Algarve Vacations, Portugal

The maritime province of the Algarve, often called the Garden of Portugal, is the south westernmost part of Europe. Its coastline stretches 160km (99 miles) from Henry the Navigator's Cape St. Vincent to the border town of Vila Real de Santo António, fronting once-hostile Spain. The varied coastline contains sluggish estuaries, sheltered lagoons, low-lying areas where clucking marsh hens nest, long sandy spits, and promontories jutting out into the white-capped aquamarine foam.

Called Al-Gharb by the Moors, the land south of the Serras (mountains) of Monchique and Caldeirão remains a spectacular anomaly that seems more like a transplanted section of the North African coastline than a piece of Europe. The temperature averages around 15°C (60°F) in winter and 23°C (74°F) in summer. The countryside abounds in vegetation: almonds, lemons, oranges, carobs, pomegranates and figs.

Most of the towns and villages of the Algarve are more than 240km (149 miles) from Lisbon. The great 1755 earthquake shook this area. Entire communities were wiped out; however, many Moorish and even Roman ruins remain. In the fret-cut chimneys, mosque like cupolas, and cubist houses, a distinct Oriental flavour prevails. Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Visigoths, Moors and Christians all touched this land.

However, much of the historic flavour is gone forever, swallowed by a sea of dreary high-rise apartment blocks surrounding most towns. Years ago, Portuguese officials, looking in horror at what happened to Spain's Costa del Sol, promised more limited and controlled development so that they wouldn't make "Spain's mistake."

Algarvian beaches are some of the best in Portugal. Their quality has led to the tourist boom across the southern coastline, making it a formidable rival of Lisbon's Costa do Sol and Spain's Costa del Sol. There are literally hundreds of beaches, many with public showers and watersports equipment available for rent.

Since around 1965, vast stretches of coastal terrain have been bulldozed, landscaped, irrigated, and reconfigured into golf courses. Many are associated with real-estate developments or major resorts, such as the 800-hectare (1,976-acre) Quinta do Lago, where retirement villas nestle amid vegetation at the edges of the fairways. Most are open to qualified golfers who inquire in advance.

Many former fishing villages -- now summer resorts -- dot the Algarvian coast: Carvoeiro, Albufeira, Olhão, Portimão. The sea is the source of life, as it always has been. The village marketplaces sell esparto mats, copper, pottery, and almond and fig sweets, sometimes shaped like birds and fish. Through the narrow streets comes the fast sound of little accordions pumping out the rhythmical corridinho.

For motorists, the big news is that the final 62km (39-mile) stretch of A2 is open, linking Lisbon and the Algarve with more efficient access than ever. The road took a decade to complete and cost $375 million.

About the Author:
For more information about holidays to the Algarve and a great selection

of Algarve villa rentals please visit www.jamesvillas.co.uk.

Things To Do and See in Algarve

Vale do Lobo Tennis Academy, Almancil
Attraction type: Sports camp/clinic

Chapel of Bones (Capela de Ossos), Faro
Attraction type: Religious site

Bahia Beach Bar, Lagos
Attraction type: Bar/club

Museu Municipal Dr. Jose Formosinho, Lagos
Attraction type: History museum

Antigo Mercado de Escravos, Lagos
Attraction type: Architectural building; Historic site

Carmo Church, Faro
Attraction type: Religious site

Faro Archaeological Museum, Faro
Attraction type: History museum

Quinta do Lago South, Almancil
This excellent course, with some long par 4s, has hosted the

Portuguese Open several times and features the par 3, 15th hole

with nothing between the tee and green but water.
Attraction type: Golf course

Igreja de Santo Antonio, Lagos
Attraction type: Religious site

Retiro Do Marujo, Lagos
Attraction type: Bar/club

The Irish Rover, Lagos
Attraction type: Bar/club

The Old Tavern, Lagos
Attraction type: Bar/club

Millenium Golf Course, Vilamoura
Attraction type: Golf course

Birdwatching at Quinta do Lago, Olhao
Attraction type: Wildlife park; Nature reserve

San Lorenzo, Lagos
Voted Continental Europe's second best golf course by the Golf World magazine,

this impeccably maintained course, with its eighteen widely ranging holes running

past lakes, pine trees and Atlantic beaches, make it an attractive challenge for all

skill levels.
Attraction type: Golf course

Penina, Portimao
This 18-hole, par 73 challenge is the grandfather of golf courses in the Algarve, and serves as a living memory to its innovate designer, Sir Henry Cotton.
Attraction type: Golf course

Praia da Dona Ana, Lagos
Attraction type: Beach

Quinta de Ria, Lagos
Attraction type: Golf course

Polvo Watersports Algarve, Vilamoura
Attraction type: Sports complex; Tour; Water park

Vilamoura Golf Courses, Vilamoura
Part of a luxury resort development in Algarve boasting four championship golf courses: Laguna, Old Course, Pinhal and Millennium.
Attraction type: Golf course