Aldeia das Acoteias, Apartamentos, Ferias, Algarve, Albufeira

When people talk about the Algarve, those
listening automatically think of Albufeira. This
town is similar to well established tourist
towns throughout the Mediterranean. Despite
this, it does have a strong Portuguese flavour
(probably something to do with the smell of
grilling sardines), and does have some high
points.

The town square is somewhat stylised and
designed for the tourist but the Fisherman's
Beach to the east (Note - Pay and Display Car
Park) is not so sanitised. Out of the main
season the square is an almost restful spot
with shaded public seating as well as cafe and
restaurant seating if needed. It also attracts a
number of street performers both single and in
groups. These can be very good indeed!
Regretfully the area is packed solid during the
main season these days and so is not restful at
all. The walk through the alleys between the
Fisherman's Beach (Photo 92kbytes) and the
main square has many restaurants and bars.
The pavement space is full of stalls some
better than others in that they are not selling
the normal tourist items. One would not
describe Albufeira town as child friendly in
that the cobbled pavements are often
obstructed by cars and, along with narrow
entrances to shops etc., are in no way "buggy"
friendly. As with Portimao, it is worth
watching out for the seedy characters who will
try and sell you 'gold' rings etc.

The Beach here is often very crowded but
empty space can be found if you walk to the
east. There are a number of cafe cum
restaurants along the beach hiring out sun beds,
windbreaks etc. In addition, a range of
watersports operate (slugs, bananas,
para-ascending etc.) and boat trips often pick
up passengers direct from the sand, using small
jolly boats, or from the jetty (being built
1995). If you walk to the west then you will
find a cliff path that leads to a number of caves
and then towards the construction site of a
new marina (Sept 2000). The main access
points to the beach are fisherman's beach (east
side of the town), or via the Tunnel next to the
Tourist information centre.

Beach Fisherman

Beach Fisherman