Holiday teen help

[onebusymum]

I am stuck for holiday ideas for this year, I have two boys (16 and 14) and a girl (6).
I really dont know where to go this year, the boys want somewhere with lots to do. They fancy Italy, but im not sure where.
Any ideas?

Budget?

What type of things do they want to do?

I live in Carvoeiro in the Algarve and it's a pretty good resort for teens - it's quite small so you can give them a bit of freedom without worrying about them getting lost but still lots to do like tennis, golf, water sports plus water parks for days out. Any good?

They like sports, football, tennis anything other than lying by the pool - unlike me!!
I need something for them and for my 6 year old daughter too!!
I will look at your resort costacoffeeplease.
Budget ish! Not really thought of prices yet.

Carvoeiro is more of an apartment/villa resort than hotel - although there are a few - it's worth looking at places within walking distance of the village - if you find anywhere that seems a possibility, send me a PM and I'll check out the location for you - some owners are a bit optimistic on how close they are

I can second Carvoiero...the boys can go off to the water park . We' ve stayed at Rocha Brava . There are tennis courts there. If you go in summer though it's very hot to play sports unless it's early morning

Ok ta Im just looking at Rocha Brava!!

We booked through Owners Direct for RB....we've been in a couple of nice villas there. Casa Diana is lovely and there's one with a pool which is fab. Massive.

Rocha brava is a nice resort (where we stayed on our first holiday back in the 80s!) but it's not walking distance of the village - there is a minibus that goes down a few times a day though

I'm looking for somewhere to go with teenage boys too. That sounds really good Costa how far are you from the nearest airport?

We're about 45 minutes from faro

Thanks ill look on owners direct. It came up on booking.com before you suggested it 😀

There's a thread here on short haul I think, that I started at the beginning of last summer - might be worth a read through for anyone thinking about Carvoeiro this year

Found it
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/shorthaul/2394670-Carvoeiro

I'm looking for a holiday with a teenager and younger child too. Thanks for the link to the other thread.

How expensive is Portugal for eating out/supermarkets? I ideally want to go self catering or bed and breakfast.

Well, there's something for all budgets, we can go to our 'local' have a main course, wine, beer, coffee and spend around 25€ for two - for a special occasion we'll go to a couple of our favourites and spend 60€+ for two

We have an aldi about 10 minutes by car, and several other supermarkets about the same distance if you've got a car and want to stock up (or a taxi will be about 5-10€). There are smaller corner shops in the village which will obviously be a bit more expensive, but usually have very good fruit and vegetables, then there's the food market up near monte dourado which is open roughly 8am- 1pm, there's a butcher, baker, fishmonger etc

Thanks Costa. So helpful.

No problem, we first came here in the late 80s and have lived here for 12 years now - I'm happy to answer any questions on the area

Thanks for your help Costa. Just waying up prices 😉

What's the public transport like? We don't want to go somewhere where a car is essential. Thanks

Taxis are cheap and plentiful, there's a taxi rank by the beach, and there are lots of places where you can arrange day trips to the water parks, or sightseeing.

There are buses up to the bus station in lagoa, from there you can get a bus to just about anywhere on the Algarve

If you just want to potter around, then look for accommodation within walking distance of the beach/restaurants etc eg Monte Dourado, Monte Carvoeiro, Colina Verde, Algar Seco, Areias dos Moinhos, parts of Quinta do Paraiso, Vila Nova

Do you have recommendations on who to fly with Costa?

It depends on your local airport - I would use skyscanner to search for the best airlines/dates - also look at different airlines for the outward and return journeys as you can sometimes get a better deal/better flight times that way

Just one warning on searching for accommodation - there are lots of places advertised as 'walking distance to beach and restaurants' but that may not mean Carvoeiro town beach and restaurants

I looked at an ad for someone on here last year, and yes you could walk to one beach and one restaurant from the villa, but it's not a child friendly beach, and it's one of the most expensive restaurants in the area - and a 15 minute drive to the village - so be careful to look at the maps supplied on the ads - or send me a PM and I'll check them out

Thanks. Just had a look and flights are coming in about £450 each at the end of May fron Manchester

That looks quite expensive, even if it is half term