First things first, though: I love the tile facades common to the region. Maybe one day my house'll look as cool as this one from the outside.
This has been the most family friendly place we've ever been, so if you're looking for a sunny take-the-crew destination, put Algarve on your list. (but stay away in the peak season. It's busy now and this is the off season so I can't fathom what July and August are like).
Nowhere in Europe have the people been nicer (the locals or the other tourists). If the boys were teenagers I'd have given them bus fare and turned them loose, with only minimal fretting.
There's no language barrier whatsoever**, but we are the only Ameicans we encountered this week. We're clearly not British, so we were often asked where we were from. Then, we watched the less pushy of the small-talkers try to politely figure out why the American family from Florida flew all the way across the pond to go to the beach. (The more pushy didn't wonder -- they just asked what brought us Yanks to Algarve).
** However, even without a language barrier we have had a few "foreigner" moments. I managed to come home from the store with fabric softener rather than detergent and I sent D to the store to get diapers, instructing him to get a name brand. After all, in Germany they actually call diapers, Pampers. He came home with pullups, Huggies pullups, 'cause he didn't recognize any of the other brands. (Fortuitous discovery: the pullups are actually easier when travelling, 'especially for a mama who never quite mastered the art of the standing diaper change
If you go, our favorite activities....
Sardines: Don't wriggle your nose. Try them. Once you do, you'll eat them, you'll eat alot of them, especially grilled. Eat the skin, even (do leave the bones, at least the back bone, the little ones are up to you). Nothing at all like canned sardines or anchovies in your grocer's aisle.
Other notes:
Albufiera has three main sections: city hall, the strip, and old town. All three are visited by the tourist train that makes a 40 minute loop connecting the three until 2AM. (all day passes are 3E, under 6 free). Most apartments are within walking distance of one of the stops. The "strip" is the the Daytona Beach of the area (minus the clam shell ampitheater or a Krispy Creme). It feels a little has-been, a little dingy, and if it was all you saw, you'd leave scratching your head as to the area's appeal. Old Town is pleasant with a pretty beach and is fun to wander. City Hall is a utilitarian area with a shopping mall, McDonalds, and oodles of snack stands, bakeries, and souvenir shops.
Altes: skip it. Tour buses routinely stop there and let everyone off to wander. It is full of narrow twisty streets and the home to a famous Portugues poet, but there are other villages (Silves, for example) with lots more character.
It's been a great time. I doubt we'll be back, just 'cause there are so many more places we want to see in our short time here, but we're not the only ones who've enjoyed it. We had a lovely conversation with a Dutch couple one morning on the beach who, unbeknownst to us, watched us have icecream the night before in Albufeira. They were quite smitten with my boys and their antics, especially the little one (my boys can be charming at times) so they struck up a conversation us when were building sand animals the next day. They have beach-vacationed in Greece, Turkey, Malta and the Canary Islands, and they think Portugal's the best of the lot. Later in the week we met an older British couple, retired RAF, who curiously enough were stationed in the Geilenkirchen area back in the Post WW2, pre-reunification days. They too like the Algarve best of all their sunny holidays. (Although they did have to regale us with tales of how nowhere is as it "used to be")
Anyway, 8 enthusiastic thumbs up. If you want all-inclusive, go to Turkey, but if you simply want a beach pad, consider Algarve (and if you're doing Ryan Air from GK, try to make the Maastricht airport work, SOOOOOOOOO much easier than Weeze).
