Sign in with Facebook"So Far(o) , So Good" Top 5 Page for this destination Faro by Ekaterinburg
Faro Travel Guide: 230 reviews and 766 photos
Everyone knows Faro Airport. Thousands throng its arrivals and departure areas weekly and then vanish westwards to the heavily touristed beaches and golf clubs of The Algarve.
Big mistake !
The city of Faro is that rarest of things in The Algarve: a city that exists for its inhabitants to live and work in and not to serve the great deity of Tourism. It provides a perfect taste of many aspects of Portugese life, culture and cuisine. Small enough to walk everywhere, with an incredibly beautiful Old Town, a short break in Faro will leave you feeling very pleased with yourself for being smart enough to have turned east, rather than west as you left the airport. We spent five days there recently and I would have happily stayed for another week.
In this page I'll mention some highlights of the Old Town but the laid back pedestrianised town centre and the slightly more dilapidated but hugely atmospheric Moorish quarter were also very picturesque The harbour ranges from glitzy marina at the Hotel Eva side to far more down to earth fishing boats and activity at the old Town side. Circumnavigating it on a sunny morning( including a short hop across the railway bridge) was a lazy and pleasurable meander, including close encounters with the local insect life and an occasional cat.
I'll also look at some of the many side trips you can take from Faro, by bus, train and boat.
Coming from a grey Irish winter, the colours in Faro will blind you. First of all there's that strange yellow thing in the sky ??? I believe it's called the sun but I have so little exposure to it, I've almost forgotten what it looks like. Then there's the BLUEST of blue skies, the shimmer of aforementioned sun glinting on water and great balls of orange fire constantly assaulting your eyeballs. Streets lined with Orange trees should be compulsory in every town in the world. Sadly, they're not but Faro has the best I've seen so far.
Just behind Faro's marina/harbour is this amazing waterworld of lagoons, sandbanks and little islands that appear and disappear with the movement of the tides. You can take a boat trip here or hire a boat yourself and spot some wildlife. Visiting one of the islands between Faro and the sea, especially one of the more deserted ones, adds a whole extra dimension to a trip here.
- Pros:An authentic taste of Portugal with no mass tourism
- Cons:Quiet but for me that's really just another Pro.
- In a nutshell:Get there before it changes.
Reviews (16)
The Waterfront at Faro
Favorites
(2)
It's hard to know how to describe the waterfront at Faro. Part pleasure craft marina, part fishing boat harbour, it's... more travel advice
It's All In the Detail
Favorites
(2)
Faro's buildings absolutely delighted and intrigued me. This was my first trip to Portugal and I was amazed at how... more travel advice
Some culinary local customs
Local Customs
(1)
At every restaurant we visited in Faro there was a EUR 2 -3 cover charge per person and for this you get a delicious... more travel advice
Ilha Deserta : The southernmost point in...
Off The Beaten Path
(2)
The highlight of the Ria Formosa trip was a visit to one of the islands on the lagoon, the Ilha Deserta. This is... more travel advice
Ekaterinburg's Related Pages
-
Tarragona
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Estacar de la Duquesa
-
Granada
-
Casares
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Isla de Lanzarote
-
Lismore
-
Cork
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Kinsale
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Cobh
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Blarney Castle
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
County Kerry
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Luton
-
London
-
Oslo
-
Stockholm
-
Fyn
-
Trapani
-
Scopello Castellammare Del Golfo
-
Cefalú
-
Palermo
Faro Travel Guide
Member Travel Pages
- "Faro - Capital of the Algarve"
- "So Far(o) , So Good"
- "Faro."
- "Capital of the Algarve"
- "A Quick Taste of the Algarve"
- "EURO 2004"
- "FARO"
- See All...
Ekaterinburg
“Outside of a cat, a book is (wo)man's best friend.Inside of a cat, it's too dark to read. ( Apologies to G. Marx)”
- Member Rank:
- 0 0 1 9 3
- Forum Rank:
- 0 0 6 5 1
- 693 Reviews
- 1,536 Photos
- Add Friend
- Follow
- Send Message
Badges & Stats in Faro
- 16 Reviews
- 62 Photos
- 2 Forum posts
- 14 Comments
- 4,699PageViews
- See All Stats
- See All Badges (22)
Have you been to Faro?
Share Your TravelsLatest Activity in Faro
- Posted in Miscellaneous Forum "Re: Flickr"
- Commented on one of Ekaterinburg's Faro tips
- updated a Faro Travel Page "So Far(o) , So Good"
- Uploaded a Photo to "Fruit and Veg Heaven"
- Wrote a Review The Waterfront at Faro in Faro Favorites
Photos in Faro
See All Photos (62)
Top 10 Pages
-
Vienna
Intro, 56 reviews, 85 photos
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Rovinj
Intro, 28 reviews, 93 photos, 3 travelogues
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Cork
Intro, 45 reviews, 70 photos, 2 travelogues
-
Dresden
Intro, 23 reviews, 75 photos
-
Jerusalem
Intro, 21 reviews, 73 photos, 2 travelogues
-
Oslo
Intro, 22 reviews, 56 photos
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Faro
Intro, 16 reviews, 62 photos
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Kinsale
Intro, 28 reviews, 42 photos
-
Trieste
Intro, 16 reviews, 50 photos
-
Estacar de la Duquesa
Intro, 19 reviews, 44 photos
Friends
See All Friends (101)
Trains
Study Abroad
Arts and CultureLatest Faro hotel reviews
- Iberotel Praia Monte Gordo
- 53 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 16, 2013 - Tivoli Carvoeiro
- 408 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 12, 2013 - Pensao Residential Adelaide
- 20 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 27, 2013 - Apartamentos Vitoria
- 1 Review & Opinion
- Residencial Alfonso III Hotel Faro
- 12 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 12, 2012 - Monaco Hotel Faro
- 68 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 17, 2013 - Blue & Green Vilalara Thalassa Resort
- 88 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 5, 2013 - Residencial Algarve
- 122 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 17, 2013 - Dona Filipa & San Lorenzo Golf Course
- 146 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 17, 2013 - Pensao Central
- 2 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Sep 14, 2012 - Hotel Alnacir
- 12 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Jan 4, 2013 - Hotel Santa Maria
- 61 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 15, 2013 - Mestre D'Avis
- 28 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Mar 19, 2013 - Eva Hotel
- 319 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 19, 2013 - Hotel Faro
- 153 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 17, 2013
Comments (13)
Hey, Brill aerial shot! Yours???
This town sounds like it holds a lot of treasures to see and enjoy. Faro is one of those to savor the moments. YOu did a great job of describing the town and the pictures assist in the learning.
I know Portugal well but the South is still undiscovered. I wish to visit soon! Will you be also in Krakow and Sibiu? I will visit Lviv in February this year but not for the meeting in June. I will be in Krakow and Sibiu. :-)
I've never thought of going to Portugal, but your Faro page has had me salivating. I want to go there.
it looks like a lovely place
Lovely page! Great photos and informative tips. You'll be tempting me all over the world if I'm not careful! LOL!! Gillybob greetings
Katherine, thank you visiting my pages and your e mail. I saw your Faro doorknocker. This sort of doorknockers were so popular around Mediterrenean in 19th century. I like your Faro tips and photos too. Bora
Thanks for your BDay wish! See you soon in Cascais ;-)
Katherine, simply too good to describe! I never realized one could find such a haven on Algarve's eastern side. Your little pirate girl with one eye made me laugh, the off-shore islands & Local Customs were amazing, as was everything else....
K, oh, my, my, you sure outdid yourself this time, as well as everyone else on Faro. It truly is a great page and the pics are just as outstanding. Remarkable.