Over the years we’ve looked at many maps and circled areas that interest us. Tavira has always been at the top of our list, it is located on the eastern side of the Algarve, approximately 30 km east of Faro and 25km west of the Spanish border. This region attracts fewer tourists than the central or western Algarve so provides a more peaceful and calm holiday experience. We planned a 2 week holiday in July 2019 and decided we’d do one week in Tavira and then return to Albufeira for the last week.
Tavira is regarded as one of the most beautiful towns in the Algarve and sometimes even described as the Venice of the Algarve! It is built on both sides of the Gilão River. There are several bridges to cross the river, but the most interesting one is known as the Roman bridge (in Portuguese: Ponte Romana). The Roman Bridge has 7 arches and is located near Praça da República which is the main square in the centre of the town. Tavira’s historic town with picturesque plazas and cobbled streets has everything you need for a great holiday. On an evening we’d walk the short distance from our hotel down to one of the bars on the riverside for a few drinks before choosing one of the gorgeous restaurants for dinner, we enjoyed one so much we went a couple of times during our weeks stay!
If you fancy a change from the town and want to lay around on beautiful, tropical beaches then you can easily jump on the ferry for a couple of euros and take a trip to Ilha de Tavira (another part of the Ria Formosa natural park), the island stretches for about 11 kilometres and is quite wide and the sand stretches as far as the eye can see. There are 3 beaches on this island all made up of white, soft sands and they’re perfect for kids to make sandcastles. The sea water is calm, clean and crystal clear, which is ideal for families with children but the water is very cold, even in the peak of summer, it didn’t bother us much though on a red hot day. We had an amazing day out here, the island has quite a few restaurants to choose from and we enjoyed a light lunch overlooking the beach.
We would absolutely return to this area of Portugal, we stayed in the Vila Gale hotel on a bed and breakfast basis in a junior suite. The kids loved the buffet breakfast as did we, plenty of choice and all fresh. They have a hotel run kids club with a lovely space indoors with air con for the children to escape the midday sun and a great entertainment team who did a few activities throughout the day and evening. I enjoyed a lovely massage in the spa and there’s also an indoor pool too. The location was brilliant, just a few minutes’ walk to the town itself down the cobbled streets and you’re at the river.
Check this area out if you fancy somewhere more traditional and calm steeped in history and culture.
Thanks for reading.
Stacey x
