Hi everybody,
As I already mentioned in other posts, we were in the Armação de Pêra area for the entire month of April and on May 1st we went to another accommodation in Olhos de Agua where we stayed until June 19th.
The first thing we liked is that Falésia Beach was the most idyllic and much better than the one we had in front of our previous accommodation.
Armação de Pêra was quite run down with those horrible and abandoned buildings. On the other hand, Olhos de Agua was prettier, with new buildings of no more than three floors and houses of a higher standard. The area in general was well cared for and had a much more pleasant vibe.
The bad thing is that before we had 3 supermarkets 20 minutes away and near the new accommodation, we only had Intermarché 5 minutes away and it was poorly supplied. The other supermarkets were quite far away. Being unable to find any decent body lotion, one day we took the bus to Albufeira’s Lidl and I packed up all the personal care products I needed.
Here the public transport worked a little better (there was more frequency), but it was still very expensive. Only the trip to Albufeira, which was 30 minutes away, cost us 2.35 euros per person; Going to Faro cost almost 5 euros each.
Another good thing is that we finally found a Chinese shop and we haven’t seen one since Madeira. There we bought some things for the kitchen and a board for the beach.
The day we were looking for a place to rent a car, we went to the Europcar that was inside Pine Cliffs; this was like a gated community with a golf course, tennis courts, gardens, parks, and some beautiful little houses. You could see the level of that place. It reminded me of the complexes that appear in the movies where the rich Americans spend their vacations. Logically there the car rental cost twice as much as in the other places.
When we had been in this area for 2 weeks, they gave the green light for tourism in Portugal and in a week, everything began to fill up. It was crazy because one day it was empty and the next it was full of cars, hotels to burst and stores open. We also began to find the beaches with garbage.
Prices also went up overnight because people wanted to earn in 3 months what they had not earned since the COVID. We had agreed on a price to rent a car at a place called Local Rentals and when we went the next day, they had doubled the price. In the end it was better for us because we found a better price at the Exposé Viagens & Turismo agency that was next to our building and the service was much better. Also, when I went to leave the negative review for Local Rentals, I saw that a lot of customers were complaining that they did not return the 150 euros of the security deposit.
Thus, as of May 15, Olhos de Agua became the typical tourist site from which we always try to escape. We, who were a bit relaxed with the schedules, had to return to the routine of waking up very early to take advantage of the places without people.
In addition, on our beach they began to stir sand with tractors and put sun beds in various places. So, they ruined our idyllic beach a bit. Fortunately, the the volume of people remained next to the access stairs and the rest of the beach remained free.
Another great thing is that the area is full of natural pools that you never tire of exploring. Also, I felt like I was involved in a National Geographic documentary because each little pool was full of fish, crabs, prawns and anemones.
The stay in Olhos de Agua was great and that area is much better than Armação de Pêra. In fact, we found it to be the best place to stay of anything we saw in the Algarve.
By having few buildings and being all houses, the place has a special vibe. Also, the area is quiet and safe; Although the beaches got a bit crowded since they gave the green light to Portugal, our area was never crowded. We always had tranquility.
This was contributed by the fact that our building was practically empty, so we were not disturbed by the neighbors and there was hardly anyone in the pool.
The beach was ruined a bit with the arrival of all the crowd, but we solved it by getting up earlier and going to the beach from 8 to 11am. So, we had it to ourselves. Also, at that time it was more pleasant because there were only people doing sports.
Of course, we said goodbye to looking at the beach from 12 a.m. to 7 p.m. (mostly if it was a weekend). In addition, from eleven in the morning the sea was a chaos of ships from here to there.
Finally, although public transport works a little better, it only reaches a few places. To visit the most important places and in general, if you want to move around the Algarve, you will have to rent a car.
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