Our holiday

[Tony Knight]

We have just returned from an enjoyable two weeks basking in the sunshine in Carvoeiro. We stayed in the same comfortable villa as last year in Salicos, on the outskirts of Carvoeiro. My, how things have changed in the town since our first visit eighteen years ago when Carvoeiro was termed a 'fishing village'.

We had two cars through Guerin Car Rentals from Faro Airport, and whilst they were not the cheapest around (especially the cost of a child seat) they were of quite a high spec, and more importantly, relatively new and in good condition. Although the vehicles had been paid in full through a broker in the UK, we were surprised to be asked to make a further payment of 18.50 euros for each car to register for the microchips therein for recording journeys on the A22 motorway, even though this would only be used on the airport journey. Upon returning the cars at the end of the holiday, a lady at the Guerin desk told us that other options had been available to us - these hadn't been originally mentioned. My advice to anyone collecting a hire car from Faro Airport would be to make sure exactly how that company are administering the toll charges.

On the day after our arrival it was our graddaughter's third birthday and obviously too late to see about ordering a birthday cake. We are indebted to a fellow contributor to this forum who very kindly made the arrangements for us. As with her second birthday last year, we had a cake made by Pastelaria Fabrica Velha, on the in road to the town. If you want a cake made for a special occasion, this is the place to go.

Finally, because our party included a young child, we thought that eating out might be something of a problem, so we mainly relied on takeaways. Apart from the usual Indian and pizza variety, I can highly recommend that offered by Ma-Ja's (we went there twice) which was excellent. Hope to see the two of you again next year.

Tony Knight

[pete-flint]

Glad you enjoyed your visit Tony, don't leave it so long for your next visit.

A friend of mine had a similar request for an up-front payment for the toll gadget, but was told any excess would be reimbursed on return, which it was.

[Tony Knight]

Pete-Flint

Pete
Although we thoroughly enjoyed our recent holiday in Carvoeiro (especially considering the weather back in the UK whilst we were there), and we would love to come back very soon, we will have to keep our fingers crossed that we'll be able to make it again next summer. I'm telling our young granddaughter that she will have to start saving up her pennies (or should that be euros). Of course, in the meantime if those lucky numbers come up on the lottery, who knows!!!! Ah well, we can dream can't we?

Finally,I must say that although I've only been a member of this forum for a few months, I have found that it has been extremely useful. As far as this year's holiday was concerned I wouldn't have been able to arrange for our granddaughter's birthday cake, been aware of the road tolls on the A22 and also the introduction of pay and display in the town. I only hope that we can enjoy these experiences again in the future

Tony Knight

[pete-flint]

Keep in touch Tony.