Algarve Travel and Holiday Guide

The Zoo Marine Algarve is one of the attractions in Algarve. This is a family oriented place to visit where both adults and children will enjoy in visiting this zoo marine.

There are different areas where you can explore in this zoo and also with different shows that can entertain you and your family. The Zoo Marine Algarve is educational; there are different areas in the zoo and they are promoting marine preservation and environmental awareness to visitors and tourists. The shows that you can catch in this zoo are in the Dolphin Arena, Sea Lion and Seal Arena, Birds of Prey Trainer and Tropical Bird Amphitheatre. The Dolphin Arena, this area is where you can see live shows of the dolphins doing some tricks with their trainers. The demonstrations that these dolphins have are also awareness of the people on how intelligent these mammals are. In Sea Lion and Seal Arena, you can catch the shows of the seals and the sea lions together with their trainers also have demonstrations and do some tricks to also entertain the audience. These are some educational shows, you can also go to the Birds of Prey Trainer Area, where you can see different kinds of birds and you can get up close and personal with the birds and at the Tropical Bird Amphitheatre, you will catch some shows with the different kinds of tropical birds.

There is also the Rehabilitation Center, the Aquarium Museum, the Pinniped Feeding and the Alligator Trainers. The Aquarium Museum has more than twenty marine ecosystems and habitats. There is also a 4D movie that can give you a glimpse of how the animals live in their natural habitats. At the Rehabilitation Center, you will find some of the animals that are found distressed along the coastline of Algarve and they are being treated and eventually released into their natural habitat.

There is also some amusement areas in the zoo, you will find the swimming pools and picnic areas. You can also go to one of its shops to buy souvenirs or dine in its restaurant inside the zoo.

Praia da Luz is located western part and at end of Algarve. It is six kilometres away from Lagos. This was used to be a small fishing village and now has been one of the tourist destinations. This village was first occupied by the Carthaginians and the Romans.

The major attraction here in Praia da Luz is the beach and this has been one of the destinations of the Europeans when its summer season. The shopping areas and restaurants are somehow more apparent in Praia da Luz than the fishing village that was used to be of this town. You can see the hillside of the area with villas and apartments with prominent red-tiled roofs. On the eastern part of Praia da Luz, you can see the cliffs that have been formed from the lava out from the volcanoes of Monchique, and one of these famous cliffs is the Rocha Negra which believed to have been around for one hundred ninety million to one hundred thirty five years. In the western part of the Praia da Luz is also great for sightseeing. There are numerous bars, restaurants and shops and more of an established harbour. You can also find hotels and villas which you can stay and are ideal for family vacations.

There are numerous of activities that you can do in Praia da Luz, mostly are water sports such as parasailing, diving, and surfing and so on. Its waters and beaches are certified cleaned; they have a European blue flag that indicates that the place is clean. There are also trips to some dolphin parks. There are five golf courses in the area where you can go to in about five to twenty minutes. This is also a historical place; you will find some historical sites such as the Roman Aqua Duct and the Church of Nossa Senhora da Luz.

The Church of Saint Anthony also called as Igreja de Santo Antonio in Portuguese. This historical church is located in Lagos in Algarve. This was built before the earthquake in 1755 and then was rebuilt after. This is one of the structures that have survived the earthquake. In 1924, this church was declared as a National Monument. The date of the construction of this church is unknown, some would say that it was built during the reign of Joao I in 1383-1433 yet some say it was during the reign of Joao V in 1706-1750.

The Igreja de Santo Antonio structure is from the eighteenth century, its exterior is plain yet its interior is lavishly decorated. The dome of this church was installed after the earthquake in 1755. This church has blue and white glazed tile and its falha dourada or its woodened carvings on the walls of the nave are one of the most beautiful carvings in Portugal. There are also six paintings that depict the miracles of Saint Anthony on the walls. These paintings are Baroque paintings and were painted by Mestre Jose Joaquim Rasquinho. You will also find polychrome statues of the cherubs around the church and the statue of Saint Anthony with a military sash on the altar.

You can visit this church daily except for Mondays; they are open from nine thirty in the morning to twelve thirty in the afternoon and resumes at two in the afternoon to five in the afternoon. You can only have access to the church through the museum, the Museu Municipal. The museum is just right next to the church, it has exhibits of unique artefacts like grave markers which are from the sixteenth century and some church robes and many more. You can find the church and the museum at the Rua General Alberto Silveira on the south of Praca da Republica.

The Carmo Church is located in Faro in Algarve; its architectural structure is from the late Baroque period. This church was inaugurated by Bishop Antonio da Silva in 1713. This is also called as Igreja do Carmo and this church was also renovated after the earthquake that hit Algarve in 1755.

This church is actually connected to another church which is the Carmelitas Church. These two churches are connected by just a one meter wide house. The Carmelitas Church was used to be a convent in the seventeenth century; its interior is richly gilded and this also has a façade and a bell tower. And the Carmo Church on the right side was built in the eighteenth century. This church has only one nave which is made up of gilded carvings and in seven altars. You can see on its exterior side of the wall, it is covered with blue and white tiles. This late baroque-style church was designed by Francisco Pereira Campanha. The house between the churches was built and was inhabited due to the law that stated that there shouldn’t be two churches can share a wall. This also ensured the chastity of the monks and the nuns in the Carmo Church and Carmelitas Church respectively.

You can also find in the interior of the church the Brazilian gold leaf and the Chapel of Bones. This is one of the weirdest exhibits in a church. You can see the walls of the chapel that are covered in bones and in skulls. They have taken out these skeletons from the cemetery of the church. They have put it on display as a reminder of mortality. You will find this church at the Rua do Carmo in Faro; you can get there by walking through the Avenida dos Aliados.

Algarve which is located in the southern part of Portugal, its weather is influenced by the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and its proximity of the continent of Africa. This region experiences approximately three hundred days of sunshine. Its climate is mild and it is pleasant all year. This region most likely to have sunshine all year and has less rainfall, it only rains on the months of November and December. There are three hundred days of average sunshine and clear days in Algarve. Its temperature seldom drops during winter season or even go up when its summer. There are numerous beaches and golf courses in this region and with the weather that they have, it attracts tourists from all over the world.

The summer months in Algarve are July and August. The region has long and dry summer but the temperature rarely goes up above thirty degrees Celsius. The temperature for these months only ranges from twenty seven to twenty eight degrees Celsius. The spring and autumn season are also popular; these months are ideal for playing golf, its sea waters are a little bit cold to swim and nights can be a little bit cold also. May, June and September are the months which are also ideal for beaches; with warm days and evenings. On the months of November to February, the nights can be cold. This is the winter season in Algarve yet they still experience sunny days, approximately six hours of sunshine a day.

Algarve is located at the Greenwich Mean Time, ahead of an hour and is on the Western European Time. Daylight savings starts on the month of March, its is when they set the local time ahead for an hour and on the month of October they set the time backwards for an hour.

There are various restaurants and cuisines that you can eat in Algarve but mostly the dishes that are being served here are sea foods since this is along the coastline yet there are also restaurants which also served international dishes and with their own specialties. Some of the recommended and best restaurants in Algarve are the following; the Casa Grande, Museo do Lagar and the Beira Rio and some international restaurants, the A Mascara and the Minar.

These restaurants have their own specialties; the Casa Grande on the other hand is a Portuguese restaurant which specializes in sea foods and also vegetarian dishes. This restaurant is located in the western part of Algarve. This is one of the popular restaurants that you can find in Algarve. The Museo do Lagar and the Beira Rio are also Portuguese restaurants. The Museo do Lagar serve exotic dishes like buffalo and ostrich and the Beira Rio is famous for their garlic quail yet both of these restaurants also have menus for vegetarians. The Museo do lagar is located in the center Algarve at the cathedral square and the Beira Rio is in Tavira, right along the riverside restaurants. However, the Casa Grande and the Beira Rio only opens seasonal, they are only open from March to November and only May to December, respectively.

The restaurants A Mascara and Minar are restaurants with their own specialties. If you would like to try Indonesian food, the A Mascara restaurant is the one. They serve Indonesian dishes and they also have some Thai dishes on their menus. You will find this restaurant at the eastern part of the coast in Portimao. If you are up for Indian dishes, you can go to Albufeira in the Old Town where you will find the Minar restaurant. This is an authentic Indian restaurant; they also serve dishes for vegetarians.

Algarve is one of the small villages with beautiful sceneries along the beaches. For the larger beach resorts, their night life is as lively as the other places in the Balearic Islands. The larger resorts, you can find numerous bars, these are at the central Algarve. The resorts which have the night are in Albufeira, Lagos, Vilamoura, and on the western part, Lagos. These resorts are mostly packed with tourists and especially during peak seasons like the summer nights. Their nightlife is like other beach parties. The most renowned place is Albufeira when it comes to its nightlife. They have a part in Albufeira which is a strip of bars and clubs; this is at the Areias de Sao Joao and two of its famous clubs are Locomia and Kiss. There are also Irish pubs, karaoke and many more. This strip of bars and clubs mostly attracts teenagers. This is where they usually go and hang out especially during summer nights. Lagos is also one of the places where there are also lots of bars and clubs and its crowd is mostly comprised of students. This is also one of the places where its nightlife is glamourous, two of its famous bars are the Luis Figos’ bar 7 and at the harbour, you will find the Duna Beach Bar.

Not only do they have these bars and clubs as part of the night life here in Algarve, you can also check out their casinos. Vilamoura is famous for its casinos, you can check out the casinos at Vilamoura Casino; this is also called as the mini-Vegas in Algarve. Most of its bars and clubs in Algarve open not later than eleven in the evening and mostly it usually gets going at two in the morning and up until the sun comes up.

The southern part of Portugal is home for one of the places in Portugal where it has the biggest festivals that are being celebrated every year. Some of the famous festivals that they celebrate here are the Feira de Santa Iria, Festival do Marisco, Festa de Cidade and Rallye Biker.

The Festival do Marisco is one of the main festivals that are being celebrated in Algarve. This is an event that is all about sea foods particularly shellfish. This event takes place on the month of August. This is where most of the tourists and visitors can eat and expect an abundant supply of fresh sea foods such as oysters, fish and a lot more. There are also numerous performances from famous artists during this festival. This is at the area of Olhao in Algarve. On the other hand, in the area of Tavira, they have this festival that is being celebrated during the 23^rd and 24^th of June which is the Festa de Cidade. This popular festival in Tavira gives out sardines for free and with lots of dancing and drinking on the streets where you can see paper flowers all over town as their decorations.

However, the festival Feira de Santa Iria is being celebrated in Faro. This is the town’s patron saint and is celebrated on the month of October. The celebration for this event will start in the traditional way where they will build a temporary small carnival where they have roller coasters, dodgems and many more. This is a festival perfect for the children. Last but not the least, the famous event that is being celebrated in Algarve is the Rallye Biker that is also in Faro. This is celebrated annually in the month of July. This is one of Europe’s biggest biker assemblies. You can mostly see men and women in their Harley Davidson bikes straddling around Algarve.

The Alcoutim Castle is located at the Alcoutim village in Algarve where it sits on a hill and overlooking the village. This castle is also known as the Castelo de Alcoutim. This is a fourteenth century castle that also located on the western part of the Guadiana River. The Guadiana River is between the border of Spain and Portugal. On the opposite side of the river is the Spanish town, Sao Lucas do Guadiania which also has a castle ruin on its site. The castle was built before to control the passage of the river. There were numerous buildings in the interior of the castle that was built against its walls but none of the buildings have survived through the years. This castle has been rebuilt many times and there wasn’t much left of the Moorish architecture of the castle. In 1240, King Sancho II took over the castle and King Dinis in 1304 reconstructed it. And by 1371 the peace treaty of the Fernandine War was signed by the Portuguese King Fernando and the Castilian King Henrique. The last two reconstruction of the castle was made during the reign of King Manuel in 1495-1521 and after the Restauracao wars in 1640-1688.

Inside this Alcoutim Castle is the Archaeological Museum where it is home of some artefacts that are from 5000 B.C. Some of the artefacts are from the Neolithic to Modern times and some are from the Roman, Visigothic and also Christian and Islamic periods. There are also exhibits in the castle; these artworks are from some local artists. You can find the artworks at the Castle’s Gallery and the Crafts House. The museum is open everyday from nine thirty in the morning until five thirty in the afternoon and children who are not below fifteen years old can get in the museum for free.

Algarve is one of Portugal which is located at the southern part of the country. The name Algarve comes from the Arabic word, Al-Gharb which means as The West in English. This region was conquered by the Moors for more than six hundred years. You can still see some remnants of the Moors conquests on some of the architectural structures of the province. This town has sixteen municipalities and its main towns are Portimao and Faro. The region’s administrative center is Faro; this is where the international airport is located, the Faro/Algarve Airport and its public university, the University of the Algarve.

This region is hilly but rich with valleys and coastlines. It is home of the mountain range, Monchique with an altitude of nine hundred six meters high. This region has a natural reserve, the Parke Natural da Ria Formosa which it is over one hundred seventy square kilometres that stretches along the coastline. There is a lagoon in the reserve which is the habitat for more than hundred kinds of birds. The beaches in this region are the popular destinations and during summer the population of tourists doubles. At the Cape St. Vincent, you will find the Praia da Marinha which is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. This coastline has a fifty-kilometer stretch of beaches. You can also find other popular beaches, from Praia da Luz to Armacao de Pera. And around the area of Lagos, you will find some limestone caves and is accessible through powerboat for tourists.

The main industries of Algarve are food processing and construction. They also give importance to its agriculture and horticulture. Some of its agricultural products are figs, oranges, almonds and carob beans. You will also find numerous greenhouses in this region. In the coastal area, seafood and fish are their main products. They also have sardines, cyprinids and other sea food products.