"A place where the sun shines and time stays still." Portugal by Markyreid
Portugal Travel Guide: 19,532 reviews and 55,010 photos
We stayed in Albuferia for a week of relaxing and sun bathing. Albuferia is located in the Algarve (southern part of Portugal) and is dominated by built up resorts and tourist, particularly British ones, most of which get extremely burnt! The beauty about this part of Portugal was that we could enjoy the comforts that resorts offer, but at the same time we were only a short drive from the traditional lifestyle of local people. On our first day we ventured into the surrounding hillsides and were stunned by the remoteness that we felt just an hour out of the resort area. The locals only spoke their national tongue and appeared to live a very different style of life that we are used to seeing. The photo opposite was taken in a small town of the N2 highway, i think it may have been Almodovar. It was common to see many of the locals being transported on vehicles that they had modified to carry either fresh goods or extra passengers. Obviously, they did not go very fast, but based on the pace of life we observed, this would matter very little.
The algarve region is so popular with tourist because of its stunning beaches and sunny weather. There were endless opportunities to take photos of beautiful beach scenes. This beach was located, if my memory is correct, in the town of Portimao.
Initially, i felt the local people of the small towns were rude and disinterested in tourist. However, as time went by i think it was the fact that we went to some of the more remote towns that they were not used to seeing tourist at all and were probably taken back by it. When we visited places that were more likely to have had tourist there previously we found the locals to be very polite, friendly and helpful. They did not pressure us into spending money, but simply showed what they had on offer. If you do plan on visiting the more remote areas of Portugal then i suggest that you learn the Portugese language so that you can have a conversation with the locals in their native, and usually only, tongue.
- Pros:sunny weather, great resorts, unspoilt local towns
- Cons:not a lot of exciting things to do.
- In a nutshell:great place to unwind and catch some sun.
Reviews (13)
Cataplana
Restaurants
(5)
I am pretty certain that this was the name of a restaurant we went to on the wharf in Faro. it is located on the very... more travel advice
Faro Church
Things to Do
(4)
This church is located near the coast, right next to the large public carpark. It cost a couple euro each to access the... more travel advice
Tourist Strip Cuisine in the Albuferia
Restaurants
(5)
We ate out in the local strip for a number of meals and had a mixed experience. The food was generally good and at a... more travel advice
Fresh Oranges
Off The Beaten Path
(1)
If you rent your own car while in Portugal then venturing into the remote parts becomes very easy. Along the smaller... more travel advice
Travelogues (2)
- 1
Portugal Travel Guide
Member Travel Pages
- "Portugal in my heart"
- "Portugal my lovely country"
- "Portugal"
- "Wonderful Portugal"
- "portugal"
- "Portugal by Car"
- "Portugal - Country of Batles"
- See All...
Explore the World
Badges & Stats in Portugal
- 13 Reviews
- 30 Photos
- 0 Forum posts
- 1,089PageViews
- 0 Cities
- See All Stats
- See All Badges (3)
Have you been to Portugal?
Share Your TravelsLatest Activity in Portugal
- Wrote a Review Cataplana in Portugal Restaurants
- Uploaded a Photo to "Cataplana"
- updated a Portugal Travelogue "Local people"
- Posted in Travel Europe Forum "Travel through Europe during summer"
Top 10 Pages
-
Portugal
Intro, 13 reviews, 30 photos, 2 travelogues
-
Paris
Intro, 7 reviews, 32 photos, 4 travelogues
-
London
Intro, 5 reviews, 27 photos, 3 travelogues
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Broadway
Intro, 5 reviews, 21 photos, 2 travelogues
-
Offida
Intro, 4 reviews, 21 photos, 3 travelogues
-
Isla de Tenerife
Intro, 1 review, 20 photos, 2 travelogues
-
Bali
Intro, 2 reviews, 11 photos, 1 travelogue
-
Wales
Intro, 3 reviews, 10 photos, 1 travelogue
-
Brugge
Intro, 5 reviews, 8 photos
-
Kangaroo Island
Intro, 4 reviews, 9 photos
Top Portugal hotels
- Albufeira Hotels
- 360 Reviews - 664 Photos
- Lisbon Hotels
- 5121 Reviews - 12639 Photos
- Funchal Hotels
- 500 Reviews - 1020 Photos
- Alvor Hotels
- 126 Reviews - 363 Photos
- Porto Hotels
- 1003 Reviews - 2562 Photos
- Cascais Hotels
- 450 Reviews - 2297 Photos
- Faro Hotels
- 230 Reviews - 766 Photos
- Tavira Hotels
- 194 Reviews - 385 Photos
- Ponta Delgada Hotels
- 118 Reviews - 314 Photos
- Estoril Hotels
- 61 Reviews - 351 Photos
- Portimão Hotels
- 66 Reviews - 241 Photos
- Quarteira Hotels
- 24 Reviews - 62 Photos
- Óbidos Hotels
- 353 Reviews - 896 Photos
- Póvoa de Varzim Hotels
- 9 Reviews - 11 Photos
- Lagos Hotels
- 244 Reviews - 621 Photos

Comments (2)
I've been to Portugal a few times, but still yet to see the Algarve - it looks very beautiful. Are you still living in Reading, or are you back in Aus now?
Mark, a beaut page on Portugal !! I'm glad to see that the two of you really got into it. It was especially nice to see the 'donkey man' once again! I had to laugh at your Piri-Piri restaurant tip - my favourite too! Excellent stuff here!