driving around algarve

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spursman

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hi there
im going to albufeira in a few weeks time and getting car for the two weeks. are there nice drives around the place? is driving easy and straight forward there?

rgds
 
Driving is fine around there. Pretty straightforward. From Albufeira to Praia da Rocha and further on to Lagos is nice. Vilamoura is nice too. The drive itself isn't particularly interesting but some nice stopping points. If you head east you're not far from the Spanish border ( about an hour drive). If you're eating out, prices are dearer than Spain. So is petrol ( about €1.30/litre )
 
You could drive right down to Cape St Vincent which is about 1.5 hrs - "the end of the world", it's pretty popular drive.


Roy
 
I'll second the cape vincent drive. A few souveneir stalls and a poor enough cafe so bring your own grub. Nice beach there though(bit of a climb down and worse coming back up!).
 
One of the waterparks is just outside Lagoa, which is quite close to Albufeira.

Regards
Homer
 
The Algarve hasnt the greatest scenery ,though i'd second the above comments,especially Monchique area (Forested back roads are quite nice).
If you don't have young kids you may consider the 250 kms drive to lisbon on the new motorway; locals tell you it takes two hours -took me three with short break.
Faro,much ignored, has nice old centre and further east towards Spanish border try the pretty town of Tavira.

strange how Portugal has the highest traffic fatality record in western europe.
Like others above I found driving easy.
 
thanks for the reply guys. i can get a car for two weeks for 260 euro. if i didnt get car then taxi from airport is 30 euro each way. taxi to water park. taxi to anywhere else. train to lisbon as we have planned on going there anyway so its a bit of a no brainer anyway. its always nice to have a car to be able to just head away

old nick - did u find driving through lisbon easy? i have gps but the european mape is a little old on it i think
 
There are two main east-west roads across the Algarve - the A22 which is a fast but boring motorway or the slower N125 which takes you past (or through) all the main towns and right past the big waterpark just west of Guia and the main shopping centre the other side of Guia; both no more than 20 minutes from Albufeira. Driving is very easy although there can be a lot of traffic in high season and be cautious at night - the locals have heard (I presume!) of the drink-drive rules but rarely adhere to them...

The A2 motorway up to Lisbon is fast, straight and very boring but you can easily get there in 2 hours. The speed limit is 120km but no one takes the slightest notice!
 
driving round lisbon -well, actually I didnt drive much in it. I knew that the most interesting parts involved walking up and down narrow streets, so i left the car near a railway station by the banks of the Tejo (Santa Apolonia station) and then walked through the two most interesting areas - Alfama
 
--sorry ,got cut off..

Alfama and Baixa. Spent four hours. Not a big city but very pleasant to walk around. the quick side drive to Cascais and Estoril just 30 mins awayfor two short stops.
then drove back to Algarve. Knackered.

I really wish I had stayed the night in Lisbon and had two slower more relaxing days and taken in the night-life and enjoyed longer stops estoril and Cascais.
 
spursman said:
hi there
im going to albufeira in a few weeks time and getting car for the two weeks. are there nice drives around the place? is driving easy and straight forward there?

rgds
Click to expand...

Spursman, hiring a car is highly recommended. I was there in March and came to rely on it. Driving in the algarve is easy enough, but I would say that a good GPS with updated maps is a must. We drove as far west as Lagos, which was great. A few posters have been recommending a day trip (or more) to Lisbon. Now I never made it there, but we did a day trip to Seville and I would say it's a must also. Seville is roughly the same distance (maybe even less) away from Albufeira than Lisbon. It's a straight motorway..roughly 2.5 hours driving time. Seville is truly a class city.
In terms of other places to go, I loved the secluded beaches that the GPS navigated us to. They are top class beaches and you need a car to get to them. Do a search of "Albufeira" and you will find a post from myself recommending 2 top beaches..can't remember their names now.
Enjoy...it's impossible not to in the Algarve!
 
Can anyone recommend an easy place to park in Seville, or perhaps a hotel with a carpark which is easily acessed?
I hear that Siville is a nightmare to drive around..
 
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