Single female traveling to Algarve this December. Where to stay?

Two towns maybe worth looking at, at least if you want to avoid the expat centric areas on the coast. Loule is back away from the coast, centrally located, decent transportation connections, and is a larger but not big city. More a working city with decent restaurants and markets.

For an old town and history, then spend some time in Tavira. It is located on the far Eastern end, but is a nice older town, not yet completely overrun with tourists and expats, great restaurants, and not overpriced. In the Summer, cheap ferries out to the barrier island beaches. Transportation obviously is is bit longer to other parts of the Algarve, but both Bus and Train, plus direct buses to Seville in Spain (2 hours or so).

Of course you can also look at Faro, Albufeira, and Lagos, or towns near there, but options are likely pretty picked over and a bit more "resort" like.

Thank you Tom. Tavira is really high on my list. I should have added that I will be looking to stay around the Lisbon/Sintra/Cascais area for a few days too so once I “land” in the Algarve I will want the same home base for that week. I think driving from Tavira to points East I’d like to see is very doable.

I agree with Tavira but also enjoyed Lagos when I stayed there solo nine years ago. It was just a few months after moving to Portugal and I thought it was lovely. Everything is open in winter, which is a plus.
When I moved, I wanted a place with a fair number of expats because I thought it would make the transition easier - and it was.

Also, try to take the word ‘safe’ out of your concern for Portugal. Portugal regularly ranks in the top ten safest countries in the world. I’ve been here for nine years and never felt in danger - even walking home alone after midnight.

Thank you Kathryn.

We went to Portugal in September and stayed in Fuseta (aka Fuzeta) for several days. It is a fishing village transitioning into a tourist destination, on the Ria Formosa, but doesn’t have the scenic cliffs of the western Algarve, and consequently is not nearly as overbuilt. It has a sweet little town center, a small daily produce and fish market, some really good fish restaurants, and an excellent vegetarian restaurant. We visited Tavira, and really liked it (and my husband was able to find a paper copy of the New York Times—that’s hard enough to do in the US!), but we’re still drawn to Fuseta’s small town feel. Fuseta has two train stations; one at the old end of town ,and one where newer apartment complexes are. The town pastelaria, Cafe Trinidade is full of both locals and expats, and is owned by a very gregarious expat Canadian.
You may also want to check out Olhao or Sagres.

Thank you Ualagirl. This is very helpful and Fuseta looks exactly like what I’m looking for. I am just coming off 2 of Rick’s tours in France and after moving around so much I really want to stay in one place for a week or so. Sounds like Fuseta could fit the bill.

Staying in a small town in the Algarve runs the risk of a lot of things being closed. Be sure to check that out be for you decide.

I pretty much always stay a week in a place when I travel. I love that slow travel style.

We really liked Burgau in the western part, just west of Lagos.. Small town but close to other options. We were not there in the busy season- September when we visited. I like your idea of testing the winter out.