Albufeira Tips
We have stayed in Albufeira area several times - notably in 2010, 2015, 2022 and in the nearby town of Olhos de Agua in 2023.
Albufeira is centrally located in the Algarve region and convenient for day trips to other towns and beaches in the Algarve.
It is large enough to have plenty to offer people of all ages. Lots of restaurants and bars, lots of rental condos and hotels, shopping, an old town area with interesting pedestrian areas. The beaches in and around Albufeira are great. It is hilly around parts of town as you go from the surronding area to the beach and old town centre.
There are two prominent and popular areas in Albufeira popular with tourists. The first is old town Albufeira. This is a very nice area with a ton of shops, restaurants and bars. It is touristy, with lots of people and souvenir shops but is a great spot to enjoy a beverage, bite to eat or just people watch! The town beach is here as well, a great area. The beach has an elevator at one end and an escalator system leading to surrounding area which are also full of shops, restaurants, hotels and businesses. We like visiting the old town area and enjoying what it has to offer.
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| Square in Old Town Albufeira |
The other popular area, though more so with the younger party crowd is the “strip” area. More to the eastern end of town, this is labelled the strip because its main street resembles a Vegas bar and restaurant bonanza. This street is virtually a line of restaurants and many (loud) bars, where the stag and hen party’s frequent. Depending on your tastes this might be appealing for a visit or a drive by or not at all. You probably don’t want to stay in an accommodation too close to here as you might not get much sleep. There are some noisy bars in old town as well but many of these along the strip are over the top.
There is a very nice marina that serves Albufeira but unfortunately it is a bit away from the main center of town. It can be reached easily by car and there is a tourist trolley that goes there as well. Of course taxi and Uber are also easy ways to reach here. It has some restaurants and bars and is where lots of boat tours leave from. The boat tours can be booked at various agencies around Albufeira, such as in old town. We have done a boat tour out of the marina. The boat tours have a wide range from just a coastal excursion to caves tours, high speed boats, deep sea fishing, dolphin watching, etc. Just remember if you book in advance the weather can be a factor, this is the Atlantic Ocean so winds can bring serious surf and wave conditions.
Supermarkets in Albufeira:
-The largest is the Continente. There is one in the Albufeira shopping center, which is pretty central in the town. This is not a great mall in terms of shop selection but it was recently renovated and does have a large Continente supermarket and a Wells Pharmacy. The other location for the Continente supermarket is at the Algarve Shopping Center.
Algarve Shopping Center - if you have a car this is easy to get to. It is about 10-15mins drive from the center of Albufeira. I think you can also get there by local bus from Albufeira and also taxi or Uber. This mall has over 100 shops and some nearby box type stores. There are not a lot of north american brand name shops. There is a very large Continente supermarket, some electronics stores and various clothing and other stores. There is a very good Decathlon Sports store on the adjacent property and a Leroy Merlin (a Home Depot type store) across the highway from the shopping mall if you needed something you couldn’t get at a “local” China store. If you drive to the Algarve Shopping Mall there are two stops that may be of interest on the way. One is the Garcia’s booze store. This has the largest selection and best prices for booze. Not extraordinarily cheaper than the supermarkets but worth a stop if you are nearby. There is also a very large China store near the Garcias. It is called the Chinese Oriente Perfeito. It is massive, like a monster Dollarama. It has a huge selection of “stuff”! From clothing, electronic, hardwares, etc. some stuff is cheap but some is not all that cheap. It is all imported directly from China.
Other activities you can partake in the area include golfing, lots of options for hiking, theme parks, a sand castle park (Sand City in Lagoa), wine tasting, quad or jeep tours, bike tours. We are not big bike people, in fact we have not had our own working bikes in many years but we have rented bikes in California and done lots of easy coastal riding. In 2023 we went on a half day bicycle tour. We thoroughly enjoyed it. It was through Algarve Bike Holidays, who have an office near old town Albufeira. We went on their Quinta do Lago – Praia de Faro tour. Here is a link to their website:
Link to Bike Tour Company and specific tour
Here is a list of Algarve towns we have visited on day trips by driving from Albufeira:
Going east……
-Loule - beautiful market town. Go on a Saturday, for market day and try to arrive no later than mid-morning as the market stalls start to close at about 12:30. A visit here is recommended.
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| Loule market bldg in background with red domes, market is finished for the day and streets empty |
-Vilamoura & Quarteira (these are side by side but like chaulk and cheese) - Vilamoura is high end shops, restaurants and bars, attended by rich golfing Brits. Good for a walk around and people watching and it also has a marina with impressive marine pleasure vessels. Quarteira is where the locals that work in Vilamoura live, lol. Better prices, lots of condo buildings. There are world class golf courses near Vilamoura and great beaches to the north and south.
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| Vilamoura marina |
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| Street in Vilamoura near marina |
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| Quarteira promenade |
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| Faro pedestrian street |
-Tavira - near to the spanish border. Beautiful town with interesting sites. Tavira is popular with Americans and Canadians and you can see the Spanish influence in the restaurant menus and there is a moorish (north African) influence in the buildings. It is set along a river, though there are beautiful wild beaches nearby. Barril is a fav beach of ours but you have to walk a pedestrian bridge and take a small train or walk a further 15mins or so to get to this barrier island beach. If you like beaches a visit here might be fun, research recommended.
-Olhao - more traditional Portugese town, perhaps the least touristy of all places along the Algarve. You will need a car to visit here. Parking is readily available and convenient near the market buildings. If you have run out of other day trips this is still a good one. Go on a Saturday, market day and arrive by midmorning. At the water front there are two impressive market buildings, one for produce and the other for seafood. These are interesting for tourists but they are where the locals shop. The local streets near the market area are also very nice and there are lots of restaurant options with great prices. If you are adventurous and have a full day, take the ferry out to the barrier island of Ilha de Armona. We did this and found it a fun adventure. Not overly exciting but something different to do. We would suggest doing a bit of research on this if you are interested. We have done one day trip here to Olhao with the afternoon on Ilha de Armona by local ferry.
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| Square in Olhao with famous statue |
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| Olhao market buildings in background |
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| Inside one of the 2 Olhao market buildings |
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| Olhao street |
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| Armona Island |
-Armacao de Pera - not too exciting as it is mostly condo buildings surrounding what is a nice promenade and beach area. Very scenic coastline and beaches if you drive west from the town. We have visited several times and the beaches and coastline and hiking areas to the west are great. There are restaurants, bars, some local shops, a local market and a couple of big supermarkets.
-Silves - nice day trip town. It has a impressive castle, a quaint historic area with small shops and restaurants. We have day tripped here a couple of times. The surrounding area has various wineries if you are so inclined. These can probably be visited independently if you have a vehicle and DD or through a tour. Research recommended.
-Portimao - working town but does have a historic centre that has shops and restaurants and a large maritime museum, worth a visit if you like museums. Then there is the nearby resort beach area of Praia da Rocha, one of the most famous and photographed in the Algarve, with big hotels and lots of shops and the are the amazing sand stacks along the beautiful beach and coast in this area.
-Alvor - small but cute town with nice small marine harbour and a great boardwalk along the wetlands and water. The beaches leading from here to Praia da Rocha are a maze of wonder, stacks, coves and sand adventures, but watch out for the tide and waves!
- Ferragudo - small town across the marina from Portimao. Quaint streets, a former fishing port. Some people make this a base to stay but without vehicle rental it might be challenging.
-Lagos - many make this a hub for the Algarve and stay here from a few days to all winter. A lot of rental accommodations nearby. Lots of Brits and northern Europeans. Very nice historic town center with a maze of alleys, full of shops and restaurants. A very nice local market. A big marina with a multitude of boat tours and other water adventure options. Both a train and bus station very near the town center make this a convenient way to visit. Beaches to the east and west are amazing. If you are here you must visit the Ponta da Piedade headland. A beautiful place for a walk, hike and just to take in the coastline. We have visited Lagos on a couple of day trips and stayed here for 2 weeks in 2023. If you stay here it is a convenient place from which to take day trips to western Algarve towns like Luz, Salema, Burgau, Sagres and some of the beaches of the western Alentejo (Bordeiro and others) and the mountain town of Monchique. Also to the north and east for Silves, Portimao, Alvor and others.
Lagos area pictures:
Link to Algarve Tourist Website
Here are a list of nearby beaches and some brief comments on each (we have visited all of these):
To the west:
-praia dos Arrifes - about 10-12min drive from Old Town of Albufeira.
-praia Sao Rafael - this beach and Arrifes are almost next to each other. Rafael is the larger and nicer of the two.
-praia da Coelha (rabbit) - a stroll down a dirt road to get here. Park near apartment complex up the road.
-praia do Castelo - just past rabbit beach; small, car parking by beach.
-praia da Gale - 16mins drive from Albufeira; lengthy flat beach without cliffs that ends in town of Armacao de Pera. Good for long walk.
-praia de Nossa Senhora da Rocha - past Armacao de Pera, about 27mins drive from Old Town Albufeira. Very unique with high cliffs overlooking the beach and a church perched on the cliff at one end. Very scenic. Good spot to park by church and walk along the cliffs.
- There are a lot of small beaches between Nossa Senhora and Benagil. The jewel is possibly praia da Marinha. It is another 9mins further from Nossa Senhora but worth it as it has the sand stacks and arch nearby. It is in many photos of Portugal advertising.
-Further down the coast between Portimao (Praia da rocha) and Alvor are another seris of very scenic beaches, with lots of coves, sand stacks and areas to walk along the coastline.
To the East:
-praia da Oura - between Albufeira and Santa Eulalia; smaller than Santa Eulalia.
-praia Santa Eulalia - small but popular. 15mins drive from Old Town Albufeira.
-praia Maria Luisa - one of our favs in this area but a little tricky to get to, consequently fewer tourists.
-praia Olhos de Agua - 19 mins drive from Old Town Albufeira. This is the beach at town of Olhos de Agua where we stayed in 2023. Small but nice beach. Lots of families. A nice area around here to hike along the cliffs at low tide between this beach all the way to Maria Luisa.
-praia Falesia - 24 mins drive from Old Town Albufeira; farther away from Albufeira but amazing, great for walks (best to do close to low tide) - spectacular colourful cliffs overlook the beach and it is about 3 miles long, ends at Vilamoura marina. It makes some lists of worlds best beaches.
Restaurants- there are a lot of restaurants in and around Albufeira. Here are some restaurants we have gone to in Albufeira we found good for our tastes. In 2023: O Catraio - small and reservation recommended, very good seafood, prices average. O Jorge - this is a low priced place for piri piri chicken that is a bit like going into Leo’s in St. John’s. Doesn’t look like much from the outside and the inside decor is unusual but food is good and this place is busy with locals. Also for piri piri chicken is Ramires in Guia, not far from the Algarve shopping center (though not walking distance). This is supposedly where piri piri chicken was invented. It is a big restaurant but note that if you go don’t bother asking for a menu, you should only go for piri piri chicken. House wine is Alandra. Not for a connoisseur, but a modest priced 2.25Euros at Garcias that is very drinkable any day.
Places to Stay
We have stayed twice at the condo complex called Encosta Da Orada. It is perched on a hillside on the western outskirt of Albufeira, near the dolphin roundabout. You need to like walking if you stay here. It is about a 20min walk down to the centre of Old Town Albufeira. Longer going back as it is up some steep hills. We booked these condos though vrbo. We would recommend this complex if you dont mind the walking. We also stayed at Cerro Mar apartments. This is closer to Old Town but also requires walking up a steep hills. It is probably older and we prefer Encosta. But is does have the advantage of an adjacent and sister hotel Cerro Mar that you may be able to use the facilties here, depending on how you book the apartment unit.
In 2023 we stayed in Olhos de Agua, which is about 19mins drive from Old Town. Close enough to the action of Albufeira, but away enough so it is quieter, fewer hills, but still some hills!
Here is a Website maintained by a Brit that has lived in the Albufeira area for many years with great info on busses and trains and links to other things. The guys that maintains it also posts frequently on the Tripadvisor Albufeira forum. I have used this forum to look up info and post questions and to send questions directly to other posters who have responded back with great info. Here is the transport website link:
Link to Algarve bus info (private website)
Here is the Tripadvisor forum link:
Link to location of Garcias wine and spirits store near Albufeira:
Link to Google Maps location of Garcias
Here is a link to the location of the giant China store near Albufeira:
Link to giant China Store Location
Here is a link to the location of the Albufeira shopping centre:
Here is a link to the location of the Algarve shopping centre:
Link to Algarve shopping Mall location in Google maps
Here is a Youtube channel that is done by a Brit that has also lived in the Algarve for many years. It has many videos showing towns in the Algarve. Though the focus is somewhat towards people looking to move to these areas it is also very useful to get a feel for any towns you might want to visit.
Link to Youtube Videos by Algarve resident
Video’s:
Albufeira seafest day…….
Link to our video on Seafest Day in Albufeira
Video of walking around Albufeira by other source:
Old town area of Albufeira:
Link to Youtube video of walking tour of Albufeira by Kevin
If you go to the bottom of the Day Reports on the left hand drop down menu there is a page devoted totally to pictures in the Albufeira area.
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