Portugal (Algarve) in October/November

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So we decided not to book a holiday abroad this summer and now my DH & I have FOMO.

We’re looking into Oct half term for a holiday but the Canary Islands where we’ve been before at that time are crazy expensive - hotels we’d visited in both Gran Canaria and Tenerife have jumped from £4.5 -4.8k (2018/2019) for 4ppl, 7 nights, half board to £7.5 - 8.5k.

That’s just not feasible for us at the moment but we noticed that there are holidays this Oct half term in the Algarve for £3k - £4k for the above (4ppl, 7 nights, half board).

Clearly the price suggests the weather won’t be as good / will be less reliably dry/ warm but I just wondered if anyone has experience of the Algarve at that time of the year?

Would pool all day still be possible at that time of year usually, or would it be too cold? I noticed the weather app suggested the average is 20 dry days in November - is this likely to mean lots of rain, or just intermittent showers? Any advice / recommendations welcome. TIA

There will be people who have had glorious weather in the Algarve in November but it's very unreliable. If you don't want a pool / beach holiday it would be fine. If you want hot sun and swimming then that's why the Canaries are more expensive.
I've been to Algarve several times in June / July and the sea and swimming pools were cold. It's the atlantic coast so never quite as hot as the Med.

Not hot and and very shut down.
Malta or Marrakesh would be a better bet.

Canaries is expensive that time of year because of the weather. In my experience it will be chilly in Portugal and unless you have a heated pool the kids won't want to go in it. Could you look at south east Spain? I've been to Murcia region end Oct early Nov and had gorgeous weather. You could get a holiday rental and separate flights but might not be the type of holiday you're looking for?

It'll all be closed down for off season and weather dodgy

The Algarve in October should be warm during the day but nights will be chilly (not cold - sweater rather than coat weather).

No, it really won't!

We've been to the Algarve twice in earlier October and the temperature has been in the mid to high 20s with only the occasional cloudy day. I would imagine that it will be early 20s later in October.

We go to Albuferia in the October half term week every year. We prefer out of season when it's quieter.

We have had some really sunny days and occasional wet patches. The sun still shines and people are in the pools and swimming in the sea.

The season is winding down but there is plenty open that time of year.

It's much cheaper at that time of year. We've never paid £3-£4k for a week and you can get better deals booking flight separately and hotels via bookings.com or Expedia. Car hire is reasonable out of season and Ubers are very accessible.

Eating out is reasonable and I would recommend you do that over half board. There is plenty of supermarkets within reasonable walking distance from most hotels.

Thanks for the info - I knew it would be colder/ less reliable weather but was wondering what it’s usually like at that time of the year. Same as you often hear people say that visiting certain destinations during the rainy / off-season is worthwhile.

TBH, Canary islands weren’t especially hot, mainly being 22 - 27 the times we visited, but we were pretty much guaranteed good weather. I just think a price jump of 3 - 4k is a bit crazy.

The prices for holidays are higher due to our starting location. But separate flights and hotel/ apartment would be even more expensive. I’d already checked and flights to Alicante are £2k for the 4 of us for that week. The Canary Islands would be 3.5k - 4.5k for flights alone.

We might just have to resign ourselves to skipping a sunny holiday this year and book for the first week of July next year - it’s a little less crowded before the English schools get their holidays 😀 (unfortunately, not any cheaper though).

I live in the algarve, and October half term is very much hit and miss. I think last year was nice, but the sea and pools will be too cold for swimming, unless the pool is heated. Most places don’t wind down until after half term, so that shouldn’t be an issue (certainly where I live)

https://www.tui.co.uk/holidays/weather/europe/portugal/algarve/november.html

Tui is pretty helpful on this type of query.

we’ve done Spain at oct half term and the sea is warm but too cold for the pools

if you do go to the Algarve, check that the hotel pool is open. Some shut down out of season as we found once at Easter - when it was scorching.

What about Crete or Rhodes? Weather is usually good (although pools might be a bit cold), and they tend to shut down after UK a half term so plenty open.

Yeah, I’d already checked both Tui and Jet2’s weather info for that time, but I figure it’s always worthier hearing about personal experiences. Thanks.

Are you sure all of Canary Islands are that pricey? We're going to Costa Adeje Gran in October school holidays HB for 8 nights around £4k with Easyjet holidays, and could have gone Seaside Los Jameos AI for £5k for same period- mind you we are in Scotland and get 2 weeks off which makes a difference.

Some of my friends had suggested Turkey for a cheaper option that's still warm. We didn't opt for that in the end as the pools aren't heated which is a big must for me, but worth a look maybe.

My record for swimming in the Algarvian sea is late October, and late November for an unheated pool. I’m quite hardy though - it’s certainly not ‘lounging round the pool in your cozzy all day’ weather.

It can be a lovely time of year for pottering round in warm sun, or a total wash out. It doesn’t really shut down though as so many people go for golf rather than sun holidays.

Rubbish. I have lived here for years and it’s definitely not closed down then!!

In October the weather in the Algarve is usually on the turn. More often than not it will still be warm and sunny, but expect some heavy rain and thunderstorms, especially after mid October. The Canaries might be more expensive but the weather is pretty much guaranteed there.

If you do Portugal look for one with an indoor pool in case it's cold, a lot do have them

@rookiemere the Costa Adeje hotel we stayed at previously is showing up as 8.9k to go on the Sat and 7.8k going on the Sun for 7 nights half board (only 1 week half term here) - it was a nice hotel but definitely not worth anywhere near that price. We’re in NI so holidays are pricier than from most parts of England and Scotland.

We’ll take another look at the Canaries but might try and find one to Morocco as well. I think we’ll keep Portugal for a different time - we’d like to see some sunshine and have pool time, even if not loads so the risk of it being really bad weather probably isn’t worth the cheap prices.