Summer Break to Portugal

Nigel has asked me to do the holiday feedback for you:

We liked the general area, but the actual village left a lot to be desired. The main part of the village was a busy main road, with just a few local shops within walking distance. There were some side streets which had a couple of nicer restaurants, which we used a three or four times, but although it was said to be within walking distance from our villa, it was rough, uneven, unlit pavements, and then a section of busy main road without a pavement, so not really suitable to walk at night. We ate out on several evenings but felt that we would prefer to drive.

Within about 10 mins drive there was a large shopping complex with a big supermarket. We also found a great Go Kart track back near Faro, which Daniel loved!

The actual villa itself was lovely: very clean - and a very well-equipped kitchen if you like to cook (which I do) - the sort of place where you could actually live! The pool was clean, and had plenty of sunbeds around it, and we were provided with pool towels. The pool and villa were cleaned regularly to a high standard.

I think the biggest disappointment was the proximity of a dual carriageway to the villa - within 100m - and probably less. And let me tell you, those Portuguese truck drivers use their horns a lot! It wasn't quite so bad by the pool as you had a fence around it, but up by the villa and particularly the dining area outside, you were on a level with that road, and at times it was very noisy. Especially noticeable when you come from Devon - like moving to a city! If you look on Trip Advisor it mentions 'a bit of road noise': well, in August, it's a lot! For me, this was the low point of the holiday - I wanted a quiet break, and the road noise really spoiled this experience.

The car hire worked well, and we were able to access many beaches from this area - lovely and sandy, with lots of space: the Portuguese system of some areas for sunbed hire, other areas for towels and umbrellas works really well, and we found some lovely beach restaurants for lunches.

Would we go back to Portugal: yes. Would we go back to this place: definitely no.

Hope this helps with your 'places to recommend'!

Jackie