Exciting Day Trips and Excursions

There are so many different types of day trips and excursions that can be taken in and around the Algarve. Indeed, visitors to the central Algarve, staying in Albufeira, are spoilt for choice and have an ideal launch-pad from which to reach all parts of the Algarve within an hour's travel time.

Travel around the Algarve is simple and straight forward. The independent traveller will most likely use car, bus or train.

Car rental: a competitively priced hire car can be obtained through a reputable rental company quite easily. There is an efficient Guerin office at Parque da Corcovada and Auto Prudente's nearest office is just 5 minutes walk away across the Globe roundabout towards St Eulalia. Booking in advance of your visit will most likely secure the best prices and I find that sites like: www.carhire3000.com and www.arguscarhire.com are very competitive starting form around 100 Euros per week for a basic small car with air conditioning (note peak season prices will be higher and the October 2011 price of petrol was around 1.60E per litre). The main arterial Algarve roads are the A22 motorway running from the Spanish border to Largos in the West (which is becoming a toll road in November 2011) and the older, slower N125 parallel coast road.

Bus travel: although this is a slower method of travel, it is inexpensive and an ideal way to explore the Algarve. The main bus provider is EVA, who sell 3 day (26.70E) and 7 day (33.50E) passes, and you might like to try the coastal 'Linha Litoral' route from Albufeira to Largos, the 'Frota Azul' which will get you from Albufeira to the stunning mountain town of Silves, or the 'Rota Rio Formosa' for eastern routes from Faro to Tavira and Antonio. More information can be found at: http://algarve.angloinfo.com/information/33/busses.asp .

Train travel: from the train station at Albufeira it is possible to get to Tavira in an hour and a half for just over five Euros one way and for the more adventurous traveller Lisbon is just over 2.5 hours away (one way ticket circa 25 Euros). More information on prices and time tables can be found at the 'CP' website: http://www.cp.pt .

Here are some of our day trip ideas:

Silves & Monchique

Take a 30 minute drive into the mountainous Algarve hinterland and find yourself transported into a rural world of olive groves, cork trees, white villages and Moorish castles, with fabulous sweeping panoramic views.

Silves (http://www.silvesuncovered.com/) is a pretty town with a Roman bridge, beautiful town squares and overshadowed by an impressive Moorish castle.

Travel higher into the mountains to the magnificant mountain summit with sweeping views of the Algarve and visit the nearby spa town of Monchique.