Holidaying in the Algarve - Part 1

After a run of bad luck with holiday weather we headed to the Algarve for our holiday this year and had a wonderful time - clear blue skies everyday and top temperatures of around 30 degrees C. The Algarve,and especially where we stayed in Armação de Pêra, is ideal for a holiday with a toddler.

 

Armação de Pêra

 

 

We flew into Faro Airport and we hired a car, which I think was essential, as it meant that we could explore the area easily and also stock up with all the delicious Portugese food at the local markets and supermarkets. We used Intermarché (the French supermarket chain) whilst we were there and all the fresh produce we bought there, from fruit and vegetables to meat and fish was delicious and, on the whole, locally sourced. Seeing Noah’s face as he tucked into a juicy local nectarine was a picture.

 

We stayed in a small holiday complex called Aldeamento do Levante just outside the town - probably a 20 minute walk to the main area of the town. The two storey houses with roof terraces are either privately owned or rented by holiday companies (we rented ours from Planiferias.com). There is a pool area which you can access by using a key and consists of a deep pool and a separate, smaller kids’ pool (70cm deep). There is also a little double horseshoe beach accessed by a gentle stepped path below the complex.

 

Aldeamento do Levante

It was a lovely quiet place to stay and the simple amenities were perfect for us. There is no kids’ club or entertainment. We stayed here out of season in May and it was quiet, both the complex and the beach but I can imagine it gets a lot noisier in the peak times.

 

Most of the time we had relaxed days - morning pottering around along the seafront in Armação de Pêra. The beach here is the longest in the Algarve and there are many areas where you can hire loungers, parasols and wind breaks along the main town part of the beach. The beach is gently sloping so safe for little children to paddle. Next to the Tourist Information (which is staffed by an extremely helpful woman) on the seafront is a little children’s playground but the main entertainment is the beach, of course. We spent late morning at the pool and after dinner at the beach with a bit of exploring in the middle.

 

beach