my time in Carvoeiro (September 2006)

[Odeceixe]

Dear all,

I used this website and forum to get some information about Portugal and
particularly Carvoeiro so I decided to share my experiences with you now.

First of all I have to say that Carvoeiro is a fantastic place and that my g/f and i would love to come back sometimes.
We stayed in Monte Dourado (Apt. T2). The appartment was very large (more than 90sqm) with nice furnishing and everything was bright and clean. There are 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a fully equiped kitchen and large dining / living room. It's definitely no problem to stay there with 4 people without feeling cramped. I can absolutely recommend this resort to everybody and would stay there again. Poeple with young children or people with a physical handicap should take into account that the way to the appartments is very steep on a distance of maybe 100 meters.

In September the Carvoeiro beach was not crowded!! In all Portugal-guides is mentioned that the beaches in Carvoeiro are full of people during summer but that was not the case in September. It was always possible to find a nice place at the Carvoeiro beach. We usually went to Praia Centianes. You can walk the distance within 20-25 minutes or take the bus.
It is a lovely place and you have an amazing view while walking down the steps to the beach. It's very nice!

One time we went to Praia Carvalho, Praia Benagil and Praia Marinha.
Praia Marinha is a MUST. It is defininetely the most impressive beach i have ever visited. A taxi from Praia Marhinha to Carvoeiro main square costs 7-9 Euro. Unfortunately there is no direct bus to Marinha and the last bus back to Lagoa drives already very early so that you need a taxi or a car.

The city of Carvoeiro is nice and you have an amazing view from one of the hills to the beach, the main square and the restaurants. It's lovely.
But I have to say that I missed some nice shops. Maybe I didn't found them but in the shops that I have seen you could only buy some cheap t-shirts, alcohol, cigarets, etc. There is a nice shop with potteries directly at the main square but if you like buy some stylish clothes you are wrong in Carvoeiro.

The range of restaurants is good. We ate a fish Cataplana at "Chico's" which was very tasty and went to the Casa Medici one time. I can recommend both to everybody.
For me nightlife was a little bit poor in September. With nearly 30 years my g/f and i belonged to the younger guests of Carvoeiro and for this age it's difficult to find the right bar after a good meal. I don't need a funky disoteque or something like that but I hoped that there would be maybe 2 or 3 bars where you can drink a few cocktails and listen to actual music.
We found nothing like that! There are a few bars with live-music (Jailhouse bar, Flic Flac etc.) but in my view the music was always very similar. During our first three evenings we learned "Hotel California" by rote... .
There was an Irish couple in the Flic Flac bar that was very good....Ok....they played "Hotel California", too but it sounded better ).

Unfortunately you cannot drive to Albufeira, Portimao or Praia da Rocha per bus in the evening. A taxi to Praia da Rocha costs 20-25 and to Albufeira (30-35 Euros) one way.

Nevertheless we had a very nice time in Carvoeiro and we will definitely come back to have another relaxing week at your beautiful beaches.

Moreover I would like to recommend some other places we visited during our trip to Portugal. There are a lot stunning beaches at the Costa Vicentina around Aljezur. The most lovely village I have ever seen is Odeceixe (Pssst. Don't tell anybody about this secret ). It's a lovey small village with some nice bars and restaurants. In Septmember you can rent a room for 20-35 Euros easily. We loved it! The beach is maybe 5km away from the village but there is a small train like in Carvoeiro that
you can use. We usually took the car.

Another nice place is Ericeira (maybe 35km away from Lissboa). The view out of one of the 4 star vila Gale Hotel rooms is stunning!!!

BTW: driving was no problem. The streets at the west coast and the highways are good. It's amazing to use the Vasco da Gama bridge to drive to Lissboa and it is pure fun to drive through hilly and curvaceous Portugal.

I hope that my comments will help somebody like this forum has helped me

Best regards.

[Lesley Jean]

That is such a nice account of your stay in Carvoeiro and Portugal. Glad you liked the town, food, weather etc. It was nice to hear you took the time to find the really nice 'out of the way' places too as sometimes these get missed.

I agree about the shopping in cvo, it would be nice to have a couple of really nice boutiques or up market shops rather than those always geared for the tourists.

[jeremy]

Lesley Jean - I agree. What about :

[john]

Why on earth would you want to ruin what was a 'fishing village' with up market shops? I go on holiday to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life and the thought of going to Harrods on holiday - well words fail me!!


Julie.

[jeremy]

Pls note:



&

[Lesley Jean]

hehe Jeremy I agree!!!!! and stop winding the others up, naughty boy

[pm]

Odeceixe are you from Odeceixe? Nice place, lovely beach, lovely restaurant. Can't remember the name of the restaurant but it is just uphill from the square and has half barrels or something like that on the walls.
If you aren't from Odeceixe, ignore the above!