Vilamoura, Portugal
Welcome to Vilamoura Uncovered! Your guide to Vilamoura holidays. Find things to do, places to stay, information about eating out and what's on plus loads more useful information to help you enjoy a perfect holiday in Vilamoura with AlgarveUncovered.comFor information about Vilamoura in central Algarve, Portugal, you’ve come to the right place! Vilamoura Uncovered! is your complete guide for Vilamoura Holidays, the hotels, beaches, marina, restaurants, bars, things to do and, in fact, all things Vilamoura Uncovered!
For a real taste of Algarve luxury, Vilamoura resort is a must-see place to visit or to holiday! It is one of the biggest private tourism resorts in Europe and is one of the most prestigious in Portugal. Although fairly far removed from the traditional Algarve, the purpose-built leisure resort of Vilamoura offers accommodation to suit all tastes – luxury hotels, privately owned villas and apartments on the golf course complexes, and a wide range of hotels and apartments near the marina.
Vilamoura marina is the main centre of activity with a huge range of restaurants, bars and shops (including many designer shops). Luis Figo’s ‘Bar Sete’ (bar seven) is also on the marina front. During the day, although it can get quite busy, it’s really a very peaceful area to stroll around. It gets more lively at night, with everyone coming to eat and try out some of the bars, but is still a very relaxed resort.
Boasting a 1,000-berth marina, Vilamoura attracts the wealthy, yachtsmen, golfers, celebrities and in fact, anyone who just fancies enjoying a rather nice place in the sun! Vilamoura has something for everyone to enjoy – there are boat trips (for those of us who don’t own a boat!), specially designed trails for walking and cycling and restaurants and bars to suit all tastes and budgets.
Vilamoura golf has become world famous, and if you like golf, you will be pleased to know that there are several championship golf courses (all requiring handicap certificates by the way). For anyone who simply likes to go to the beach to relax, Vilamoura has two beautiful beaches, Praia da Marina (‘Vilamoura Beach‘), to the east of the marina and Praia da Falésia to the west. If you enjoy a walk, Praia da Falésia runs all the way to Olhos d’ Àgua or stroll along Praia da Marina into Quarteira. The resort is also home to Vilamoura Casino, which has regular evening entertainment, such as shows and dances, as well as the gaming rooms.
If you fancy a spot of luxury then relax the “Purobeach” way on sofas, canopied beds and loungers on Praia da Marina (in front of Tivoli Marina hotel) during the day or around the lake in the grounds of the hotel at nightime. DJ’s are on hand to provide gentle music through the day while you soak up the sun or treat yourself to a massage and the pace quickens at night with regular live music acts joining the DJ’s. Vilamoura is a great place to stay whether you just want to enjoy the beaches, play a few rounds of golf, have a game or two of tennis, try something more adventurous like parasailing or maybe take a ‘champagne cruise’ to celebrate a special occasion!
If you want to go further afield to get more of a feel for the Algarve there are plenty of places within easy reach. Loulé, famous for it’s Saturday gypsy market and brasilian style carnivals, is a lovely interesting town to visit. It has a 13/14th century castle, an excellent daily market in it’s new market hall and often has music festivals during the summer.
To the west of Loulé is a pretty village, Alte, at the foot of the hills – it is a very typical Algarvean village, with the church in the centre and narrow, cobbled streets with whitewashed houses spilling down the hillside. There are springs (fontes) at one end of the village and a very ‘picture postcard’ scene where the ducks and geese swim in a pool formed by the spring, before the water tumbles down a small waterfall further along.
Faro, the place so many people ‘forget’ to visit, is a lovely city. The old part of Faro, within the city walls, has the Cathedral and Bishop’s Palace in it’s central square (Largo de Sé). Just behind the marina (a very modest affair compared to Vilamoura’s!) lies the network of cobbled streets and squares, that make up the shopping centre.
Faro is also on the doorstep of the Ria Formosa – a network of lagoons and marshland protected on the seaward side by sandspit islands (‘ilhas’). It’s a really enjoyable 30 minute boat trip on a ferry from Faro to one of the ilha beaches, like Culatra or Deserta, through the Ria Formosa and gives a glimpse of the wild life on the way.
Nowhere in the Algarve is very far away so you can explore as much or as little as you want; Vilamoura holidays certainly offer everything you could want from a perfect holiday, without venturing any further afield!
If you just want to travel around the resort, there is a ‘tourist train’ running about every 30 minutes that costs about 3 euros – sit back and enjoy the view! Even if you are not staying in Vilamoura it really is well worth a visit, just to see how much the Algarve has to offer.
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