Been to Portugal? if so, get in here

Felix Da Housecat

Felix Da Housecat

Felix Da Housecat

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Ok peeps listen up,

Looking for ideas on a summer holiday for me and the girlfriend and the idea of Portugal came up and seeing as I know naff all about the country I though i would ask the well travelled people at OcUK.

Where did you go and what was there to do whilst in the area?

How did you get around, was there good transport links or did you need/choose to get a rental car?


Any other information or web links that I should take a look at? I've been on the Portugal tourist site, but looking for personal views aswell

Over to you lot.

TIA
 
Stayed in my mate's villa, about 2 miles out from Albufeira. Really enjoyed it. Avoid the new town at all costs though (you have to get a bus/taxi there, it's actually nowhere near Albufeira).

Old town has lots of nice restaurants and bars, and there's LOADS of beach too. There's a waterpark nearby too, need to arrange travel though, but it's well worth a visit. They serve beer inside, in 'pints' which are actually litre-sized plastic cups.

We chose to walk to the beach every day, it's really not that far, and they've built a walkway literally ALL the way from the villas to the town, nice fully landscaped path running alongside a stream. It depends what you're looking for, if you want a massively quiet time, go somewhere else, but if you're looking for nice beaches (not really busy at all, but we went in June), plenty of restaurants and bars, then that's where I'd suggest.
 
I've been to Porutgal a few times and love it! :D

The last time i went was for a festival in the summer called Optimus Alive! just out side of Lisbon (which i have been to a few times before), which i would HIGHLY recommend. I went for a long weekend so got a fair bit of time to do other stuff as well. There are a lot of nice bars and restuarants in the area. It is a busy city and there was a fair bit of work going on in parts. I would highly recommend it if you want a city break, definately go for the festival :D
 
I went out to my mates villa a few miles from Albufeira a few years back. I was only 15 at the time though so know nothing about drinking spots. But there was loads of stuff to do back then. There is more than one waterpark with loads of huge water slides and pools, only problem is you burn in about 30 seconds when standing in the queue for them so silly amounts of lotion needed.

Zoomarine, which is Portugals attempt at sea world and is pretty awesome with some decent shows etc...

Crazy world, which has a few massive crazy golf courses.

There is a Jeep Safari thing that takes you on the tour of the algarve and accross all the country side, and ends up and a peri-peri chicken restraunt that puts nandos to shame...

I'm acutally going back in April on business, and will be out there again in the summer, so will update you when I get back.
 
Been many times, usually south of Lisbon. We fly to Lisbon and pickup a hire car from the airport. Public transport is fine in large towns but you do need a hire car to get around. It’s very quiet and unspoilt where we go but that’s the way we like it.
 
Felix Da Housecat said:
How did you get around, was there good transport links or did you need/choose to get a rental car?
Click to expand...

Very gingerly! The standard of driving over there is absolutely bloody terrifying, on more than one occasion we were forced off the road and into the undergrowth by artics barrelling along the wrong side of the road towards us. Then you have to factor in all the regular road users who seem to think they live on a race-track.
 
Yes, driving can be “fun”, they like racing, there is no such thing as keeping your distance and you must always overtake when there is a bend or the crest of a hill coming up. You get used to it after a few years.
 
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You must go for a swim but don’t forget that the Atlantic is still very cold in the middle of the summer. :D
 
Went to the Algarve last year. Transport was poor, a hire car was required. People largely friendly, beaches were lovely. With the current exchange rate it does make it a fairly expensive place to visit though.
 
Went with mates from uni
We wanted a cheap holiday so stayed in a pretty nice hostel with really nice guests and staff but obviously if you are going with the missus you don't want to be staying in a hostel. As for the other question, transport was quite good actually, the shuttle trams go pretty much everywhere and there is the underground also. We rented a few scooters but they were just to go accross the bridge to see jesus.
 
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