Faro City Add-On

This was another well thought out trip by Inntravel.  Although it was challenging to walk on sand 80% of the time, the coastal views were stunning and the spring flowers beautiful.  It was a delight to see storks nesting on sea stacks and in flight.  The arrangements for collection of luggage went smoothly and we were welcomed wherever we went.  The food was generally excellent with a special mention for Tres Marias where the accommodation was also superb and spacious.  

We did two holidays on this journey to Portugal with Inntravel (having enjoyed 5 previous Inntravel holidays- we enjoy the organization, walk notes and town and city tours very much).

The Lisbon and Palaces of Sintra holiday was well organized with detailed accurate route notes which we greatly enjoyed. The Faro add on was lovely, nice hotel with rooftop pool and bar and interesting town and local biking and island hopping. Coast of Many Colours was fantastic with incredible views and boardwalks and interesting villages, fantastic food, when we were on the coastal areas of the hikes.

The holiday was disappointing in a major aspect however, because the Coast of Many Colours hike route included two full days (from the week long trip) of hiking into the interior, on poor routes that were part of the Portuguese hiking system, but NOT on the coast at all . These two days were on dirt roads, flat areas and significantly in some areas for parts of two days, we walked through areas that were completely industrial and uninspiring. We wouldn't do this trip again and will read all reviews thoroughly in future, the good and the bad. We noted prior to this trip, that several customers commented on the long routes on roads. It appears we weren't the only clients who were not pleased and would not do this interior portion again.

Frustratingly, it was clear from looking at the maps of the Fisherman's Trail that so many lovely sections are on the coast- yet Inntravel completely skipped two days of this in favour of interior walks. The trip would have been great if it stayed to the coast, and on or near the gorgeous Fishermans Trail, and local circular hikes, with the always helpful Inntravel descriptions, so hikers can truly enjoy the coast of many colours.

 Thank you for the hiking holiday Cheers 

Faro and Salema were high points, wonderful relatively small towns, along with the restored houses in Aldeia da Pedralva.

The walk from Salema to Vila Do Bispo had a very long and dull stretch. 

Excellent trip in February - Algarve was green after recent rain. Mild weather perfect for walking. Off the beaten track enough but with facilities open and not mobbed. Faro City add on at the end worthwhile - a train trip down the coast to pretty Travira is a good idea. Inntravel as organised as ever and all worked very well. Portugal and Portuguese people as welcoming as ever.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These custoemrs combined our walk A Coast of Many Colours with our Faro City add-on

Quinta das Achadas: This was a wonderful and relaxing holiday. Jill and Julio are genial hosts and the quinta is very well set up. We walked every day despite the Iberian heatwave in April. The coastal walks in particular are spectacular and retain the benefit of the sea breeze, which we missed on the inland walks. We had an excellent meal - freshly-grilled fish of our choice - at Restaurante Sitio do Forno on the Carrapateira walk, which we heartily recommend, but do 'phone ahead to reserve a table if you want to sit outdoors with a view.  If you like to get started with your walking early in the day before the heat builds, be warned that breakfast is set out around 09:00.

Faro Add-on: There is enough to justify two days here, despite it being a small city.  We particularly enjoyed a ferry trip (very smooth) out to the Ilha da Berreta (marketed as Ilha Deserta) where we explored the island on extensive boardwalks over the dunes and had an excellent meal at Estaminé restaurant. The restaurant has to be booked in advance and it's sensible to tie that in with the ferry times. We also enjoyed a short Fado concert in the Municipal Museum (Fri/Sat/Sun).

Another very good trip with Inntravel and we particularly enjoyed returning to Portugal as there is so much excellent fresh fish. We enjoyed the variety of coastal and inland walks, although the walks themselves were not that exciting and there were few villages or places to stop along each one. It was also a lot warmer than we expected at the end of March which made the walking challenging – boots & poles needed on the cliffs – and the inland walks were mainly along sandy tracks with little shade. Take plenty of water as there few places to top it up. The route notes were good but unfortunately quite old and often confusing. We used them as a starting point but regularly referred to the invaluable GPX tracks when we weren’t sure. We use Wikiloc and download the routes and an offline map to save on data and phone battery. We would certainly have got lost without them. Adding 3 nights in Faro made the overall holiday for us. We also added an extra night in Salema (we loved being so close to the sea) and another in Pedralva. Our favourite hotel was Casa Fajara, the place, the welcoming staff and the food made it very special. We had excellent fish (sea bream for 2) at Atlantico in Salema, enjoyed Fish with Rice at the lively Ribeiro do Poco (get there early as it gets very busy), ate twice at Sitio do Forno in Carrapateira, both their fresh fish & salads are good. The manager of Casa Fajara told us that the other coastal fish restaurant O Sitio do Rio has now closed. In the town he recommended Alecrim and Do Cabrita but we had a very good light lunch in the Microbar right in the centre.
In Faro we ate in the hotel restaurant one night and had our final Sea Bass for 2 at Taberna Modesto in the old town, as it name implies it is a very basic place but as ever the food was very good. We also enjoyed lunch twice at the French Cozinha das Ilhas on R. Conselheiro Bivar (I recommend their Salade Creole). Faro, we enjoyed immensely. Three days gave us plenty of time to explore. We started by taking the tourist train (actually a sort of bus) that departs by the bandstand near the hotel on the hour and takes 45 minutes to do a complete tour including the walled city, gives you an excellent overview and takes you to parts that would have been too far to walk. We then followed the walking notes and spent some time in the fascinating Municipal Museum.