Albufeira, Portugal

Albufeira has something for everyone, it’s the largest, liveliest and most popular resort along the The Algarve. My own holidays there have changed somewhat over the years, first time was a girls holiday all about the cocktails, dancing and lazy days on the gorgeous beaches. The old town has its own bar street with plenty of choices of bars and entertainment including some fabulous live performers. If you fancy a wilder night out the new town is a short taxi ride away and is home to ‘the strip’ lined with bars and clubs that are open till the early hours.

I’ve seen in a New Year with family and enjoyed the winter sun. The Algarve is a great choice for holidays all year round and we’ve experienced lovely days on the beach in February as well as November and December. The temperatures can climb high during the summer months but we always find there’s a lovely breeze that makes it feel that bit cooler, however don’t be deceived and make sure you’ve got plenty of suncream on!!

I’ve felt safe enough to spend a few days there alone and enjoy my own company. I went one year in August and spent long days relaxing on the beach, reading books and recharging my batteries. Everyone is super friendly and I felt comfortable wandering round and eating in the local restaurants and cafes.

My husband and I had one of the best holidays ever about 10 years ago now. We thoroughly enjoyed happy hours and we started exploring all the gorgeous restaurants along the seafront and down the cobbled streets and we now have firm favourites that we’ve been visiting for years. The old town of Albufeira is home to over 100 restaurants and bars which cater for all tastes, so many beautiful restaurants serving a wide range of traditional Portuguese dishes and it’s well known for its spectacular seafood aswell as the famous chicken peri peri!! You’ve also got everything else from Indian to Mexican and all you can think of in between. Eating out at all these wonderful restaurants is the highlight of our holidays, we love nothing more than spending a few hours eating, drinking, chatting and watching the world go by.

Then our children came along and it’s been both Nathan and Sophie’s first holiday destination. The beaches are brilliant for children, soft sand and shallow waters in some areas. All the restaurants welcome children and accommodate little ones well whether you need highchairs, bottles or food warming up or extra plates so they can try bits of your dishes if they’re not quite up to the generous kids portions. Nathan was 9 months when he first went and Sophie was just 4 months old and we’ve always found supermarkets are well equipped with baby bits too should you need anything. There’s plenty to keep the kids happy, from little rides on every corner, playgrounds and even night time family entertainment with the local puppet show who performs in the square and Johnny the clown that does his rounds, watch you don’t get caught!