Christmas 2007 in the Algarve

On arrival at Quinta da Colina, near Tavira in the eastern Algarve, we were greeted by warm winter sunshine and it was lovely spending the first day unwinding like lizards in the afternoon rays. The accommodation here is wonderful, very tastefully renovated and decorated with additional luxuries of a welcome pack, plus big fluffy white towels and bathrobes add that extra special touch during your stay. With an endless supply of logs for the wood burner and all the home comforts you could ask for, this was an excellent choice of accommodation.


Set in very peaceful surroundings, with dozens of orange and lemon trees, this really is a rural retreat and the hosts George and Tassie are very welcoming and accommodating.

We were told that there had been no rain for 3 months, however the second morning I excitedly opened the shutters expecting to squint at bright sunlight streaming in and was greeted with dark ominous clouds. It started to rain and rained torrentially for 5 days and 5 nights. We were grateful for UK freeview television to see us through the bad weather! After the rain, came the mosquitos who made a meal of me, so insect repellant is recommended, even during the winter if you are a mozzie magnet!

Overall if you are looking for peace and tranquility in beautiful surroundings with first rate accommodation this is the place to stay. You will not be disappointed.


The nearest restaurant is in Almargem, the menu is meat-tastic and you would struggle here if you are a vegetarian, although the food was good value and very tasty. There is a supermarket within a 15 minute drive and other well stocked supermarkets in Tavira and Altura. The local piri piri chicken is hot and spicy and very inexpensive.

We spent some time in Vila Real de Santo Antonio where there are some lovely cafes and restaurants and Monte Gordo whose beach is the longest stretch of pale soft sand I have seen and there are some fantastic seashells on this beach.

Worth seeing is the small fishing village of Cacela Velha. Perched on top of a fortress and with a great panorama of the Ria Formosa. This lovely little village built within the fortress walls is a taste of old Algarve and is worth a visit to see the church and traditional houses. There is also a restaurant in the village.

When the rain subsided we drove across the western Algarve to Praia da Luz so that Mr Deany could get a pint of proper beer although he did discover that the local brewers of Super Bock and Sagres lager beer also brew a stout beer which he took quite a shine to. We also set out across the border into Spain enroute to Seville. The long journey through unspectacular scenary was disappointing and Seville was a driving nightmare, we did not stay long and soon made our way back to the Algarve!

On a clear evening the sunset from the accommodation is wonderful and there are more photos of this accommodation on the Flickr photos link.

The eastern Algarve is a totally different ball game to the resorts found in the western Algarve from Faro. It is more traditional and not as geared to tourism. Ideally you do need to have a car in the eastern Algarve and be prepared to travel a little further afield to find what you are looking for. Despite the weather's best efforts to dampen our spirits this was a lovely relaxing break and if you are looking for a haven of calm, away from the tourist hub then this would be an ideal place to stay.

Additional note re car hire - when you book car hire online you should be aware that, in some parts of europe (I have never experienced this in Greece), in the event of an accident, there is a 1500 Euro excess and in the face of such a large amount of money you may have to stump up, you feel obligated to cover this with fully comprehensive insurance. On this occasion it amounted to more than 160 Euros on top of the car hire cost for our 11 day car rental period. When I made the booking I paid extra for the 'refundable excess' option to be advised on arrival that this did not cover everything in the event of an accident and the only option was the fully comprehensive insurance. It is time the full cost of car hire, including details of the excess and the option to take fully comprehensive insurance, is included at the time of booking so there are no further unexpected expenses :(