Portimao -
Praias and Prejudiceright footprint left footprint

portimao harbour is a fine sight from the water on a fine day!

Previously, I'd 'pigeon-holed' Portimao as one of those places where it's OK to stay...A happy Jennifer with sunny Portimao marina providing the backdrop portimao riverside views are nice enough to behold alvor has one of the cleanest and most welcoming promenade/restaurant areas I have encountered in my time investigating algarve beach life

... because it's easy enough to travel anywhere else in Algarve for something more interesting.

Which turned out, when we did stay in Portimao during September 2005, to have been a somewhat prejudiced view - since Portimão offered enough to see and do so that the time we spent there was wholly enjoyable.

It's true that parts of the area do become crowded in high season. But when I found myself becoming frustrated at tbe tourist-jammed streets, I remembered that I'm also a tourist and therefore contributing my own bit to the congestion. (It might not have improved my mood on a particular afternoon, but served as a welcome reality-check).

And it must be admitted that somewhere so popular must be doing something right...

portimao river viewsPortimão isn't as easy on the eye as a lot of places in Algarve, it would not be unkind to say. Though it must be stressed that the riverside views are enjoyable (see picture at right).

But the unloveliness of some parts or Portimao are mainly due to the relatively recent resurgence of its importance within the Algarve, having descended almost into obscurity after the 1755 earthquake.

As a result, most of the large civic buildings are 19th century or later, and rather lack the charm of 'older' Algarve architecture.

Still, we did manage to find things to keep us occupied, despite being underwhelmed by our choice of aparthotel (Mirachoro II, of which more later).

Of course, much of our time was spent elsewhere, since we were house-hunting, but we nevertheless spent a good part of one week in or around Portimao.

The recently-redeveloped waterfront deserves some mention, and offers plenty of space for leisurely riverside strolls. Even for the nautically-challenged, like me, there's plenty to see and do.

portimao riverside views are nice enough to beholdAt the western end of the Portimao waterfront is the upmarket boat club, which boasts a fine restaurant offering great harbour views. While, at the opposite extremity is the 'working dock' from which much of the local 'specialist' industry operates...

... And which has fostered the growth of basic restaurants offering sardines that have been grilled 'straight off the boat'. Highly recommended by those who've sampled the wares.

Since the onset of the tourist boom, Portimao has thrived and is now the second largest urbanisation in Algarve (after Faro).

This has required 'diversification', and there is, as a result, more for the tourist to do than merely lie on the very fine local beaches.

Watersports and Water Activities

Along the Portimão harbour-front, there are boat tours of all sorts on offer, from the relaxing if zany Silves cruise by banana boat to some Hemingway-esque big-game fishing. (With coastal grotto cruises and other stuff in between).

Shopping

Not always top of one's vacation activity list, shopping is nevertheless essential, unless you've gone for a full-board, everything-provided hotel stay.

Portimao, it turns out, has recently been blessed with the erection of a Shopping Centre based around a large Modelo supermarket (or hipermercado, as they insist on terming themselves). It's handily placed on the main access road to the town, and offers lots of parking (free), as well as a shopping 'experience' including outlets for SportZone, Modalfa, Worten and a 6-screen cinema, various smaller fashion and accessory shops, and even a bank.

And just across the dual-carriageway (accessible via an overpass bridge) is a large Lidl store, for any necessities that Modelo failed to provide.

The area is reputed to have undergone vigorous urban growth since the Portimao Modelo Centre opened, but I'm afraid I found little of it handsome to look at, while recognising the handiness of the facility (it was only a short, pleasant walk or an even shorter drive from the aparthotel where we stayed).

In the town proper, there was a pleasant enough pedestrianised commercial area, with a much better variety of choice and oodles more character than the Modelo Centre. And just up the road at Praia da Rocha, there was a more tourist-oriented selection of boutiques, shacks and stalls offering all sorts of things without which your vacation would be the poorer(!)

It's a very pleasant area to stroll around, and although we didn't sample any of the facilities, they do offer wonderful marina views for customers. (And climbing the steps back up to the fort was as close as I came to a workout for the entire two-week stay...)

We tried only two of the many restaurants in Praia da Rocha. The first, La Dolce Vita, offered pasta/pizza with the option of sitting at outside tables. Even a simple Margharita pizza was delicious to savour while watching the tourist bustle pass by. (And it's name had the bonus of making me feel upbeat about our upcoming Algarve property purchase). The other was an Indian restaurant that came nowhere near to upsetting the pride of place enjoyed by my current top curry emporium, the Minar Tandoori in Albufeira, as featured in my Favourite Restaurants page.

 

Update! 

The new Portimao Retail Park is worth a visit, if you want to take a break from Algarve sunshine, and wish to indulge in some shopping therapy.  There's a good choice of outlets and a Carrefour hypermarket to help you while away the time in air-conditioned comfort.  Here's Nev, posing reluctantly (what's new?) with some of the park outlets in the background...

The new park is at Urbanizacao Vale, which can be found by exiting the A22 motorway at Junction 4, or from the EN125 at Sitio de Chão das Donas, about 2 km north-west of Portimao centre.  

Nev at the new Portimao retail park></p> <p>So, if shopping's your thing, Portimão and surroundings won't disappoint...</p> <h2>Praia da Rocha</h2> <p>Of course, no consideration of Portimao would be complete without mention of its neighbour, dependency or call it what you will, <i>Praia da Rocha</i>. This must be one of the most famous Algarve beaches, and is certainly deserving of your attention if you're in the vicinity. </p> <p>It is located right at the mouth of the River Arade (whereas Portimao is that tad further upriver). The rock formations that provide its name are certainly photogenic and impressive to come upon for the first time.</p> <p>It's a Blue Flag beach area, since 2005 - and the more dangerous areas of the cliffs have been rendered inaccessible to the unwary, so your time there should be unspoiled by any unfortunate fatalities - always high on my list of things to avoid while on vacation.</p> <p>There are quite a few beach-front areas given over to specific sporting pursuits such as volleyball and basketball.</p> <p>Some areas of the beach are more easily accessed than others (with some steep stone steps to traverse). If you don't fancy any time on the sand, there are plenty of bars and restaurants to tempt you up on the esplanade that runs the length of the beach. This was a pleasant 15-minute stroll from our hotel and we enjoyed walking the length of the esplanade quite often, as my vacation notebook for September 2005 confirms.</p> <p>Along the Arade river end of the esplanade, there's the fortress dedicated to Santa Catarina de Ribamar. This stands opposite the fort at Ferragudo on the other side of the river mouth, and provided the defences for Portimao in piratical times past.</p> <p>Descending the steps from Santa Catarina's fortress brings you down to the Portimão marina, with its distinctively-coloured apartment buildings (nothing like so garish as those at Albufeira!) with its short mall of shops, bars and restaurants. Like most recent marinas, it's quite extensive (20+ hectares) and has lots of plush facilities on offer. There are even schools for sailing and scuba diving, should you wish to learn about either.</p> <p align=

Activities

A happy Jennifer with sunny Portimao marina providing the backdropThere's usually plenty going on in Portimao and its famous offshoot Praia da Rocha, and a quick call at the local Turismo office will tell you what's up for grabs during your stay.

While, an all-season treat can be had at the Casino Hotel Algarve, where the latest in a line of very professionally produced shows could be enjoyed for only 10 Euros - which includes a drink. By comparison, for 27 Euros you could see the show and enjoy a meal of main course, dessert, coffee and wine. The entertainment charts the development of popular music from the Jazz and Blues eras to the birth of Rock & Roll.

Accommodation

Portimao offers the usual (for Algarve) breadth of choice within its immediate area, from top hotels and luxury villas right down to pitching a tent...

Our own choice of aparthotel, as I mentioned earlier, was disappointing. We thought the interior of the place quite jaded and were astonished to learn that it had just been refurbished (which bit?). Certainly, the management of the Cerro Mar in Albufeira, where we'd stayed 12 months earlier, should not lose any sleep over competition like that provided by the Mirachoro II. 

Of course, the staff were pleasant enough - but I don't think that lack of air-conditioning marks out a hotel as a serious contender for high praise in Algarve nowadays. The score card would read "3 out of 10 and must try harder".

we thought the balcony view from our portimao aparthotel would be obscured by this tree, come next year!
A nice view from our Mirachoro balcony -
but the tree will have obscured it soon!

Camping

If you fancy some camping in the vicinity of Portimao, there's the 'private' facility at Ferragudo (International Camping Club members only), just across the Rio Arade, or the less exclusive Alvor camping found just to the west, of which I've written in more detail on my Algarve Camping page.

 

praia da rocha buildings glimpsed from our portimao aparthotelLocation

While nowhere's too far from anywhere else in Algarve, Portimao is reasonably central to the region's southern coastline, and therefore ideally placed as a base for any forays into the Algarve interior.

 

There are even organised days out that include walks in the lush mountain areas around Monchique and cycle tours of quiet valleys and relatively 'undiscovered' areas of the region - should you wish to try such activities during your stay in Algarve.

Golf

There's a huge choice of courses within striking distance (no pun intended) of Portimão. You could avoid the expense of staying at any of the golfing resorts (not cheap!) while retaining a good choice of courses on which to enjoy a few sun-drenched rounds. Probably the most popular Algarve sport, golf is well-served in the Portimao area, with local courses including Boavista, near Lagos.

Go on and give Portimao a try - you won't regret it!

 

 

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