As an antidote to the dire weather the South West has been experiencing over the last weeks and months, we took a trip out to Albufeira in the Algarve for four nights.

I have never been interested in package holidays. In fact, I have actively resisted them. We did a Haven holiday to Brittany when I was in primary school, but that was the closest we came as a family. My friends spent summers in Portugal, Spain, and Gran Canaria in mega resorts, but that was my idea of hell. I much preferred exploring the countryside or visiting wineries (yes, even as a child I was fascinated by process – any factories, distilleries or the like) than sitting poolside with a thousand other Brits. So to say I was skeptical of a holiday in the Algarve on the south coast of Portugal was an understatement.

Fast forward to April 2024. We arrived at Faro airport after a smooth experience in Bristol (highly unusual as of late) and quickly met the easyJet holiday rep who introduced us to our driver. Our expectations were set low, having not holidayed in this manner before, and we were anticipating being bundled onto a coach. Nope. We were part of a group of seven and fitted comfortably into a minivan/people carrier. Albufeira is around 45 minutes from Faro airport and we arrived in on Tuesday evening. The weather was pleasant and sunny, around 20 degrees Celsius. We stayed at the Paladim Alagomar in an apartment which was much better than I was expecting for the price. We had a decently sized kitchen/living room and a bedroom which both opened onto a large balcony. There was no sea view but we were only ten minutes walk from the beach so it wasn’t exactly a deal breaker.

Our hotel was located about halfway between the “Strip” and Old Town, two of the main areas to explore in Albufeira. We spent the majority of our time in and around the Old Town which was around a fifteen minute walk away.

Most of the Old Town is what you’d expect from an old settlement in mainland Europe. Quaint narrow alleyways, cobbled streets, interesting passage and door ways, and some beautiful ceramic tile work. There was no shortage of stunning views either, looking out over the many beaches and across the Atlantic Ocean. That’s not to say it was all perfectly serene. Around the square in the Old Town there were a number of gaudy bars and restaurants clearly aimed at tourists with the promise of steaks and cheap beer. Needless to say, we stayed away and managed to have a (mostly) consistently good culinary experience.

We ate at Café Oceano by the Praia dos Pescadores (Fisherman’s beach) three times during our stay. It was impressive as we just happened upon it after giving up on our first evening and picking the best rated place in our immediate surroundings. The staff were very friendly and welcoming and sat us on a table with a great view of the beach (most of the tables have a decent view). I had sea bass on the first occasion which was excellent, and Sarah had a chicken salad which was an impresively large portion with beautifully cooked chicken. On the second visit we had the seafood cataplana, a traditional fish dish which consists of different kinds of shellfish in a white wine sauce. For the two of us, a cataplana including lobster was only €60. Cataplana is also the name of the metal dish in which the food is served and simultaneously kept warm at the table. And yes, I was tempted to bring one home but I couldn’t quite convince myself of the necessity of a large copper dish for day to day use. No two cataplana reicpes are identical, and can contain pork and any variety of seafood. On the last visit I had grilled sardines, a typical Algarve delicacy.

The Strip

Albufeira and the Algarve (from the Arabic, Al-Gharb, the west) have some fascinating history courtesy of the Romans and the Moors, but none of that will be found in the Strip. The Strip is a mile or so long and lined by bars and predominantly non-Portuguese restaurants with touts outside almost every establishment. If you take a walk down Rua da Oura you will be hassled, and some peope are quite forthwright about it. We visited in the evening before sunset, but the area has a reputation for antisocial behaviour once the sun goes down which was not something we were particularly interested in with a small child in tow. It was worth seeing for completeness but we didn’t stop in. We had found enough nice places to spend time without sitting in a generic bar with a bunch of obnoxiously loud tourists. I only say obnoxiously loud because we had the privilege of sitting beside a stag party at a restaurant in the Old Town, and other folks who feel the need to shout across each other at 3pm and to bathe the entire area in cigarette smoke. There was definitely the sense of behaviour that wouldn’t really be tolerated in the UK being acceptable because it’s a holiday destination. To counter that, unless you’re intending to join the madness, a mid-week break is probably the way to go.

Dolphins

The Algarve is home to one particularly sociable non-human mammal: the bottlenose dolphin! There are opportunities to see these amazing animals both in captivity and in the wild with boat tours departing from Albufeira marina. There’s no guarantee that you’ll see a dolphin, but we were lucky to see a few playing around the tour boats quite a distance from the shore. We also had the chance to see a dolphin show in Zoomarine which is a waterpark on the outskirts of Albufeira. The park was better organised than I had expected and not overwhelmed by visitors, although we were visiting off-peak and I expect it would be a lot busier in the summer months.

Out of my depth?

There is a dive shop in Albufeira marina who organise expeditions for all experience levels. I booked a try dive to get some real world experience of an area I have theoretically explored until this point. Unfortunately the wind picked up and the sea conditions were incompatible with a safe experience. That’s two strikes so far (the diving experiences I tried to book in Okinawa were unavailable due to a holiday period).

Wine Festival

Our visit happened to coincide with a wine festival, the Portuguese Wine Show. Entry was free, but for €5 you got a little pouch and tasting glass and could taste as much wine as you like (not as much as you can drink, the lady on the door emphasised to us). The hall (EMA in Albufeira) was filled with stalls representing different wine producers from all over Portugal with a fantastic range of wines including reds, whites, sparkling, and fortified wines including (obviously) port. Vinho Verde (“green wine”) which hails from the Minho province in Northern Portugal is a younger wine is one to try. We tried some white wine from Casa da Senra which has been in the same family since 1647 at a stall fronted by an enthusiastic brother and sister. It was delicious, and we ended up returning with two bottles, and a bottle of 20 year old port from a separate stall. The experience nicely rounded out the break, and we might end up visiting a vineyard next time we travel to Portugal.