We were *just* in the Algarve and it was wonderful! Here are some tips for those aspiring to travel to the Algarve in winter / off season, more specifically mid January - mid February: 1) The weather may say ~55 F / 12 C, but the sun is HOT. Weather Channel said 13 C while our frontline terrace in Quateira boasted 32 C. Photo proof available for the non believers :p 2) Many smaller restaurants are closed during off season, despite what Google Maps says is open! So it kind of looks like a ghost town even in some of the large cities like Albufeira. 3) Speaking of Albufeira - it’s probably the ugliest city in the Algarve. If you like Benidorm, you’ll love Albufeira. 4) Lagos was our favorite city in the Algarve overall: beautiful hikes, stunning scenery and beaches, many restaurants were open, well-kept buildings + newer modern accommodations, tons of shopping options, and there’s even a secret naked beach ;) 5) The cutest, quaintest town we found was Luz, just a short drive from Lagos. All cute villas, a picturesque beach and promenade, and 2 euro pints of beer oceanfront were all amazing - but parking is nearly impossible to find. 6) Tavira is super cute but small, with the huge advantage of being close to Spain. 7) Looking for beach bar vibes with toes-in-the-sand and fruity drinks in hand? Head to Monte Gordo, with a long boardwalk and multiple modern restaurants and chill beach bars all along the oceanside. 8) As mentioned in the video, a car is a must, but be aware of painfully slow drivers year round. The drive from Lisboa is only 4 hours to Albufeira, so super easy to get to! 9) Make sure your Airbnb has heating. It can get cold in the evenings, and many rentals we found did not have any heating available, which would have made a miserable time for us who think anything lower than 55 F is too cold. Because it is. 10) And finally, for us Americans: the BEST burger we had in all of Portugal - and arguably the world! - is at Hamburgueria da Baixa. You absolutely must get the Arranha Ceus, a monster of a burger that is 3 levels of gluttony. Amazingly delicious with homemade fries and a garlic mayo sauce that adds to the terrible health choices :D
@@joenandamalie Always happy to share! This was our 2nd time visiting the area but our 1st time in the winter months, so it was interesting to see the difference between busy & slow season. Still: I think we prefer the chillness of off season, especially since we still got a nice tan. A tan all over too, teheheehe
@@velourialamour my full name is Lauren Gouveia Marvel. I married a Frenchie. My mother was French too and my father is Portuguese. I feel I have a good combination. 😆
We moved from Malta to The Algarve 5 years ago and have been living the last 4 years in Loulé. It´s such an amazing place and it really feels like our forever home. ( We´re Swedish and allergic to cold weather!)
Love it ♥️ growing up in Lagos back in the 90's and 2000's was a blessing 🙏 as a teenager used to walk almost every morning to the beach and spend most day's there enjoying life ☀️ simpler times, miss my cousins, my precious nana, miss them all 💯 my family 👑 saudades, I will retire there, for sure 🤩
I’ve been to Portugal twice, but only Madeira! I absolutely love your channel because it makes me feel that I have travelled all of Portugal mainland without physically doing it 😃
I was just in the Algarve in Nov and travelled the entire way from Lagos to Vila Real on the train stopping along the way. It can be done without a car. I'm a solo woman travel over 70yo. I was checking out places for a possible move. My favorite place was Lagos.
I loved the Algarve and I'm considering moving there. The only downside is that the ocean is too cold for swimming. Apart from that, it's an amazing place and I nearly cried when I had to leave Portugal.
Cold ? If you come from Brazil, I would understand "cold", but in the Algarve, the water is not cold. I took my last swim mid-november, and it was awesome !
Fantastic - This is where you shine. I appreciate the time and effort you put into the video. The quality shows. Great ambassadors and why I return every time.
Our next planned road trip. We have not been there in a while, so it is time to reminisce. You are great ambassadors. You guys are number one! Thank you again.
Silves here! Look forward to seeing you both in the Algarve. We haven't regretted it, ever, and the local Portuguese are delightful. P.S. it's not eternal summer, there is three months of cold, cold winter.
You both are simply marvelous together! Your Portugal videos are outstanding in every way. I can't wait to win the lottery so we can move there! God willing! I lived in Toronto, Canada, for many years and have always admired the hardworking Portuguese people that lived there with their families! I know I will be happy amongst them! They are family oriented people, just as we are ! God bless them all.
I’m portuguese and have been on Portobay Falésia and you guys have to visit Olhos d’água next to Praia da Falésia where it has quicksands. They aren’t very deep so it’s safe, but you still have to be very careful. It’s very fun to explore there!
Next time go to Galé next to Albufeira. There is a charming hotel ‘Vila Joya’ with an incredible view of the sea and a Michelin restaurant. Great videos as always.
Fantastic, I've been wanting to go to the Algarve and the Alentejo to go wine tasting. Now I really want to go! Good to see you guys back on the continent again!
Hi! Portugal is on my mom's bucket list, particularly for the pottery, so we're going this Autumn. What were the places you went around 3:04-3:27 in this video? Thanks!
And to think that Tinder was the fire starter to having you two amazing people come into all of our lives. I am not a believer in online dating but my oh my sometimes the universe can bring me together the perfect couple courtesy of the matrix that is the digital universe. Love your channel but more importantly love your attitudes. Two lovely human beings with Lara a lovely dog. As always lots of cheers from Barcelona from an American friend.
Haha, Tinder really is what brought us together. I honestly don't think there is anything wrong with dating apps. It's all about the intention. My intention was to find Amalie, but in order to get there I had to go through a lot of dead ends. I think it's a numbers game. It took me around 30 dates to find Amalie!
You will be back to paradise where you belong very soon!For financial reasons we Portuguese people find ourselves living in less appealing countries!But atfer leaving abroad you will appreciate even more this beautiful country!
@@joenandamalie thank you for your reply and for your work, it brings me closer to home and shows me things that I even known existed 😅. By the way I've lived in Coimbra almost all my life and I don't think I have seen a video from you guys, I fully advise you to go to queima das fitas cortejo ( u can drink for free) , also there is Coninbriga ( Roman city) and my beautiful Lousa ( mountain, they have redbull downhill and parapent) and all the Beira zone. Beira is beautiful give it a shot💪
I'll be there in less then 2 weeks and can't wait to take a long walk at one of the beautiful beaches you've mentioned 🌊 And of course to enjoy the beautiful weather ☀️ and amazing seafood 🦞♥️
We were just there a week ago and stayed a month. We would have stayed longer if our visa allowed! I wrote 10 tips in this comments here about our off season experience. Hope it helps you too!
Guys, I live in the Algarve. Falesia is my favorite one, half an hour from my home. I you come to live here, don't forget to buy a big desumidificador 😉 I am reflexologist, so if you want a session, it will be with great pleasure for both of you. Joen, we already talk together about staying sobber. 😉 Be strong ! Enjoy Algarve ! ☀️☀️☀️
Motorcycling in the Algarve hills. World class biking, epic scenery, great roads in many places, super weather, no traffic. Bike-tastic. One of the best places in the world for biking, second only to NZ.
Race on the racetrack and going along the coastline in my car. Absolutely love it. Its thanks to you I made the decision to move down from Lisbon and work harder on my RU-vid
Generally when looking at temperatures, they are always higher when you go there. I don't know what it is. We have friends living in Luz and it's warm all year round. Like +17-18 when it's coldest.
@@joenandamalie Thank you for the response! I love Madeira and haven’t been able to return since Covid and your videos have kept me from getting too homesick. Love you two and your puppy!!
At that time of the year usually it's cold, at least for our standers These guys are Danish... if it was me going in to the ocean I would probaby have my own marbles going inside my own body
By the way, a pizza recommendation while in Algarve from two foodies? That just proves the Portuguese food limitations. Seafood is great but don’t have pizza in the sponsored hotel. Have it only in Italy, preferably in Naples. You will never have it elsewhere.
I tried booking the hotel due to your video but it is asking me to book minimum 4 nights. what an idiotic thing to force guests to book min 4 nights. no thanks, will book my 5 star resort. I hope you recommend better hotels.
Yoooo be careful 😂😂😂😂 Rafael of club nau aka the boss . Drinks wayyyy to much alcohol on the service and if you see the food is taking too long it's maybe him yelling at they're "service dogs aka employee" good luck 😂😂😂
I think you are overselling Algarve. With so many wonderful European destinations, Algarve left me disappointed. Too expensive for what you are getting. After the extensive travel in Italy, Greece and Spain, Algarve left a lot more desired. We followed many of your recommendations but it requires a lot of driving, most mentioned towns have a few pretty streets but not much to be admired. Any Andalusian town has so much more to offer. Most food choices in Algarve are overpriced and one has to look really hard to find quality. Your food recommendations were great but once again involved driving. The coast is breathtaking but once again involves more driving and looking for parking. The ocean is too cold to really enjoy the water. Overcrowded, too much tourism, modern real estate, no charm, not much cultural heritage. It’s convenient if you have EasyJet flying to Algarve but Italy or any other Mediterranean country has so much more to offer.
Algarve sucks. So over rated. Water is absolutely frigid. And it’s not that nice in person. Tourist trap for real. Pictures and videos are much nicer than actually seeing it with your own eyes.
