Algarve Faro & Praiada Rocha, Portugal


Algarve Faro & Praiada Rocha, Portugal (5/23-24/2016)

Benagil Algrave Portugal
Beautiful Benagil - 
Algrave, Portugal
The Algarve is Portugal’s most popular tourist destination. Running along its southern border, the Algarve is an alluring beach vacation offering beautiful beaches and coves, sandy islands, resort hotels, and fun beach bars. The Algarve makes an attractive vacation because beaches, Mediterranean climate, safety, and relatively low costs.

With just 4 days allocated to the Algarve on our driving trip through Portugal, we choose two places - Faro and the wide sandy beach town of Praiada Rocha.

Pedestrian only Streets Faro Portugal
Pedestrian-only Streets - 
Faro, Portugal
Staying in Faro offers visitors both a good Algarve beach experience and a chance to explore a well-preserved medieval town. The town of Faro has escaped the modern development that most other Algarve towns have experienced.

Faro Beach Algarve Portugal Nude Naked Girl Women
Faro Beach - 
Gotta Love the Algarve
Faro has three beach options accessible from the town. The city beach (Faro Beach) is located about 7 miles from the town center. It is a beautiful beach going on for miles with restaurants available at the main entrance. Walk 15 minutes in either direction and you will find the beach much less crowded. You can take the bus to Faro Beach starting next to the downtown Hotel Eva taking about 20 minutes to arrive at Faro Beach.

Ilha da Barreta Ilha Deserta Beach Faro Portugal
Ilha da Barreta (Ilha Deserta)
For a more deserted beach option, you can take a 40-minute ferry ride from Faro’s downtown to Farol and the sandspit beaches of Ilha da Barreta (Ilha Deserta) and Ilha da Culatra. Ilha Deserta has a nice restaurant you can enjoy. If you want a very quiet relaxed day on the beach with little else, then Deserta is the place for you. If you like to wander around with have a choice of places to eat and drink as well as a beautiful beach, then choose Ilha da Culatra.

Stock Nests Cidade Velha Faro Portugal
Stork Nests in Cidade Velha - Faro, Portugal
Faro’s medieval town (Cidade Velha) is beautifully preserved. The walled portions of the old town is pretty quaint and worth exploring. Look up to see the large stork nests on top of the major sites.

Marina Faro Portugal
Marina - Faro, Portugal
Also, wandering through Faro’s pedestrian-only alleyways passing by shops and restaurants is fun. Faro’s main street leads off to other options. There are a number of moderate priced restaurants surrounding Praca Ferreira de Almeida.


View Hotel Faro Bella Vista Hotel Praiada Rocha Beach Portugal
View from Hotel Faro 
of Bella Vista Hotel - 
Praiada Rocha Beach

We enjoyed staying at the moderately-priced Hotel Faro. It’s very centrally located in Faro’s medieval old town just minutes walk to the old town, marina fish restaurants, and public transportation to Faro’s beach and airport. The rooftop pool and restaurant offers wonderful views of the old town and marina. 

Pat Dunlap Hotel Faro Beach Club Faro Beach Portugal
Pat Loved Hotel Faro's
Beach Club - Faro Beach
The Hotel Faro is a great place to put your feet up and have a drink or meal. The breakfast offered in this restaurant is excellent. The service at the Hotel Faro is very helpful explaining everything in perfect English. For guests of the hotel, a free shuttle is offered to their exclusive Beach Club on Faro Beach. It is a very nice place right on the beach with a full bar and menu available. Beach towels are available at the front deck.

Praiada Rocha Beach Portugal
Beautiful Praiada Rocha Beach
We also wanted to stay at one of the smaller Algarve beach towns and were happy with our choice of Praiada Rocha - one of the Algarve’s best beaches with beautiful cliffs on all sides. Lounge chairs and umbrellas are available for rent on near the ocean. 

Praiada Rocha Beach Portugal
Praiada Rocha Beach - Portugal
Because the beach at Praiada Rocha is so big, even during the summer peak season there is room for everyone. The beach has beach bars/restaurants that are great fun during the day. The town above is lined with restaurants, cafes, bars, and shops for some good nighttime entertainment.

Map Portugal Algarve
Map of Portugal's Algarve
The Algarve has several cities, towns and villages including the region's capital city of Faro. Other cities include Albufeira, Lagoa, Lagos, Loulé, Olhão, Portimão, Quarteira, Silves, Tavira, and Vila Real de Santo António, in addition to various summer retreats such as Praia da Rocha, Armação de Pêra, Alvor, Monte Gordo, Tavira, Sagres, and Vilamoura.

Please see our other 5 travel blog posts for Portugal:

Lisbon, Portugal (Capital)


Porto, Portugal (one of our favorite places in Potugal)

Madeira, Portugal


Douro Valley (Portugal's premier port wine country)

Medieval Towns of Obidos, Aveiro, Figuerira da Foz, &Coimbra, Portugal
 
 

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1 comment:

  1. Great guide to some of the best places in Portugal. I am visiting Portugal for a business trip on Portugal Visa Online next month. Though, the trip has been sponsored by our HOD, I would love to stay back for a few days & relish the beauty of Portugal beaches & its charming cities.

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