1. Around Faro

At Faro Airport, sunny expectations become reality as you descend the gangway and inhale a heady cocktail of fragrant warm air spiced with jet-fuel.  Exchange big smiles with the Portuguese tarmac staff and your holiday has begun.
 
If you have time before heading off in either direction down the coast, think about starting your holiday in Faro itself.  The ancient city on the Ria Formosa estuary is walled and cobbled.  Take a coffee-shop stop and enjoy the rare ambience of the traffic-free square.  Savour the history – you can sense that people have been here before you for centuries.  The walls that surround you were originally Roman, now mostly medieval. Amble around the atmospheric alleyways with their iron-balconied houses and boutique shops.  The Cathedral of today, gilded and tiled, stands on the site of what was a Visigoth temple, followed by Roman one, and then by a Moorish Mosque.  There are interesting museums in the old town – the municipal museum, handicraft museum, archeological and maritime museum.  Do go to the art gallery on top of the city walls, even if just for the glorious view of the Ria Formosa and the ocean beyond.

‘Stop and consider the fate that awaits you’ says the sign above the Chapel of Bones behind the Church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo on the Largo do Carmo square.  The walls are lined with the bones of 1,200 monks – and you can feel the rickety alignment of your own bones as you take a bona fide tour.

2. Albufeira   

Twenty minutes’ drive west of Faro you will find lively Albufeira.  In the holiday season it is crowded, touristy and tattooed, with firework displays, air shows, fashion shows, music events and the celebrated night life concentrated around ‘The Strip’.  At more tranquil times it is a lovely old fishing village set in an astonishing location, with some good places to eat, intriguing architecture, and dream beaches on both sides of the town.  A cliff-top walk, or a boat trip, can both reward you with scenes of the sea seeping into secret coves and curling around extraordinary rock structures.

Around Albufeira there are some attractive areas to discover.  Galé is a select area near to one of the best beaches on the Algarve.  This place has all the fascinating features you would want for an exciting or relaxing holiday, with cliff-walking, sailing, cycling, horse-riding or golfing.  Nearby are all the bright attractions of prestige shops, cinemas, restaurants, water parks, an aquarium, a dive centre and even Sir Cliff Richard’s award-winning winery.

3. Loule

Loulé province is an area rich with golden gifts – gilded beaches, sunshine, ochre-coloured cliffs, juicy yellow oranges hanging in the orchards.  The hills and valleys are bountiful with glorious trees and you will discover amongst them the typical villages of the Algarve, with their white houses, latticed chimneys, vegetable gardens, palm-planted squares, glorious glazed tiles and laid-back lifestyle.

The town of Loulé, in the hills about 15km north west of Faro, is a market centre, famous throughout the Algarve for its fabulous Saturday market, held the first Saturday of every month, trading in local produce, such as cheeses, marzipan cakes, honey, fruits dried and fresh, together with handcrafts of leather, wood, pottery, copperware.  Potters, artists, saddlers, coppersmiths, woodworkers live in the enchanting small alleys of the town. In the hills of Loulé many internationals have bought villas and made lovely sub-tropical gardens around them.  They are blessed with a country life-style and within a short drive they can partake of all the exciting choices available on the famous Algarve coast – the beaches and golf courses at Vilamoura, Quarteira, Vale de Lobo and Quinto do Lago.

High up in the nearby mountains, situated on a bend in a river, and crossed by a Roman bridge, is the picturesque town of Alte.  With its pleasing rural architecture, bougainvillea-hung walls, painted, tiled doorways, and washing billowing from the flat rooftops, it is a breath of Real Portugal.  Alte is renowned for its folk music.  Thirsty people visit the town’s two freshwater mountain springs every day to drink deep.  It is a refreshing destination and has some pleasant restaurants.

At Paderme, on top of a deserted hill, lie the ruins of a 12th C Moorish castle.  It is one of the seven castles represented on the flag of Portugal.   

There are stalactite caves at Querença; a town known for its liqueurs, and at Salir, in green and pleasant countryside, there is a ruined castle with long Neolithic walls and impressive views of the rock-climbing and hiking paradise, the long high plateau of Rocha da Pena.

4. Olhão

Just 14 kilometres east of Faro is Olhão, a traditional working harbour, straight out of Old Portugal.   Proudly and traditionally an important player in the local fishing industry, Olhão is beginning to take on a new challenge - that of becoming a major attraction for local and international second-home buyers.  An energetic new life is being pioneered here, without sacrificing the revered and deeply treasured traditions of the past.  

Each morning you can follow the sounds of people calling, shouting and laughing, until you reach the famous and atmospheric fish market, held at the intriguing market building on the seafront. It also trades in fresh local fruit and vegetables.  During the summer there is a Seafood Fiesta, when stalls are set up, and to the background of band music and folk singers, all the local specialities are sold on the waterfront.  At any restaurant you will enjoy mouthwatering fresh fish and shellfish. 

The little white houses clustered around the town show off their Moorish influenced chimneys; there is a marina at present being enlarged, and the surrounding nature reserve, the Ria Formosa, with its estuarine waterways, islands and lovely beaches, beckons the visitor to explore. 

5. Fuseta

Not much further eastwards from Olhão, take an aqua taxi from the jaunty little harbour side at Fuseta, where it’s just a five-minute ferry ride to a wide white expanse of empty beach, gentle waves, and birdcalls over the Atlantic sea.  The town that serves this beach is a quaint, smaller version of Olhão, with a similar proud seafaring history.  It is a rather engaging, sugar-cube town, set high overlooking the sea, busy with fascinating waterfront activity and friendly people, and quickly becoming popular with international wanderers.  There are lots of bars and restaurants.

Nearby is Moncarapacho, an inland town, gifted with the beauty of the Algarvian shrublands, orange and olive groves, fig and almond trees that cloak the low wooded hills.

6. Tavira

Tavira is a treat - timeless and tranquil, for many it is the Algarve’s most scenic city with its magnificent old buildings, Moorish style latticed doors, windows and chimneys, its wide squares and the grand river, the Rio Gilão, crossed by a Roman Bridge.  The river leads out to the Ria Formosa and then to the Atlantic, with Tavira’s main beach being on the Ilha de Tavira. 

This is a place to embrace, to take advantage of walking tours (from the Tourist Office weekdays at 10 and 3) or wander up to the castle ruins overlooking the town, where you will find an elegant old garden, and where you will be rewarded with wide views of the estuary.  Watch the entertainment from the café terraces while you enjoy the local food, or to go to the ferry crossing point on the lagoon at Quatro Águas and choose a fresh seafood restaurant there, or perhaps take the boat across to Ilha de Tavira to enjoy the beaches and safe, refreshing swimming.  Or, you could just sit at a café under the palms and while away the time.  Whatever you do, Tavira will work its magic on you.

Between Tavira and Castro Marim, is the town of Cacela da Velha, with an 18C fortress overlooking a lagoon and the sandbar.  Not only does its heritage go back to the Phoenicians, but it now lays claim to having the best golf course in Portugal nearby, the Quinta de Cima course, ingeniously laid out amongst ancient olive, almond and carob trees, with running streams and a view of the sea.

Monte Gordo used to be a typical Algarve fishing village, but due to its phenomenally wide and white beach, it has become a haven for high-rise holidays and over-wintering of Northern Europeans who migrate here annually, at about the same time as the birds.  It has a casino, disco and of course wall-to-wall restaurants and beach bars, serving international fast foods as well as delicious local dishes. 

Praia Verde is a resort just a short drive further east.  It is on elevated ground which makes for good views of the Atlantic.  There is a lovely beach, sand dunes, pine trees and a very good restaurant. 

7. Castro Marim

Castro Marim is named for the castle set on a hill, where since Neolithic times there has been a stronghold in this strategic position, keeping constant watch for approaching vessels, quick to warn whether friend or foe.  The castle has been home to the Knights Templar and is also famous for being a refuge for people who escaped the Spanish Inquisition.  It is in fact two castles in one – there is an inner and outer castle and it is all well worth-while exploring.  A fine medieval fair is held there every August, with minstrels, jesters, traditional food from the Middle Ages, falconry, music and dancing. 

There is a 16th century fort on the side of the town opposite the castle.  All the surrounding area is protected nature reserve, and on the migration path of thousands of birds through the season.  Flocks of flamingoes are a stunning sight, especially if seen from the castle or the fort.  The interesting and historic town of Villa Real de San Antonio is a neighbour of Castro Marim, with harbour, restaurants, many shops and grand squares.   Across the impressive bridge over the Guadiana are all the delights of Spain’s Costa de la Luz, beginning with popular Ayamonte, a treasure of a town waiting to be explored. Within an hour and a half you can be in Seville, one of Spain’s most exciting cities.  Castro Marim may be at the very end of the Eastern Algarve, but those who make the journey will be richly rewarded.