The Algarve
- adriennevolk
- Jun 10, 2022
- 2 min read
Rest your head
Finding a high quality hotel in the Algarve is not the easiest task. From what I understand from northern locals, the region continues to work to achieve high quality hotel service. During the summer, hotels book quickly because it's a very common destination for Europeans who are on summer holiday.
Choosing a town: through all of my research I heard and read great things about Lagos, Sagres, Portimao and Vilamoura. We choose Vilamoura because it was only a 20 minute taxi from the Faro Airport (FAO) and it had a nice mix of beach and nightlife. The other towns are further west from the airport and therefore, will be more expensive to reach them unless you rent a car. We did not opt to rent a car. While I liked Vilamoura, I would probably explore further down the coast the next time and I would only stay in Vilamoura two to three nights.
The Lake Resort was a very high quality hotel with excellent service. Everyone spoke English but the resort was filled with people from all around Europe primarily. It is situated on a lake with a lovely, man made beach built into its pool that is adjacent to the lake. Just over the lake and a short ten minute walk, you can reach the Mediterranean sea.
Adventure
Walk around the harbor at night. There are countless restaurants and bars including places with live music. There is fun nightlife in Vilamoura.
Take a catamaran boat ride – you can sign up for a ride in the harbor- to the lovely coastal rock formations. We went with the tour company Catamaran Vital/Cruzeiros de Vilamoura that allows you to swim in the area around the formations and took you inside the rock formations on a dinghy. A 3 hour cruise and swim is about 20 Euro.
Culinary Delights
There's a delicious Thai restaurant called Thai Beach Club (Tabuinhas) right on the beach outside of the Lake Resort. I normally wouldn't eat Thai food but it had a gorgeous view of the ocean and the sunset at night. It did not disappoint. Not only was the food good, but the staff was incredibly friendly and there was a great ambiance.
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