Carvoeiro

[redwinegirl]

I won't be back!

Good.

Obviously you can't really see straight so maybe you took a wrong turn at Benidorm !

Did you get off your backside and hire a car ? Did you manage to tear yourself away from your hotel package and see some of the outstanding natural beauty sights right on the doorstep ? Did you walk across the cliffs and see the breathtaking scenery ?

You are actually the type of person that causes me not to WANT to holiday in CVO during the height of summer. Everything you've posted might be your opinion but "English Bars" etc etc is a complete and utter load of codswallop. I regularly sit on a beach near to CVO next to Portugese, German, Swiss, Finns and Americans.

Take your blinkers off and I would suggest next time you grace some other place that you take in what the whole area has to offer.

FFS !

[Grinch]

I have never been to Benidorm because I hate 'English breakfast', 'Irish bar', 'Sunday roast' signs and bars owned by English people! This is exactly what I don't want. We (3 couples, mid 50's) arrived in Carvoeiro, sorry, CVO, and this is what we found.
Perhaps I should have been a little more specific when I said 'English' in my original post. What I was trying to say was that everything I found in 'CVO' I can find in the UK.
Redwinegirl, yes we 'get off our backside's' as we booked everything ourselves. No package tour, we did have a car, we went to Silves, Cape St Vincent, Praia de Roche, Sagres.
Silves, well what can you say? Nothing out of the ordinary, in fact the church / catherdral was one of the most uninteresting places I have ever been. The 'castle' was nearly as bad. Pay to go in and then walk around the walls, and out again. not allowed to go anywhere else as it is all fenced off.
Lagoa was recommended for shopping, waste of time!
P d R is Benidorm!
I agree the cliffs of the Algarve are spectacular, but thats about it!
But anyway, this is about CVO!
The point I was trying to make was, that I went to Portugal to experience Portugal.
I hardly heard a Portugese voice (except at the till in 'Inter marche') and I saw very little culture except the English one. I went into what I thought was a Portugese restaurants and bars and was served by English staff.
Every bar and restaurant seems to think that big TV's are the be all and end all! I don't want to watch football while I am eating!

Having said all this, the villa we rented was great and we had some lovely nights in with a B.B.Q. by the pool. The website said it was a ten minute walk to the village when it turned out to be 30 minutes, and I walk fast, but who's going to argue over 20 mins? We still enjoyed our stay.
I just won't be back, because its 'Little Britain!

I hope you all enjoy your life / holidays in CVO but you should really try somewhere else!

Its a big world out there. Goodbye!

And as a final word, no its not a wind-up!

[ROTCIV]

I DON'T BELIEVE IT!

[redwinegirl]

Lagoa was recommended for shopping, waste of time!


I hope you all enjoy your life / holidays in CVO but you should really try somewhere else!

Its a big world out there. Goodbye!

And as a final word, no its not a wind-up!

Actually I'm just back from a villa holiday in Cape Coral south-west Florida and I have a holiday forthcoming to Thailand, I'm off to a mates wedding in Belgrade and then I have a city break booked in Vienna d so yes I do get about rather than just holiday in CVO.

Anyway sorry for getting stroppy.

[Robbie]

Me thinks that everybody should calm down a bit Gringe is entitled to his opinions and if we don't agree well then thats why this world is such a wonderful place. I'm from Ireland and people travel from all over the world to see the sights here and enjoy the hospitality and yet I can't wait to get out of it at every opportunity to go to "heaven". People have different experiences in different places and so be it. My only observation would be if he really wanted to see Portugal in its purest sense he should have maybe rented a villa in a rural region of the country further north. Carvoeiro is a cosmopolitan village which has to serve many tastes and that is what most of us like about the place. You can have a very Portuguese holiday if you look for it and others can have the best of both worlds. It has got a diversity all of its own and sadly it didn't work for Gringe I assume you won't be back and good luck to you wherever you decide to holiday in the future. As for the rest of us "if we are living in some sort of distorted / imaginary world lets enjoy every minute of it"

[Ellie]

In some respects Grinch makes some good points and I know that some of my Portuguese friends would agree with him.
Some years back, I put a thread on here called 'The Disappearing World'..
It was after I had come back from a long holiday(month) in Algarve..mainly staying at Vila Nova..
the thread was about what I had witnessed and the many changes and also about comments from my Portuguese friends. For example, when we lived there it was a common sight to see horse and cart on the roads..but on this holiday, we saw 2 incidents where the horse & cart were literally driven off the road by fast moving vehicles..
we saw the new road into Silves and that some of the countryside we knew had disappeared.
My Portuguese friends, quite a few of them, moaned about their culture disappearing, with the onslaught of tourism... in fact one, upped sticks and moved to Spain because he was so fedup with what he called the take over of Brit, German, Irish, Dutch peoples.

But you can find real Portugal in Algarve but you will only find it by be-friending local people. I still have many friends in Lagoa from our time of residency and my favourite place is to sit in the park there (with the cafe) and chat to the men, the old chaps who sit there. I can manage a conversation (just) and I love to listen to them and hear of times past.

Make friends, go off the beaten track, venture into the little pastelarias where the Portuguese eat, drink and Ill bet your bottom dollar that you will find someone interesting to talk to and learn about these nice friendly people.
Algarve has one of the most beautiful coastlines to enjoy and I love it....but make friends of the people and you will learn more and...they never forget you

[wolfie]

Having been going on holiday for almost 20 years to CVO I have to say I agree wholeheartedly with Robbie .CVO may not be perfect but it has a charm all of its own ; its not the real Portugal but a mix of many cultures and people. I would like to see a little more Portugal and less full english breakfasts personally but each to their own .Its what you make it

[Lesley Jean]

I so agree with you Ellie, we bought our house because it is away from the 'touristy' area and is in lovely countryside, we have three Portuguese run farms as neighbours all of whom we have spoken to and have been lucky enough to be given fruit and eggs each time we go out there. One of our neighbours is English but they have worked and lived out there for over 20 years now and are probably more local than the locals.
There is nothing I like more than to drive inland towards Silves/Messines/Monchique and find a small restaurant/cafe and try the more 'local' foods and try and talk, my Portuguese is virtually non existent but we somehow get by with gesture and words and a lot of smiling!!

This web site though is dedicated to the people who love and go to Carvoeiro so the fact that everyone on here spends a lot of time there when they can is hardly surprising is it, if they wanted to travel to other places then I am sure they will but if you like somewhere for what ever reason you will always go back. I think we are lucky in that cvo is a mix of Portuguese and European cultures at least it is nothing like the 'Costa's' of Spain, now there is a place which is so Brits abroad that it would be the last place you would find me going to.

Even tho' we do have a house in the Algarve like others we enjoy going to other places, America, France, Canada, Italy, are just a few I can think of now.

Some people look at the wrong aspects of tourist villages and get totally the wrong idea about the place.

[Smack7]

We are due back on Friday for the second year in a row with three different lots of friends who are reyurning for their fourth and fifth trips.

None of us are fans of the GB Breakfast regime, kiss me quick hats or stuffed donkeys!

Carvoeiro may not be, by all accounts, the quaint fishing village it once was but it's a long way from Benidorm. We will manage to get as much of the local culture as we are willing to look for, the comfort of knowing there's enough to keep 13 kids ranging from 19-2 happy and occupied available relatively locally, peace and quiet when we want it and a little buzz when it's needed!

Friday can't come soon enough for us and no amount of negativity will change our opinion. the only down side is Portugal won't be in the final of Euro 2008!

[Ellie]

I think Carvoeiro still has that 'fishing village' ambience, least thats what I feel when Im there, its 'intimate' with everything on your doorstep and perfect for a family holiday!
Hope you have a lovely time Smack7 with your family in CVO

[CM]

Now then where to start...

When anybody asks me about CVO I have a stock answer, "Busy enough to know you are on your holidays but not so manic to attract the scumbags". This, I believe, is still largely true. More to the point I feel is that Carvoeiro and its surrounding area has everything you could possibly want, this is not just some glib generic comment but actually true, if you want the beach then what coast line is better? a meal out? a takeaway? cheap & cheerful supper or lavish dinner?

I must add that I feel a car is a must to get the full flavour of the area or a very good understanding of the public transport at least.

I visited over 10 different countries last year with the kids and the astute 14 year old said to me that she feels that there is a little bit of everything in Carvoeiro, she feels comfortable walking in the village, pottering about so to speak.

Loads more to say but busy (thank god for you lot)

[Ant1969]

Who the hell do your think you are, Grinch? You start your thread slagging the place off without any justification. Then, when pressed, you slag off any number of other places around the Algarve. You criticise a church for being boring. What do you want? Juggling Priests and roller coasters?

What a miserable piece of work you are. You come onto this forum, post one thread, the purpose of which can only be to wind us up and then leave. I bet your mates had a right laugh with you around?

Now "F" off and go on holiday somewhere else, like Colditz, you miserable old goat!

[redwinegirl]

You know what...I'd like to apologise for my initial outburst re. Grinch.
In fact a couple of years ago I remember posting regarding the "new hotel bulding work" which included the "Mirachoro Praia" hotel upon the hill. How I used to remember CVO - well it was still a village, with the villas dotted over the landscape and hotels in CVO actually being few and far between (and I'm "only" 38) and the village had a restful and tranquil atmosphere. At night in the square you could definitely hear the sea, you could catch a converation and laughter from diners at a restaurant and maybe there was some element of football being played or the odd one or two having a couple too many...(and I'm not patronising as I'm an avid lover of the vino myself)
Of recent I've witnessed the sprawling delevopment that has / is taking place and the "atmosphere and ambience" is drifting. I can fake it all I want lounging around on Caneiros or dining "out of town" but something is achanging. It still manages to take my breath away when I drive from Monte CVO or even up the hills but come a certain time during the evening I see boisterous and often offensive behaviour...and certainly not all down to us Brits. The last time I visited was during March and I sat at Metabixo. I watch a chunky British lass "ride" a skateboard down the hill from Monte CVO on her backside....with the accompianed "Jeeeeeezusssss F*********** Ch********ST. " Pleasant.
Then she disappeared back into Sullys. I've walked into a restaurant with my mum and been heckled by a bunch of men and felt so embarrassed we've "about turned" and made a swift exit....
For me it's a million miles apart from the place that I dreamed about and wanted to buy my retirement home. However I'm still visiting again in October and I have no reason to doubt to that I won't be back next year but for me the development and the requirement to fill it, has brought on it's own problems........

[heini]

" I watch a chunky British lass "ride" a skateboard down the hill from Monte CVO on her backside....with the accompianed "Jeeeeeezusssss F*********** Ch********ST. " Pleasant. "

Redwine girl, I was at Matabixo too, and watched that exhibition.
In general I agree with your assessment of what has been changing over the years and just like you, we are coming back year after year - for now. Heini

[bifas 1st darling!]

Don't knock Benidorme, we went there for a week a few years back. We drove all through the night and got there about 8a.m. As we drove into the town we looked at eachother and said "Oh no, where are we? It's just concrete! " The first impression was awful, but after we'd settled in out 15th floor apt had a sleep we set out to explore. During the week we got out and about walked Kms and had a REALLY good time, even had an English breakfast (which my Portuguese husband loves!!).

So, in my opinion it's not waht the place looks like or has, it's what YOU make of it that decides if you have a great holiday or not.