, which is something that not many other Algarve settlements can boast. With the help of our small Vila Real de Santo Antonio guide you should get a better idea of what it is that the town can offer you and whether or not you should seriously consider vacationing here.

The town’s grid system was designed by the Marques de Pombal who was rather keen on testing this new type of town planning after all the original settlements in the area were eroded by the beginning of the 17^th century. The Royal charter founding the town was signed on the 30^th of December 1773 and by August 6^th of next year, the Town Hall, Customs House and the barracks were already completed.

Towards the end of the 19^th century, the town was a major player in the canning industry, especially for sardines and tuna, and the port was constantly busy with the ships that sailed the river. As a sign of this very industrial focus of the town, Vila Real de Santo Antonio was the first town in the Algarve to be lit with gas, back in 1886. Nowadays the town thrives on a combination of fishing, agriculture and of course, tourism.

The main road of the town and of the region pretty much, runs straight from Monte Gordo to Vila Real and the Avenida da Republica runs along the front of the town, parallel with the Guadiana River. The river-front is very well developed featuring well laid out trees and water features as well as a marina which is great for watching boats.

The town’s grid system was designed to feature a large town square and the Praca marques de Pombal is truly a sight to see, being surrounded by orange trees and populated with low buildings, shops, cafes and outdoor restaurants. Behind the square you will find the Centro Cultural Antonio Aleixo – this used to be the old market, but the space is now used for temporary exhibits and various events. Nearby there’s a museum dedicated to Manuel Cabanas a local painter and wood engraver.

What it all comes down to is that Vila Real de Santo Antonio is a very relaxed and quiet town, an ideal holiday destination for those looking for a relaxing and peaceful type of vacation. Just like Monte Gordo the town is very flat, and this makes it idea for walking and cycling around it, however getting here can be arranged with the help of some Vila Real de Santo Antonio transfer from Faro Airport if you’re planning to spend your entire holiday around these parts. Otherwise you may want to consider some Vila Real de Santo Antonio car hire services.

The town features an absolutely lovely open sandy beach which is a couple of kilometers long, actually stretching close to Tavira.

Vila Real de Santo Antonio is part of a larger region, the Baixo Guadiana region, a place characterized by wonderful environment where the sun, sea, river, mountains and friendly inhabitants create a wonderful atmosphere to live and thrive in.

Related to this very laid-back approach to life, you can enjoy a boat trip along the Guadiana to Alcoutim for a special way of seeing the surroundings because it passes through some beautiful countryside and you’ll get to see the change in geography from very flat plains to rolling hills and lush vegetation.

Obviously this has been just a very short description of only some of the characteristics of Vila Real de Santo Antonio and its surroundings, rest assured that simple words and images can’t really do it any justice, once you’re there you’ll know that you’ll never be bored while on your trip here so you might as well focus on taking in as much of the place as possible.

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.

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