I have 2-3 days available out of my 21 days and I really want to see Portugal. I live in the U.S. in the Houston, TX metro area and am considering retiring abroad. I think Portugal would be a good choice from what I've read on the internet. Usually the sites I've looked at rave about the Algarve region. I just want to find a place that has great weather year round - not too hot and not too cold! I'm sick of the humidity, the hurricanes and torrential rain in the summer and how one minute it's 80 degrees and then the wind changes and drops the temperature 20 - 30 degrees. Prefer a place that isn't all hi-rises and modern architecture. Open to suggestions.
Posted by
Washington DC
28247 posts
I cannot provide recent information about the Algarve, but we have a few folks here who probably can. However, which places you can reasonably check out will depend on how much time you have. Ground transporation links between southern Spain and the Algarve are rather weak.
Exactly when will you be in a position to get on a bus in Seville, where will you need to go after the Algarve, and when must you be there?
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15794 posts
Rent a car in Sevilla and drive. Get a guide book for the area. Look for ex-pat connections - I believe lots of Brits have retired to Portugal, though more for the sun. Try to meet some of them to hear what it was/is like for them. I also believe that the Algarve is pretty closed down in winter and tourist-filled in summer. Just something to consider.
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
Most of the Algarve has been ruined by over development during the past 20 years. Many Northern Europeans live there or have holiday homes there, together with increasing numbers of Russians, as, although the weather can be cold and wet during the winter, it is milder than further north. Some nights this week haven't been much above freezing and humidity levels near the coast are high year round. Some of the Algarve, particularly inland can be unbearably hot in the summer.
There are thousands of motor homes, particularly French and German snow birds that head to the Algarve for the winter.
Some of the smaller resorts such as Salema are very sleepy in the winter.
When are you travelling? Tavira is the nicest place that is closest to Seville. Lagos would be a good base for the western Algarve, but this is a much longer drive from Seville, particularly if not using the toll roads. Many locate to the area around Lisbon rather than the Algarve.
If you want less rain and steady temperatures year round, the Canary Islands would fit the bill better than Portugal.