Algarve

[frazzled74]

I'm looking at booking a hotel or villa in the Algarve for next year.can anyone give me advice please? Will it be hot enough to swim in May or should I pay more and go in July? Also , where would be a good base, I would like a beach within walking distance, relaxed atmosphere, but near enough to be in reach of a town or city by bus. I would also like to visit the zoo marine park so need to be able to get there without hiring a car. So far I'm considering Carvoeiro, luz or Lagos .

May is perfect on the Algarve as not as busy as August but lovely and warm.

We love Alvor and Lagos but always hire a car so can't recommend anywhere close to a beach.

Thank you, I haven't looked at Alvor.

Alvor is lovely

Has anyone stayed in prainha village in Alvor? It looks like it would suit us but just wondering if it's a bit out of the way?

It is a bit out from the town but the beach there is stunning.. Google pictures of Praia Tres Irmaos to see pics of it.. We rented an apartment at Alto Club Which is near the town but drove up to that beach most days

It looks stunning. Do you think the 30minute walk to town is accurate?

That's about right.. I think there are 4 restaurants on site at Prainha. Then always the option of walking into Alvor some evenings and getting a taxi back (about 5 euro). Reviews of Prainha are good on tripadvisor

Praia da Luz is lovely- I have a place there; it's my second home! Big enough to have a decent number of restaurants but small enough to have retained its villagy feel. Lovely main beach and another smaller one. Around 50 mins from Faro by car straight down the A22 (I can highly recommend a local car hire place if you are interested.)

Lots of lovely beaches further west to explore if you have a car (Zaviel, Ingrina, Salema, Martinhaal) and Sagres and Cape Vincent are pretty spectacular. Zoo marine is about 35 mins by car. Lagos is 10 mins away- a lovely town with lovely restaurants, quaint streets and little shops. Also a sweet little zoo. Some beautiful walks up on the cliffs to the east towards Lagos and the west to Burgau.

If you don't want to hire a car then there are very good links bus services to Lagos, Zoomarine and water parks such as Slide and Splash. I can recommend "Yellowfish" as a very good transfer service from Faro airport.

I was there last week and the weather was perfect. Hot and sunny with a bit of a breeze during the day and a bit cooler at night. May/ June is a good time to go as it's not too busy even in half term week. The beach gets a bit crazy in August (we tend to drive a bit further west for slightly less busy beaches in Aug) but out of school holidays should be fine.

I'm thinking Praia da luz would be better, I have been before and loved it but was ill so didn't venture out much , I was thinking it would be a bit difficult to go anywhere by public transport but looking online, the buses are quite good. The only thing is I would probably like an indoor pool in case the outdoor pools are too cold for swimming .

Quite a few of the villas do have heated pools but I am not sure you would find a villa with an indoor pool. Estrela, has one (lovely complex!) and Baia has an outdoor heated pool not sure about the Ocean Club.

Thank you purple, heated pool would be better than indoor, I hadn't thought of that.

Alvor is fantastic, we had several holidays there when DC were younger. It has long wide beautiful beaches and big crashing waves. The town has cobbled streets and lovely restaurants.
However, the Algarve is on the Atlantic, not the Med. The sea is brisk in August. The hotel pool was also too cold for me in August though DC managed it. So if there is such a thing as a heated outdoor pool you'd need it in May.
I prefer hotels to villas simply because DC usually used to make friends with other children.

We were on the beach below prainha all Easter. We took the lift up to their outside pool several times. It is stunning.

This is the beach at Alvor also taken this Easter. This was about 6pm.

That is a stunning photo , I think that may have made my mind up, thank you!

Canico is the beach bar below Prainha and one of my favourite places of all time. I will stop photo bombing you now. Just love the Algarve so much. Have a great time wherever you decide to go.

We did Praia da Luz and Lagos a coupe of years ago. Absolutely loved it. A week in each. We were there in August - v hot during the day, but v windy at night. Most restaurants provide blankets, though. The water, however, is freezing, obviously. Lovely holiday.

I've loved the photos, thank you! I haven't booked yet as still need to work out when we will all be able to get away, and for how long! But I've chosen my destination , it looks so lovely, and the beach bar is just what I want on a holiday.