Beautiful sandy bays between sheer cliff faces

Portugal’s Algarve coast is famous for beautiful sandy coves interspersed by sheer cliff faces, providing a lovely contrasting selection of views and scenery. Facing the Atlantic Ocean, the Algarve resorts enjoy a mild Mediterranean type winter.

For a small country, Portugal has an impressive history, the most famous period of which was the time of Vasco da Gama and the Discoverers. Today you will find a perfect mix of bustling towns, beautiful beaches, and just a few miles inland, the unspoilt countryside and the true character of old Portugal.

At a glance

Accommodation type : Hotel
Hotel standard : Four stars
Hotel facilities : Indoor & outdoor swimming pools,
sauna, gym, massage room, games room,
internet facilities, conference room.
Meals : Half board - buffet style
Excursions : Excellent
Arrival day : Thursday
Arrival airport : Faro
Airports : Wide choice
Flying time : 2 hours
Transfer time : 30 minutes
Dates Feb-Apr 2011

The Resort

Albufeira, just half an hour from Faro airport, has an attractive town centre with narrow streets, many still cobbled, which tumble down towards the wide beach, accessed through a tunnel. The main square is a great place to sip a coffee and watch the world go by!

Not far away is Faro, the capital of the Algarve. Rebuilt after an earthquake flattened most of the city in 1755, a few historic buildings survive to give the narrow cobbled streets an atmospheric centre. Jacaranda trees with beautiful purple flowers in Spring line the streets of this attractive town. There are several museums and a slightly weird chapel build out of bones of the monks – designed to remind everyone of their mortality!

 Excursions

The Algarve has an interesting and varied selection of places to visit which you can take as coach excursions or explore with a hire car.

Go east from Albufeira and you can see Faro, the waterfront markets and old quarter of Olhao, and the old castle and ancient bridge at Tavira. Travel west and you will find the old town at Silves with its superb Moorish castle, Lagos with its association with the Discoverers and the old fishing harbour at Sagres. All the way along the coast are resorts large and small, always with attractive beaches.

Travelling further afield it’s also possible to visit Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, Seville in Spain and even Gibraltar.

You can travel inland too; there are boat trips on the Guadiana River, the border between Portugal and Spain, and Jeep safaris which will take you into the unspoilt interior.

Hotel Baia Grande

The Hotel can best be described as a small but perfectly formed four star hotel. With just 120 rooms, it is relatively small by four star standards and as a result retains a friendly family feel to it, which larger hotels never achieve. Conceived as a resort hotel, it has excellent leisure facilities and you could enjoy a superb holiday without ever leaving the premises!

This hotel was a huge success in past years as everybody loved the quiet location, quality facilities and friendly service.

Located in the outskirts of Albufeira, you can use the hotel’s courtesy bus to run into the town centre, or it would be an inexpensive taxi ride. It’s about half a mile to the coast so you can walk to the clifftops and enjoy any number of secluded spots looking out over the blue Atlantic.

The hotel has great facilities, with indoor and outdoor pools, a fitness room, attractive bar area, large bar and lounge area and meeting rooms. The restaurant looks out over the attractive outdoor pool, which has a bar and snack bar of its own. There is also a piano bar with regular entertainment during the evenings.

The rooms are unusually spacious and well furnished and will make a very comfortable base for a long or short holiday as you wish. We have negotiated that all our clients are guaranteed a pool view room which are more or less south facing and also give distant sea views, providing you book at least a month before departure.

The heated indoor pool also has a jacuzzi and health spa areas, so you can treat yourself to a massage or beauty treatment if you wish at extra cost (payable locally).

The hotel has a shuttle bus that runs into Albufeira and to a nearby beach.

Short Breaks

There are flights to Faro every day of the week so you don’t have to stick to the 7 or 14 night pattern if you don’t want to. If you only want to come for a long weekend or you have to travel Saturday to Saturday, we can almost certainly accommodate you – please just ask for a quote.

Families

The Hotel Baia Grande is great for families – come at half term or just before Easter for a superb family break. There’s a lot to do in the hotel and with some of the best beaches in Europe within easy reach, no one will be bored. It’s possible to travel on Saturday or Sunday over half term – please call for details.

Dates and Prices

Resort: Albufeira Season: Wintersun 2011 Accommodation: Hotel Baia Grande

Prices are in £ per person and include half board hotel accommodation in a twin room with en-suite facilities, plus complimentary airport transfers. Flights are not included. Child discounts are available for children under 12 on the day of departure sharing with two adults.

Departure Prices
Date 1 wk 2 wks
17-Feb 359 659
24-Feb 359 679
03-Mar 369 689
10-Mar 369 699
17-Mar 379 719
24-Mar 395 739
31-Mar 429 n/a

Options

All prices are per person per night

Child under 12 -£16
Single room 1-13 Mar +£11
1-9 Apr +£17
All other dates +£ 3*

* llimited availability at this low price (normally £11)

Flights from approx £70 – wide selection of airports