Bank Holiday Escape - To Vilamoura

I decided to skip the uncertainty of UK bank holiday weather and head off for some (hopefully) more guaranteed sunshine in the Algarve.

Centering around the so called 'millionaire's marina', Vilamoura is my resort of choice. It's my fifth trip to Portugal and my third visit to Vilamoura specifically, which I think says something about my feelings for the area.

While I am still a little way off becoming a millionaire (ok maybe a lot) it's a great place to sit back and admire the stunning super yachts in the marina and get yourself lost in thoughts of what it might be like to own one!


That one's mine!

I'm here with my mum for a long weekend and we find it's the perfect place to spend the days basking in the sunshine and wandering leisurely along the vast stretches of golden sandy beach; and the evenings relaxing with a cocktail at sunset and watching the world go by over a usually delicious meal around the marina.



Cocktails at sunset in the Tivoli



Vilamoura beach....now, where to sit?

 

We stayed at the Dom Pedro Golf Hotel, which is just a few minutes’ walk from the marina. It's a good hotel with simple but clean and perfectly adequate rooms, a spacious lobby and bar area, restaurant and spa facilities.  In the large gardens there are plenty of sunbeds, volleyball and tennis courts, a play area and a good size (of not still a bit chilly in May) main pool as well as a kid’s pool.  Rooms have either a garden view or, like ours, a sea view - you can't beat waking up to a sea view each morning!


Dom Pedro Golf Hotel

There is an abundance of eating and watering holes around the town in a variety of world cuisines, however we chose to mainly eat around the marina because... well why not really? 

Here are some suggestions of places we visited and liked - these are all (bar one) located around the marina:

Lamparo's

Located in the bottom right corner of the marina (based on the marina entrance being the too) the Italian food at Lamparo's is delicious.  Since our last visit the marina has added a jetty around the edge giving the bars and restaurants extra capacity and diners the opportunity to right by the water’s edge. They bring you a cover of bread, olives, mini pizzas, crostini (puff pastry sticks) and (still unidentified) battered rings of some sort so unless you're super hungry you can get away with not ordering a starter (there is a small charge of €2.50 pp for the covers). 

We had four cheese risotto and chicken alla siciliana both of which were especially tasty, followed by  Dame Blanche and Coupe Saison ice creams - beware they are fairly sizeable ice creams and while I couldn't quite finish it all I did of course give it a good go! This restaurant scored highly on both taste and presentation!  Two courses plus wine costs around €35 a head for 2 courses plus wine.




One of my five a day

Nosolo Italia

An Italian and gelateria - we made the mistake of ordering two meals here when we could probably have shared just one as the portions were all pretty sizeable! Melon and Parma ham and a garlic bread to start, followed by a pizza each then a pannacotta and another huge ice cream - although the ice cream did have fruit in it so obviously it was good for me!  Three courses and half a bottle of wine set us back around €30 a head.

Buzios Beach Club

This cute little beach bar is on the beach (as you would imagine) just near the Vila Gale hotel. All decked out in blue and white this is the ideal location for a leisurely lunch while taking in the amazing view of the golden sands and clear blue skies. We ordered Pimms a couple of sandwiches and some fries which cost around €15 each.

News Bar and Restaurant

We had brunch here on the terrace overlooking the marina and also an evening meal inside the restaurant, which cost around €30 for two salads a desert and wine.

Not a bad way to spend a Friday lunchtime

Tai Tai
This Chinese restaurant does a great set menu - only €48 for two people, includes four courses and a drink.

Sandbanks - Vale do Lobo
Another reason I like Portugal is because my friend lives there, so whenever I go I always try to meet up with her.  This time we met for lunch and she took us over to nearby Vale do Lobo, which is a very nice area and also happened to be where the England football team were on their pre World Cup training camp!  We went to a restaurant called Sandbanks and enjoyed lunch, a glass of wine and a well deserved catch up overlooking the glistening sea.   Unfortunately no footballers spotted! 


Did someone say footballers?
 

Another thing to mention is the touristic train. We picked it up from outside the Vila Gale hotel and it takes you around Vilamoura, to the old town, which didn't look so old but had some very fancy villas and hotels such as the Four Seasons. It cost €2 for a one way ticket, €3.50 for a round trip and €5 for an all-day ticket. We got off at the Lakeside Resort and strolled along the beach and then back around the marina.

Finally, we took a Dolphin Safari (€35 each).  After boarding the small rib speedboat boat we headed off with the wind in our hair (literally) along the coast towards Albuferia and the Sea Caves.  After pootling around the Sea Caves, along with a number of other boats full of holidaymakers, we turned back and sped off out to sea in search of dolphins.  After many 'is that one? oh no its just a wave' moments we eventually found a whole pod who happily swam alongside, underneath and in front of us popping in and out of the water as they went.  It's quite a sight to see dolphins out in the wild and I actually managed to get a picture or two (well as good as I'm ever going to get I think!).




Almost...

..that's the best I'm going to get!