Tavira

toni · Post by **toni** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 1:31 pm

Retuning to CVO for the second time in May

, we are considering a trip to Tavira. How long does it take to drive there, and is it worth the trip?
We have two toddlers with high car boredom thresholds but i'd be willing to risk it with a bit of advice from the hugely informative forum members!
(avid follower but this is my first post)
Thanks
Toni

kteee · Post by **kteee** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 2:39 pm

Welcome to the Forum!

Tavira is just the other side of Faro, so only about an hour's drive from Carvoeiro.

Pretty town, with a nice harbour - worth a visit, also Olhao while you are there.

k

toni · Post by **toni** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 4:24 pm

Thanks Kteee - that's really helpful, we'll definitely include it in our schedule.

digger · Post by **digger** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 5:56 pm

Hello Toni and welcome. In my opinion: yes, go for it. Whizz down the auto estrada, check out the historic town centre, find somewhere interesting to lunch, take a walk across that Roman bridge and perhaps take a ferry to the island. Leisurely drive back to cvo - I guess you should allow about an hour each way, as ktee says. The beauty of holidaying in Algarve with a car is that you can do these daytrips; there are a number of interesting places within reach of cvo and Tavira is def. one of them. (but I don’t know if it’s really worth venturing any further east)
Drive carefully

MattK · Post by **MattK** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 7:28 pm

anyone ever read the independent's weekly 50 best supplement? A few months ago tariva came top of a list titled, "best undiscovered places".

toni · Post by **toni** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 3:06 pm

Thanks for the info everyone.
The reason we thought about it MattK was a similar article in the Sunday Times - maybe it won't be a secret much longer?

MattK · Post by **MattK** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 9:09 pm

you're probably right! get there before all the other tourists "discover" it1

Matt

daytripper, yea · Post by **daytripper, yea** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 9:18 pm

Tavira certainly sounds worth a visit.
Can anyone suggest/recommend other places to visit - say - within 1 hour of Carvoeiro???

MattK · Post by **MattK** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 11:04 pm

Ask about a monchique safari at the tourist info place, that was an excellent day trip.

Matt

Gambrinus · Post by **Gambrinus** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 8:42 am

Within an hour from CVO? - Anything from the bottom of the ocean to the top of the Monchique mountains:

Boat trips along the coast, caves, bbq on private beach, fishing, diving, shopping in portimao, lying on the beach at ferragudo watching the sun set, taking a stroll along praia da Rocha or Armação beach, riverboat up to silves, silves castle, monchique drive including a stroll through Caldas de Monchique - origin of some of the best fountain water in Portugal, chicken piri-piri stop just below the peak, driving down past the golf course back towards Odiaxere, west coast, Sagres, Vila do Bispo - try one of several portuguese restaurants there, you will not be dissapointed. Heading east from Silves, the Messines road leads into the backlands of Loulé and the serra Espinhaço do Cão, take the winding roads through Salir down to the hilltop town of Querença then on towards Loulé entering the town from the north you will be able to stop and take a stroll down to the market, into little alleys filled with memories of the past. Saddle up and head east towards Faro, shopping and a stroll down the promenade by the river is a great way to kill a few hours. From here on to Tavira and Olhão and end up in the border town of Vila Real de Santo António and the Guardiana river - turn back and start again

Peter Belinfante · Post by **Peter Belinfante** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 9:55 am

Gambrinus wrote:From here on to Tavira and Olhão and end up in the border town of Vila Real de Santo António and the Guardiana river - turn back and start again

Don't turn back from Santo António, but take the ferry from there to the other side of the river into Ayamonte(Spain) and come back on the IP1 and cross the Guadiana by the bridge at Castro Marim again into Portugal. (If I'm not wrong the ferrytrip takes about 15 min.)