Tavira – Eastern Algarve – Portugal Scouting Trip

Tavira

I arrived in Lisbon around 5 PM and immediately headed to the rental car location at a hotel across the street from the airport. After a short wait, I was helped and received my car. Unfortunately, it was 6 PM on a Friday and raining when I left the rental location. The rental car was “same to same” for fuel, I started with 1/4 of a tank. Therefore, I would need to get fuel on the way to Tavira. My first stop on the scouting trip was the Eastern Algarve.

I had not booked a place yet, so I attempted to book at a few rest areas along the highway. Sadly, my internet connection was not great and the rest area wifi was not much better. Eventually, I found a place in Tavira that I wanted to book, but I kept getting an error at checkout. After trying for about 45 minutes at multiple rest areas I canceled everything and started a new search.  I realized the error was due to it being no longer available. Someone had snagged the room I wanted while I was connectivity challenged. However, the app never said that, just wouldn’t let me add my credit card info to reserve it. Once the issue was determined, I located another place to book and completed it without any issues. By this time I was only 20-30 minutes from Tavira when I finally completed the booking and it was about 10 PM.

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Hotel

My arrival at the hotel was about 1-1.5 hours later than I had planned. This was due to stopping at almost every rest area along the highway trying to book a place and to stop for the required bio breaks. Since I had been traveling since 10 PM (Atlanta time) on Wednesday (my flight was via Istanbul) I was tired and needed libations, luckily the bar was still open. After a couple of beers, I returned to my room and called it a night.

Fixing my Interwebs

We use T-mobile cell service in the US and usually works pretty well while traveling and using their free international roaming. Therefore, it has not been an issue most of the time on previous trips to South Africa, Europe, Ukraine, Turkey, Peru, and in Svalbard it even worked well. However, I had tried a MiFi device in South Africa on our trip in 2021 and it worked great. I made the decision after that trip I would buy one. Therefore, a few days before leaving Atlanta I picked up a MiFi device that would provide me wifi while in Portugal and other places while traveling. It does require a sim card from the country you are visiting to work.

After breakfast, I headed to the mall about a mile away and picked up a data sim for the MiFi device. MEO had the best option for what I needed. They have a data-only sim that costs 15 euros for 15 days of unlimited data (they have other plans for up to 30 days I believe). The MEO store opened at 10 AM, I was waiting outside at 9:45. The transaction was smooth and the person working spoke perfect English. He inserted the sim and within 20 seconds I had 4G connectivity. This unlimited internet option doesn’t show on their website but is available in stores.

Checking out Tavira

We passed through Tavira on a bus during our Eurotrip 2018 trip. Unfortunately, we were only at the bus station for 30 minutes and didn’t get to see much. Tavira is well positioned for day trips to Spain, all of the Algarve, and even parts of Alentejo. Lisbon is about 3 hours away by car.

Now that I had stable wifi with me all of the time, I headed out to see what Tavira had to offer. I had not realized that it was a long weekend (April 25th is Carnation Revolution). Therefore, a lot of markets and other events were going on along the river.  While I was out walking it started to rain, so I took shelter for a while before continuing my adventures.

Tavira is easily walkable near the river but there are areas away from the river that can be a bit hilly that might affect the old, fat, and lazy Geezers. Therefore, I stuck to the area around the river for the most part ;-).  Along the river, there are quite a few restaurants with local and international dining options. Many of the side streets have restaurants, cafes, and pubs for your dining and entertainment. There is a decent size expat community in Tavira.

Vila Real de Santo António

After walking around the river area in Tavira, I decided to do some exploration in the areas along the coast to the east. My first stop was Vila Real de Santo António. Vila Real de Santo António is on the border with Spain and you can sit at a riverside cafe and look across the river to Spain. It is flat and has marshlands to the north, a river and Spain to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south.

Unfortunately, it started to rain again. I decided to drive around town to see what it had to offer. I really like Vila Real de Santo António and this part of the Algarve. Be warned, it has shorter milder winters and hotter summers than other areas of the Algarve and it has about 300 days of sun a year. According to the “trustworthy” Wikipedia, it is one of the most densely populated areas in the Algarve. However, it never felt crowded. There are a lot of apartment buildings and the city has a small footprint.

Overall, I really liked Vila Real de Santo António. It seems like a very relaxed place with fewer tourists than the central and western Algarve areas. All of the major grocery stores are in town and there are plenty of dining options. My main concern would be mosquitos due to the marshlands at the edge of the city. However, I did not encounter any of those nasty critters.

Castro Marim

Castro Marim is about 3 km north of Vila Real de Santo António and is separated only by the marshlands. It was very quiet when I was exploring. I am not sure if it was due to the holiday weekend or that I was there mid-afternoon on a Saturday. There is a nice castle overlooking the town. Most of the apartment buildings were probably 6 floors or less.  However, I did see more homes that appeared to be single-family.  Castro Marim would be a great option if you wanted a quieter area and still be very close to all of the amenities available in Vila Real de Santo António just 3km away.

Back to Tavira

On the way back to Tavira I passed through Monte Gordo, this is another great option like Castro Marim as it sits between Tavira and Vila Real de Santo António. The areas I saw while passing through appeared to be single-family homes with a few small apartment buildings. Unfortunately, I did not explore this area more than a quick glance out the window.

Upon returning to Tavira, I parked the car at the hotel and went out to find some food. I was really in the mood for fish and chips so I looked for an Irish or English pub and found one a short 15-minute walk from the hotel.  The best part is that it was near the Roman Bridge and was across the river from the bus station we used in 2018. After dinner, I walked around and watched the sunset over the river and explored some of the side streets before heading back to the hotel to relax.

Time to Leave Tavira

I had only booked 2 nights in Tavira. Therefore, after eating breakfast on Sunday, I packed up everything and checked out of the hotel. I wanted to explore some areas inland in the Algarve before heading north. Therefore, I loaded the rental car up and headed to Alcoutim along the border with Spain.

Alcoutim

Alcoutim is located about 40 minutes north of Vila Real de Santo António along the river. One thing becomes very obvious, once you are on the other side of the A22 from the coastal towns, it is very rural. Even some areas 10 minutes from the ocean are farmland and very rural looking. The drive from Tavira to Alcoutim was relaxing with a good highway until you are close to Alcoutim. Once you exit the highway you are greeted with small 2-lane country roads into the smaller towns.

Alcoutim was on my radar before the trip due to the lower cost but still within a reasonable distance of the coast. However, it was a bit further from a major city with a hospital than I had imagined. Alcoutim is a small town on the banks of the river with views of a small Spanish village on the other side.

What is with the Traffic?

When I arrived in Alcoutim, there were some events going on and a large group of scouts (boys and girls) doing a walk and they had set up a camping area at the local soccer field. Alcoutim has small streets and with all the people walking, it was difficult to navigate with a car.

Therefore, due to the congestion and extra foot traffic, I decided to park next to the river and take in the view and have something to drink. Alcoutim is a nice place, very small and surrounded by farmland. You can take a ferry across the river to Sanlúcar de Guadiana on the Spanish side. It is very peaceful but does appear to have some tourist activity based on several of the store and restaurant signs being in English.  There were a few souvenir shops from what I remember as well.

Alcoutim is the least densely populated municipality in Portugal based on info obtained from Wikipedia. So you have room to roam if you want. It is a very beautiful area but might be too far from the needed amenities, such as shopping, healthcare, and public transportation.  Alcoutim should be on your visit list and it might even meet your requirements for a retirement location

São Brás de Alportel

São Brás de Alportel is conveniently located not far from Faro and Tavira. The area around the town is small villages with farmland spread between them. You can see the ocean from some areas within São Brás de Alportel, but you are probably 30 minutes from the nearest beach. Due to limited time, I only did a driving tour of the area and it was nice. However, it has a small town center with pockets of housing just outside of town.

Loule

Loule appeared to be a good bit larger than São Brás de Alportel with more infrastructure in place. As with São Brás de Alportel, it is fairly close to the ocean.  I only did a quick driving tour of the area and then moved on to Silves.

Silves

Silves is a nice town situated along a river and about the same distance from the ocean as Loule and São Brás de Alportel. It felt like a nice town with a lot of restaurants scattered along the river and side streets. I spent about an hour walking around and picked up some munchies at the store for my road trip north.

Albufeira

Since I had not made any plans for a place to stay and was basically doing it on the fly. I decided to wait until the next day to head north. That would give me another night in the Algarve area. I pulled out my phone and started looking at some of the areas along the coast that I had not been to, but had heard a lot about.  Therefore, I decided to try Albufeira. Apparently, you either hate or love Albufeira, not much in the middle. So, why not give it a try.

Although Albufeira is not part of the Eastern Algarve, I am including it since it is part of the Tavira portion of the trip. Silves is also in this category. I found a hostel with a private bathroom, a king-size bed, and access to a balcony in the center of Albufeira. It was in a great location only 800 ft from the beach on the same street. Fortunately, it was also close to all of the restaurants and pubs. So everything was within a 5-minute walk. The only downside was there is no parking at the hostel, it was uphill (steep) about 1000 feet away. So it was a bit of a hassle with a travel backpack and my laptop backpack with all my camera gear, etc. It would have been much worse with a rolling bag.

Albufeira Love or Hate?

The area of Albufeira I was in was heavily geared toward tourists, and that was expected. I can imagine in the summer it is a mess with all of the tourists.  I was there at the end of April and it was very busy with the majority of the people speaking English, German, and eastern European languages. Albufeira appears to be a party destination based on what I could see with a lot of people there in groups of 6+ people and heavy drinking at some of the pubs. While it is a party location, there were a lot of families with small kids walking around as well.

Albufeira is probably a great place to go on vacation to enjoy the beach and the nightlife. I am not sure if it would be a great location for retirement though due to the heavy tourism.

Final Thoughts on the Eastern Algarve and Tavira

The Algarve has a lot to offer and not all areas are the same. The eastern side is flatter, while the central and western areas are more hilly and have more dramatic landscapes along the coastline. In addition, the eastern side appears to be less touristy. However, it could be due to the time of year I was there. If you are looking for a large expat community, the Algarve might be a great choice.

If healthcare and major hospital proximity is high on your list, then I would suggest locations within 30-45 minutes of Faro or Lagos. With that in mind, all of the locations listed above would fit that requirement except for Alcoutim. Although it was a nice place, it might be too remote.

Access to infrastructure such as trains, etc, you will want to be along the line between Vila Real de Santo António and Lagos for the train system.  I believe this is about an hour train ride end to end. However, there is no direct train to Spain from the Algarve at this time. You would need to take a bus to Huelva just across the border in Spain, then you can continue eastward to Seville, etc. If you have a car, then you have access to the A22 which crosses the Algarve and into Spain, A2 goes from Lisbon to the Algarve. Faro has an international airport with good connectivity to European destinations.

My favorite areas on this part of the trip were Vila Real de Santo António, Castro Marim, and Tavira.

This is an overview of 3 days during my scouting trip to the Algarve and my thoughts about the areas I visited. I did not do any tourist activities on this trip.

Where is the Geezer going next on the Scouting Trip?

I will be heading north through Alentejo.