Contributed by golf travel expert, Andy Waple (see bio below). These days it’s hard to imagine the Algarve without golf, yet a ball was not struck on this sunshine coast until 1966, when the first of many Algarve golf courses was laid out at the newly-emerging Penina resort near PortimãoRead More →
Thanks to its inland location, Loulé has remained unscathed from the blight of holiday resorts that mar some of the coastal areas in the Algarve. What you’ll find here is a quiet, attractive town with a strong local community and plenty of culture and creativity. Here are some of the things to doRead More →
If you’re planning a trip to the southern region of Portugal, check out my insider Algarve tips before you book your holiday. Find out when to go, which are the best places in Algarve, what to pack, what to do and what Portuguese food to try. All the informationRead More →
I’ve been busy working on my plans for Portugal travel in 2018 and already have a long list of places to visit. If previous years are anything to go by, I probably won’t make it to all the destinations on my wish list this year but this post may inspireRead More →
It’s only when I stop and take a little while to look back on 2017 that I realise how many places in Portugal I visited last year. Some had been on my wish list for a very long time and others were return visits to familiar yet beloved destinations forRead More →
The charmingly rural village of Alte makes for a very pleasant day trip in the Algarve. As well as a riverside picnic area, cobbled streets and architecture with character, it also has a rich heritage of traditional crafts, especially those involving esparto grass. You’ll see evidence of local ceramic and pottery work in theRead More →
In search of the more cultural side of the Algarve, I discovered a sculpture garden amid the vineyards at Quinta dos Vales near Estômbar. Sculptures galore As soon as I saw the smooth shiny curves of the fat ‘Graces’ dancing, I knew I’d enjoy Karl Heinz Stock’s sculptures, which areRead More →
If you’re keen to escape bustling resort towns, the quiet fishing village of Salema in the western Algarve may be worth considering for your Portugal itinerary. Major international publications, including The Guardian and Rick Steves‘ travel guides, have lauded its charms so I went to see what all the fussRead More →
Castro Marim salt pans don’t only produce sea salt and flor de sal the traditional way; they’ve also turned a salt water pond into an outdoor spa experience. Here, you can soak in salt while being covered in gooey clay, one of the more unusual things to do in theRead More →