Carvoeiro- Portugal anyone?

[tryingtobeablogger]

Has anyone been to Carvoeiro in Portugal and can recommend things to do/see and places to eat?

Thank you 🤍

[Geamhradh]

There is a Mumsnetter who lives there. Not sure if she is still around, she's very helpful
@costacoffeeplease
(Not sure if that will work- you could try and PM her)
Beautiful area.

[Costacoffeeplease]

Hi. Yes I live in Carvoeiro, what would you like to know?

[Geamhradh]

Yay! It worked!
hope you are well.

[Costacoffeeplease]

Yes fine thanks

[loopsngeorge]

We stayed at quinta do paraiso in Carvoeiro 5 years ago and have our fingers crossed that we will get there again next Sunday! Costacoffee was a mine of information! There are loads of great restaurants, but I'm not sure how the current restrictions and curfew are affecting them. Its a very scenic town and the beach is lovely. I'm afraid we didn't venture very far last time, but we are going to visit Lagos this time, which is meant to be lovely.

[tryingtobeablogger]

I'm so sorry for the late reply!

Thank you so much for replying.

We would just like some hidden gem restaurants or a fab Indian, Italian and Chinese.

Is there anything we should do or shouldn't do?

We've heard so many great things about Carvoerio 🤍

[devildeepbluesea]

Go to Chef's Kitchen to eat. Best meal I had on holiday in years!

[devildeepbluesea]

@loopsngeorge Lagos is my favourite town in the world. Been going there on and off over 30 years, it's my ambition to retire there (yeah thanks Brexit, that one's off the table now).

I hope you enjoy!

[Costacoffeeplease]

Unfortunately we don’t have any Chinese restaurants open at the moment

For Indian I would say Pashmina, near Rocha Brava, or O Indiano in the village

For Italian, Bella Vita on Clube Atlantico is a definite, but also for just pizza, Mirage, in the village

Do go on the cave boat trips if you’re ok with small boats
Do try an ice cream at Gelados e Companhia
I haven’t tried it yet, but the Tapas restaurant to the left of the beach is supposed to be good
For traditional Portuguese go to A Fonte, just up some steps on the right before the chemist
A Vela is also good
Do take a trip to Silves if you’ve got a car
Jan’s in the square do good Indonesian food
Taste, at the end of the out road, have different things going on eg Mexican night, tapas rodízio where they just keep bringing various tapas dishes for 15€ a head (usually a Friday night) Saturday steak night and sometimes brunch on Sunday, also traditional Sunday roast
Centeanes is a bigger beach near Rocha Brava with a nice restaurant/beach bar cut into the cliff above the beach
The Carvoeiro Plaza and Tivoli hotels both have rooftop bars

Where are you staying?

[Home06]

Thank you @Costacoffeeplease for your tips as we are going to Carvoeiro next week. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good car hire company at Faro airport please?

[omgthepain]

I've been there on holiday but we self catered in a villa but it was absolutely amazing

[Costacoffeeplease]

I think a lot of people use Zit Autos but I would ask on one of the cvo fb pages as we don’t hire cars ourselves

[MorningNinja]

Cocktails on the Tivoli rooftop bar.

We also did a paddle boarding tour at a beach close by. Got picked up from our villa and they took us there. I highly recommend that!

[Home06]

Great, thank you.

[jasminelily11]

Hi @Costacoffeeplease I am not sure you still check messages here, but would be helpful to have any info on Pestana Palm Gardens. Or any other recommendations for staying close to the centre and beach without the need for a car. Would you recommend Vilamoura equally? Sorry, lots of questions! Many thanks!

[Costacoffeeplease]

Hi. I’m still here 😊

You would need a car if you stayed at Palm Gardens.

The best places to stay without a car are -
Monte Dourado, Monte Carvoeiro, Colina Verde, Algar Seco, Areias dos Moinhos, parts of Quinta do Paraíso, Monte Santo, Vila Nova

Happy to advise on any places that you find for rent, if you want to PM links.

[Costacoffeeplease]

Personally I’m not keen on Vilamoura, I feel that you could be anywhere, but I know lots of people like it. It has the marina and lots of golf and other sports facilities but a bit lacking in character

[mirmc]

Hi Costacoffeeplease, I love reading your tips and restaurants recommendations. Could you please tell me if you can snorkel in Carvoeiro, or is the current too strong? TIA

[Costacoffeeplease]

Thank you 😊

I don’t think I’ve seen many snorkellers off carvoeiro beach, it’s quite busy in summer with the cave boats in and out, and the waves are usually quite strong. It might be better off of a bigger beach like Praia Grande, or a quieter one like Molhe?

[Costacoffeeplease]

For anyone planning a trip to Carvoeiro there is a new restaurant on the in road which is really nice. It’s called Etxea and is a different type of place to many others in the village. The chef/patron, Tomé, specialises in fresh local produce and traditional Portuguese and Galician dishes. Best to book in high season, and on the more expensive side, but worth it.

[jasminelily11]

Thank you, you’re a 🌟 if you didn’t already know that!! I’m still looking at accommodation so I’ll dm once I’ve short listed.

[tryingtobeablogger]

After I posted this we’ve been a further 2 times and have just booked to return next year. I know you’re asking for accommodation (I think) but we found some amazing restaurants -

jotalita - amazing for fish. A small family run business so booking is a must but it’s one of our top faves.
chefs kitchen - also need to book. The ribs are incredible.
wolf - nice for steak, lovely setting.
mama Mia - lovely Italian! Lasagne is amazing
cocktail garden - amazing cocktails and they give you little games to play with which is fun
Pani - the most amazing Indian. Ask for upstairs in the terrace because it has a lush view of the sea.
O Rafaoil - salmon and prawns are amazing. Another (I think) family run restaurant, really lovely setting

best to book tables as they are fairly popular and get booked up. Hope this helps someone 🥰

[tryingtobeablogger]

@Costacoffeeplease

For anyone planning a trip to Carvoeiro there is a new restaurant on the in road which is really nice. It’s called Etxea and is a different type of place to many others in the village. The chef/patron, Tomé, specialises in fresh local produce and traditional Portuguese and Galician dishes. Best to book in high season, and on the more expensive side, but worth it.

This is handy I'll add it to our list thank you 🩷

[sheepdreams]

Hi Costacoffeeplease

I have been reading your advice which is invaluable. I am planning on a 3 week holiday to Portugal but won’t have a car. I was wondering if you could recommend the best are to stay that has accessibility to good transport links. I would like to be able to explore Portugal by rail/bus. I also love walking to places and will be with my husband so don’t mind walking a few miles.

Access to good eateries would also be fab. I’m not asking for much! I would really appreciate your advice.

[Costacoffeeplease]

Public transport is good between cities but not so good on a local level. There is a train service along the algarve but it is slow and fairly infrequent. There are also buses along the algarve, but they’re also quite slow and the timetables change often.

Lisbon and Porto are obviously the best transport hubs. In the Algarve, maybe Lagos would be best

We have friends who visit regularly for 3-6 weeks at a time without a car and they are always out and about, mostly on buses. They stay in carvoeiro, get the bus to lagoa, and then buses across the algarve

cp.pt is the train website and there are several bus companies eg rede expresso, vamus, flixbus