hi all
new member to the forum here. very useful site!

will be coming over in june with the family (renting a villa). just got a couple of questions

is it worth paying the extra for a villa with a heated pool? presumably in june the water wont be too cold.

also, i've read a couple of messages on here regarding security issues, and burglaries etc. if leaving windows open at night is not recommended, presumably renting a villa with aircon is a good idea?

Hi and welcome to the site, with the pool temperatures it depends on how warm you like the water to swim in. We don't have our pool heated at the moment but as soon as we are using our place more we definitely will as even in the summer the water is cold. Personally I would go for a heated pool.

There have been a spate of burglaries in and around the village but I think with common sense, not leaving doors unlocked or windows open then you should not have a problem I hope.

Enjoy your visit it is a great place, hire a car and get to drive around the Algarve, Lagos, Silves, Monchique and the far west are all wonderful places to visit.

thanks for the quick reply Lesley. looks like a heated pool and air con is a must for us then

our 2yo daughters learning to swim so was just thinking about her regarding the pool temp, plus security issue is important too

last came to algarve 5 years ago - loved it. it was the only place we considered when deciding on a family holiday.

will definately rent a car again. went all the way to sagres last time stopping at silves castle etc on the way. love it!

It also depends on how much sun gets on the pool during the day and how deep the pool is relative to its size. A small deep pool will take longer to warm up that a large shallow one.

Providing the villa has fans in the bedrooms and elsewhere, you will not need air conditioning. Pool temps in June are varied and the best bet is for overnight heating which we offer as against 24/7 which will cost a lot more. Average cost for 24/7 heating via a non rip off owner is about £120. If you can, get the meter read before and after your stay by the management company. This is what we do and charge cost only! Beware. Have a great time, sure you will.

I wouldn't heat our pool in June but we like a refreshing dip, we have friends & relatives who like the pool to be the temperature of a warm bath which I hate, so it really is personal preference.

I would go for aircon before pool heating. It can be very hot in June.

With a two year old, I think you will spend a lot of time in the pool just 'splashing around' rather than racing up and down - therefore I think pool heating is important. We have found with ours that once it is up to temperature, if you have a pool with a cover and are quite religious on putting the cover on when the pool is not in use then it does not take much to retain the heat. However, it can take a day or two to get up to temperature. If you are really lucky the previous occupants will have heated it up already - if not, see if you can get the heating put on the day before you arrive to avoid a chilly dip for the first couple of days.

Even though the outside temperature can be hot in June we have never found the need for air conditioning - especially since most of the day time you will be in and out and therefore if you have it on in the day you are effectively trying to air-con the whole Algarve! The night time temperature drop, combined with the normal breeze, seems to be enough to keep the temperatures down, and if you get a villa with ceiling fans this should be quite comfortable.

thanks for all the reply. got a pretty good picture built up now.

and thanks graham. re the aircon was just thinking about night time if the windows need locking for security, i'm guessing it may get stuffy. however i've seen a lot of villas have barred windows so presumably these can be left open.

looks like a heated pool is a must. the little 'un can be a bit fussy!