Algarve Faro & Praiada Rocha,
Portugal (5/23-24/2016)
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Beautiful Benagil -
Algrave, Portugal |
The Algarve is Portugal’s most popular
tourist destination. Running along its southern border, the Algarve is an
alluring beach vacation offering beautiful beaches and coves, sandy islands,
resort hotels, and fun beach bars. The Algarve makes an attractive vacation
because beaches, Mediterranean climate, safety, and relatively low costs.
With just 4
days allocated to the Algarve on our driving trip through Portugal, we choose
two places - Faro and the wide sandy beach town of Praiada Rocha.
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Pedestrian-only Streets -
Faro, Portugal |
Staying in Faro offers visitors both a good Algarve
beach experience and a chance to explore a well-preserved medieval town. The
town of Faro has escaped the modern development that most other Algarve towns
have experienced.
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Faro Beach -
Gotta Love the Algarve |
Faro has
three beach options accessible from the town. The city beach (Faro Beach) is
located about 7 miles from the town center. It is a beautiful beach going on
for miles with restaurants available at the main entrance. Walk 15 minutes in
either direction and you will find the beach much less crowded. You can take
the bus to Faro Beach starting next to the downtown Hotel Eva taking about 20 minutes to arrive at Faro Beach.
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| Ilha da Barreta (Ilha Deserta) |
For a more
deserted beach option, you can take a 40-minute ferry ride from Faro’s downtown
to Farol and the sandspit beaches of Ilha da Barreta (Ilha Deserta) and Ilha da
Culatra. Ilha Deserta has a nice restaurant you can enjoy. If you want a very
quiet relaxed day on the beach with little else, then Deserta is the place for
you. If you like to wander around with have a choice of places to eat and drink
as well as a beautiful beach, then choose Ilha da Culatra.
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| Stork Nests in Cidade Velha - Faro, Portugal |
Faro’s medieval town (Cidade Velha) is
beautifully preserved. The walled portions of the old town is pretty quaint and
worth exploring. Look up to see the large stork nests on top of the major
sites.
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| Marina - Faro, Portugal |
Also,
wandering through Faro’s pedestrian-only alleyways passing by shops and
restaurants is fun. Faro’s main street leads off to other options. There are a
number of moderate priced restaurants surrounding Praca Ferreira de Almeida.
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View from Hotel Faro
of Bella Vista Hotel -
Praiada Rocha Beach |
We enjoyed
staying at the moderately-priced Hotel
Faro. It’s very centrally located in Faro’s medieval old town just minutes
walk to the old town, marina fish restaurants, and public transportation to
Faro’s beach and airport. The rooftop pool and restaurant offers wonderful
views of the old town and marina.
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Pat Loved Hotel Faro's
Beach Club - Faro Beach |
The Hotel Faro is a great place to put your feet up and
have a drink or meal. The breakfast offered in this restaurant is excellent.
The service at the Hotel Faro is very helpful explaining everything in perfect
English. For guests of the hotel, a free shuttle is offered to their exclusive
Beach Club on Faro Beach. It is a very nice place right on the beach with a
full bar and menu available. Beach towels are available at the front deck.
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| Beautiful Praiada Rocha Beach |
We also
wanted to stay at one of the smaller Algarve beach towns and were happy with
our choice of Praiada Rocha - one of
the Algarve’s best beaches with beautiful cliffs on all sides. Lounge chairs
and umbrellas are available for rent on near the ocean.
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| Praiada Rocha Beach - Portugal |
Because the beach at Praiada Rocha is so
big, even during the summer peak season there is room for everyone. The beach
has beach bars/restaurants that are great fun during the day. The town above is
lined with restaurants, cafes, bars, and shops for some good nighttime
entertainment.
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| Map of Portugal's Algarve |
The Algarve
has several cities, towns and villages including the region's capital city of
Faro. Other cities include Albufeira, Lagoa, Lagos, Loulé, Olhão, Portimão,
Quarteira, Silves, Tavira, and Vila Real de Santo António, in addition to
various summer retreats such as Praia da Rocha, Armação de Pêra, Alvor, Monte
Gordo, Tavira, Sagres, and Vilamoura.
Please see our other 5 travel blog posts for Portugal:
Lisbon, Portugal (Capital)
Porto, Portugal (one of our favorite places in Potugal)
Madeira, Portugal
Douro Valley (Portugal's premier port wine country)
Medieval Towns of Obidos, Aveiro, Figuerira da Foz, &Coimbra, Portugal
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Great guide to some of the best places in Portugal. I am visiting Portugal for a business trip on Portugal Visa Online next month. Though, the trip has been sponsored by our HOD, I would love to stay back for a few days & relish the beauty of Portugal beaches & its charming cities.
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