"Quarteira - Well located Algarve beach resort" Quarteira by Willettsworld

Quarteira is located about 16km (10 miles) west of Faro and dates back at least to Roman times. King D. Dinis granted Quarteira its charter on 15th November 1297 and it became a city in 1999. From a simple fishing village, Quarteira has become one of the major tourist centres in the Algarve, famous for its golden beaches, its high quality of fish and for its woods of stone pine.

During my 5 days in the Algarve (which I took the train from Lisbon down to), I based myself here as its pretty central along the coast which was handy for exploring by car and also close to Faro airport. There's very little to do in Quarteira itself apart from going on the lovely beach. So if you want to see some sights, then it's best to hire a car or take a bus along to nearby Faro or venture further afield to Tavira, Lagos or Silves. Quarteira caters purely to package holiday tourists and ex-pats who live here for the better climate and way of life and all of this is reflected in the range of restaurants that can be found along the beach front. As far as nightlife goes, there really isn't much apart from a few bars. Generally speaking, tourists that stay here are in their 50's or 60's or have young families and so if you're a lot younger and hunger for some wild action, then this isn't the place for you. For me, I would've liked a bit more character, history and nightlife but it proved a pleasant enough stay.