Winter sunshine in Europe? – it’s out there!
It’s the first weekend in February though, so where can you go that is not too far to travel, and where there is a good chance of having some nice weather. Well, it seems the Algarve in Portugal might just be the place. Flights from the UK to Faro are around 2-3 hours, and at this time of year, offer excellent value for money. We flew, with 2 friends, from Bristol, on a very early Friday morning flight, along with golfers, second homers and general sun-seekers. It was very easy, and it was great to walk off the aircraft and feel the sun on our faces. It was 18 degrees and only 10 o’clock in the morning!
We had chosen to stay in a lovely nearby fishing port called Olhao and had booked a lovely 2-bedroom apartment in the centre of town for less than £70 per night. An absolute bargain! As it’s the off-peak season, there are some amazing deals you can get with apartments, houses and even a 5* spa hotel for around £100 per night.
Despite it being the depths of winter, though still warm and sunny, we were amazed at how many cafes, bars and restaurants were open, and were thriving. Being winter as well, it was also noticeable how low the prices were for everything. Apparently, the prices shoot up in the busier summer months.
By lunchtime on Friday, we were all sat at a waterside café, sun cream on our faces, with a lovely cup of coffee and a plate of the obligatory delicious Portuguese custard tarts – Pasteis de Nata. The Portuguese people are by nature some of the friendliest, welcoming in the world, and with-it being a less frenetic time of year, all the staff in cafes and restaurants made the whole experience wonderfully relaxing.
Admittedly, some tourist attractions are still closed for the winter season, but in this area even in February, there is still plenty to do and see. Local transport is cheap and reliable, so it would be well worth a visit to the nearby charming town of Tavira, with its cobbled streets and fascinating architecture. We opted to take a ferry out to one of the islands that lie offshore, Ilha da Cultara, just a 20-minute crossing away. With its white, sandy beaches, quaint fishing huts and lovely cafes serving proper locally cooked food, it was well worth the journey.
As it was the weekend, we also headed for local food markets. The range and freshness of the products on offer put our trips to the local supermarkets to shame. It’s all supplied and sold by the locals as well. In Olhao one enormous building houses an incredible variety of fresh fish and shellfish. From massive crabs, tasty looking Langoustine through to whole tuna fish, the sight and smell is amazing. We then popped next door to see all the fresh meats, fruit, vegetables, and local delicacies, before settling down for yet another delicious coffee and pastries.
In the evenings, there were plenty of restaurants open, where the food was plentiful, offering various culinary delights from local, freshly landed fish, to exotic Indian curries. We tried it all. For my wife’s birthday we had a lovely meal with fish kebabs and stews, and they even provided a birthday cake, with the whole restaurant singing and cheering a ‘Happy Birthday’.
All in all, flying just over 2 hours to this wonderful part of Europe offered us great value for money, and a brilliant way to recharge the batteries ready to get through the rest of a British winter and look forward to sunnier times ahead.