Author Topic: Portugal  (Read 4589 times)

Mongoose

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Portugal
« on: October 31, 2016, 07:25:29 AM »
I have an opportunity to take a trip to Portugal. It's in late March and my airfare and the hotel and my expenses would be covered. The hotel is in Albufeira (a coastal city in the southern Algarve region; nearest airport is Faro). I want to take my family (DH and kids ages 5 and 7). We would be in that hotel for 3-4 days and would like to extend the trip a bit to see more.

Pertinent background on us:
- We are comfortable driving in Europe (have driven in the UK, including in London, and Ireland) and in places where we can't read all the road signs. Manual transmissions are not a problem. We have also traveled around some of Europe via rail/public transportation.
- We are fairly easy going travelers (finding accommodations as we go instead of booking ahead is comfortable for us). We stay in inexpensive to moderate hotels or hostels and buy food in grocery stores for picnics over eating in restaurants. We usually only take carry-on luggage.
- The kids have traveled extensively with us in the U.S., including long car and plane trips.
- DH and I have not been to Portugal or Spain. The kids have not been to Europe. I speak a bit of Spanish and no Portuguese.
- We live in a very rural area and enjoy parks, hiking and history. The kids have not been to a big US city and would likely find them a bit intimidating at first.
- Our 7 year old cannot eat gluten (celiac). My understanding is that Portugal might be fairly easy to navigate with this restriction?

My questions:

1. What would be the top recommendations of things to see in Portugal (especially for the littles)? We prefer less touristy/less expensive experiences (Rough Guide instead of Viking Cruises for example). Inexpensive and historical sites are also desirable (our favorite "attractions" in most of Europe have been cheap/free. For example, in Ireland we hated Blarney Castle and loved Loughcrew Cairns.).

2. Suggestions for good day/half day trips near Albufeira?

3. We are trying to decide where else to go. Flying initially to London and then getting a flight to Portugal (or Spain) is much less expensive. We would spend a couple of days there before moving on to Portugal if we went that route. We are undecided about going to Spain but it is so close that it is tempting. Suggestions on the best things for younger kids in Southern Spain?

FIRE Artist

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Re: Portugal
« Reply #1 on: October 31, 2016, 09:33:11 AM »
I was in Portugal the same time last year for a sketching/painting trip.  After a few days in Lisbon, I was in Alvor, staying in the Alvor Mar apartment hotel.  It was a great central spot to stay and do day trips to other fishing towns and inland.  The Algarve is pretty easy to get around by bus if you don't want to hire a car.  In March it will still be pretty cool, so probably not sunbathing weather, I was there in the last week of March and teh first week of April, plenty of Britts were braving the beach though.  Alvor is full of expats, so all food options are available. 

For kid friendly, in Lisbon they have a great aquarium.  That is all I've got as I don't have a kid!

 

Playing with Fire UK

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Re: Portugal
« Reply #2 on: October 31, 2016, 01:10:25 PM »
I found Albuferia, Faro and Tavira very easy to navigate with limited Portuguese. They are big on tourism and English is spoken in most places you'll encounter as a tourist. The whole area has a bunch of history, and buildings that are OLD compared to nearly all of the US. Not unusual to find a building that has been a mosque and a church and a castle.

Most of the southern coast of the Algarve is in a Natural Park called Ria Formosa; there is bird watching and walking to be done. You will need to watch out for some areas that look connected but are actually separated at high tide and you need a boat.

In terms of avoiding gluten, in the tiny supermarket nearest to us, there were many types of rice, quinoa, buckwheat and lentils. There were plenty of vegetables. I didn't see a gluten-free section of prepared foods or gluten free pasta/bread etc (but I wasn't looking and wouldn't know what it is in Portuguese). If you can either stay in hostels with kitchens (not all will) or self catering apartments you may have good enough access to cooking equipment. Not all cheap hotels will have a kettle or coffee machine in the room so some of your normal travel food options may be limited.

Also, assume none of the drivers know how to drive in the rain. We saw so many car accidents in the rain, and none when it was dry.

UKMustache

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Re: Portugal
« Reply #3 on: October 31, 2016, 01:28:54 PM »
For flights from London to Europe, check out skyscanner.net - I've used it before and it tends to do a good sweep of the cheaper airlines.

I know it's not terribly mustachian and this is a little off-the-wall given what you said you liked but I remember having a good time at zoomarine as a kid. 
It's a water theme park where you can swim with dolphins, see sea lions, water slides and rapids and things. 
I've just taken a look on tripadvisor and it's still got good reviews.  It's less than 30 minutes from Albufeira and with little ones you could make a day of it if you did the educational shows etc. 

http://www.zoomarine.pt/en/

I don't think you'll struggle avoiding gluten, it's a popular holiday destination for us Brits and as a result English is commonly spoken. 
I'd thoroughly recommend the sea food over there, especially if it's been caught locally.  Seabream, sardines, monkfish, squid, etc.  All is incredibly good quality, it tends to be something the restaurants pride themselves on.

History isn't really my thing, but I know there's a lot of religious history and that if that were my interest I'd look to the churches first for ideas :)


Playing with Fire UK

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Re: Portugal
« Reply #4 on: October 31, 2016, 02:05:58 PM »
Yes, churches, there are 100's. Not all of them will be open (or even obvious from the street).

Mongoose

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Re: Portugal
« Reply #5 on: November 01, 2016, 07:09:50 AM »
Thanks. My kids are fairly adventurous eaters so as long as it is gluten free we're good. Although they like to add ketchup to stuff.

Can I bring food (packaged biscuits and such like) from England to Portugal? I know what I can fly with here in the States but not about customs within Europe. We are not able to choose our hotel as the invitation covers lodging at one of the resorts with a meeting center. Sounds like they should be able to help.

Irishtache

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Re: Portugal
« Reply #6 on: November 01, 2016, 08:23:16 AM »
Hi Mongoose. Portugal is beautiful. Late March is changeable in terms of weather but it should be sunnier than not. Albufeira is the main tourist resort along the Algarve coast. It has a water park, shopping centres and any kind of cuisine you want. Loads of golf courses, to suit all pockets. Pretty villages abound, especially inland if you can drive in. The restaurants in the resorts can be a bit touristy but you will find small family restaurants that are worth a try. West of Albufeira you can drive to Sagres and the lighthouse which is continental Europe's most westerly point. Portimao and Lagos are large fishing towns along the coast. North of Portimao is Monchique which is worth a look, it's in the mountains. Driving is quite easy, roads are good but most of the new motorways are tolled. Portuguese is a difficult language but signs are in English too and the road signs are easy to figure out. Enjoy, we love it and are going back next September to visit friends who have retired out there. IT

Playing with Fire UK

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Re: Portugal
« Reply #7 on: November 01, 2016, 10:08:16 AM »
Can I bring food (packaged biscuits and such like) from England to Portugal?

Yes, you can bring (pretty much) anything from England to Portugal (limited liquids in hand luggage, no weaponised biscuits).

There are stricter rules on what you bring into the EU from outside the EU (especially seeds and meats), this may be different to what you can normally bring onto a domestic US flight.

Mongoose

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Re: Portugal
« Reply #8 on: November 01, 2016, 08:53:00 PM »
Yes, you can bring (pretty much) anything from England to Portugal (limited liquids in hand luggage, no weaponised biscuits).

:-) I guess I'll have to give up my plans to acquire some dwarf battle bread then. Darn!

Thanks all for the information. Very helpful to have some ideas and orientation.

J Boogie

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Re: Portugal
« Reply #9 on: November 02, 2016, 10:03:13 AM »
If I went to Portugal I'd have to try paragliding.

I'm not a paraglider, but they have pilots that will take you with them.

I'd post a random link to an outfit that offers this, but obviously if this interests you, you'll be a more effective searcher than me.

 

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