Portugal over Christmas

Joe Public

Joe Public

Joined
Oct 20, 2024
Posts
22
Likes collected
19
Funster No
107,262
MH
Auto Trail Savannah
Hi,
Can anyone recommend sites in Portugal over the Christmas / New Year period?
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
It really depends what you require from a pitch/ site/ park up?

If you’re happy with a smallish pitch and minimal facilities inland then I’d recommend Parque de Rio in Silves for a traditional Portuguese Christmas - loads of restaurants and shops a level walk away and a medieval castle up on the hill. If you like somewhere more upmarket and touristy Alvor is lovely but the Campsite can be hit and miss for decent pitches and availability as you can’t book but a shortish walk into the lovely old town/ riverside restaurants and sandy beach.

Both are on Search for Sites.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Upvote 0
(y) The aire at Alvor is open again, a short walk into town, a bit messy when it rains though so take your wellies
 
Upvote 0
We just stayed a week at Turiscampo outside Lagos. Thought it was really good. Short trip to Lagos, lots of beaches nearby, excellent facilities especially for families.
 
Upvote 0
We spent last Xmas and new year in Tavire. A lot of restaurants were open Xmas day and there was a great atmosphere on site and very friendly, about 20min walk into town.

Tavira – Algarve Motorhome Park

algarvemotorhomepark.com algarvemotorhomepark.com

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Upvote 0
Rogerwyn said:
We spent last Xmas and new year in Tavire. A lot of restaurants were open Xmas day and there was a great atmosphere on site and very friendly, about 20min walk into town.

Tavira – Algarve Motorhome Park

algarvemotorhomepark.com algarvemotorhomepark.com
Click to expand...
I would second that. The aire in Tavira is superb. A few minutes walk from a commercial centre with huge supermarket
and a short walk from a lovely town. In the winter it gets pretty full but you can see on their website if there are places available
 
Upvote 0
As Ven mentioned, Silves is a nice spot over the festive period, but it is quiet. You can visIt Armação de Pêra, there are a few sites open and its a bit more busier. Christmas day there is a big gathering with the ex pats, Dutch etc for a swim in the sea, you can dress up as Father Christmas and then off to the bars. Good spot to base yourself as, from there you can get to Silves, Carvoeiro, Portimão, Monchique...Lagos is around 25 mins away headng West and Faro is 30 mins away heading East. Enjoy.

Watch out for the processionary caterpillars. If you have a dog (s) you will need to be super vigilant, if you are unsure what they are, there is a lot of info on Google.
 
Upvote 0
Just remember that is peak period for Motorhomes on the Algarve coast...many of the popular sites will be rammed full...especially the Algarve Motorhome Parks at Falesia, Silves and Tavira and you end up with quite a few vans queueing outside waiting for a pitch.
 
Upvote 0
I'm useless with computers so no idea if this will get to you but, living in Portugal and the Algarve, the very best site is Tourist Campo in Espiche Lagos. Its a yellow village site so not cheap, but has everything

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Upvote 0
Fred Hodges said:
I'm useless with computers so no idea if this will get to you but, living in Portugal and the Algarve, the very best site is Tourist Campo in Espiche Lagos. Its a yellow village site so not cheap, but has everything
Click to expand...
Depends how you quantify "Best".... we have stayed there for a month at a time and yes its very well built and maintained,,,best toilets/showers we have ever had... good pitches, nice heated indoor pool, nice restaurant.... however....its also the most expensive place we have stopped in Portugal, they used to give good ACSI discount but no longer ... not good if you have dog/dogs at an extra 5eu per dog per night...its also pretty remote being a good walk up a very steep hill to Praia da Luz or a bus in to Lagos and finally it can get extremely busy with Portuguese families with kids so not always so relaxing ..... depends what you want from a site I suppose..
 
Upvote 0
Can't comment on Alvor and I've not stayed at any of the sites mentioned over Xmas, but:
Turiscampo - as stated bove its expensive and a good 1/2 hour walk to the beach and shops, downhill there uphill back.
Tavira - from the aire, probably 10 mins to the nearest shops (huge shopping centre) no beach in reasonable walking distance, old town is nice but a longer walk, and to get anywhere worth walking you have to walk past a smelly council recycling centre. If you've got bikes then its a lot easier to get around and it seems most people staying there do.
Falesia - the aire (there are actually 2 the first one you come to on the approach road is best IMO) is a 15/20 minute walk to the village with plenty of restaurants and bars. The beach is 10 minutes walk and is beautiful. Plus you can do the coastal walk which goes on for miles. There is a supermarket a few minutes walk away just down the road from the site.
Other places we've stayed at but not at Xmas, but worth a look I would say, are:
Camping Albufeira - a huge site with shop and restaurants on site. An easy walk down the via verde to the Pingo Doce supermarket, also if you continue down the via verde you come to the edge of the holiday resort itself with more bars and restaurants than you could ever need. From the campsite it's about 20/25 mins walk to the edge and another 15 into the centre and beach. You can also cycle on the via verde so that's an easy/safe and quick way into the town.
Camping Ria Formosa - not far from Tavira, this is a nice site with its own restaurant. The walk to the beach front, which is really nice, is about 20/25 mins. There are many bars, cafes and restaurants on the beach front. The campsite electricity is 16 amps so you can make the most of that. Not sure if it's metered for long stays though.
Camping Olhao - another big site and it was cheap when we were there but that was pre-Covid. It also has own restaurant. It's a short walk to the edge of town where there are shops and restaurants. Also a sea front but it's more a fishing port than a beach resort, as I remeber.

Hope that helps!
 
Upvote 0
peterc10 said:
Hi Simon, when we were there in the spring there was no clean water available. Have they switched it back on now? Alvor is one of our favourites.
Click to expand...
Don’t know but I can find out my mate lives there (y)
 
Upvote 0
GeeCee said:
Can't comment on Alvor and I've not stayed at any of the sites mentioned over Xmas, but:
Turiscampo - as stated bove its expensive and a good 1/2 hour walk to the beach and shops, downhill there uphill back.
Tavira - from the aire, probably 10 mins to the nearest shops (huge shopping centre) no beach in reasonable walking distance, old town is nice but a longer walk, and to get anywhere worth walking you have to walk past a smelly council recycling centre. If you've got bikes then its a lot easier to get around and it seems most people staying there do.
Falesia - the aire (there are actually 2 the first one you come to on the approach road is best IMO) is a 15/20 minute walk to the village with plenty of restaurants and bars. The beach is 10 minutes walk and is beautiful. Plus you can do the coastal walk which goes on for miles. There is a supermarket a few minutes walk away just down the road from the site.
Other places we've stayed at but not at Xmas, but worth a look I would say, are:
Camping Albufeira - a huge site with shop and restaurants on site. An easy walk down the via verde to the Pingo Doce supermarket, also if you continue down the via verde you come to the edge of the holiday resort itself with more bars and restaurants than you could ever need. From the campsite it's about 20/25 mins walk to the edge and another 15 into the centre and beach. You can also cycle on the via verde so that's an easy/safe and quick way into the town.
Camping Ria Formosa - not far from Tavira, this is a nice site with its own restaurant. The walk to the beach front, which is really nice, is about 20/25 mins. There are many bars, cafes and restaurants on the beach front. The campsite electricity is 16 amps so you can make the most of that. Not sure if it's metered for long stays though.
Camping Olhao - another big site and it was cheap when we were there but that was pre-Covid. It also has own restaurant. It's a short walk to the edge of town where there are shops and restaurants. Also a sea front but it's more a fishing port than a beach resort, as I remeber.

Hope that helps!
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for the very comprehensive reply.
 
Upvote 0

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top