Hello,
we're arriving on saturaday to Portugal and planning to stay 4 days in Lisbon, 4 days in the Algarve coast and 2 days in Porto. We have already booked hostels in Porto and Lisbon, but we've got nothing booked in the Algarve. Could anyone recommend cheap place to stay there? town is not important because we're planning to have trips to different places there. thanks for any advice!! :-)
Edited by: adoes
town is not important
It may not be important to you (although I suspect it is) but it certainly will be to people who may be able to give you recommendations. The Algarve extends from the Spanish border to Vila do Bispo in the west, a distance of about 160 kms/100 miles covering dozens of towns and villages. If you live in the UK, that's the distance from London to Birmingham.
Lagos has lots of budget accommodation including some hostels and is a reasonable base for exploring by public transport (depending on where you want to go of course!). We stayed at Pension MarAzul which was very nice for the price but a bit noisy from the central location. Hostelworld and Hostelbookers have quite a few options for Lagos.
It would be useful to know whether you are driving or using public transport as that will affect your choice of town.
of course, you are right. I haven't made myself clear. we have only 4 days there so it's impossible to see everything. we thought about Faro or Lagos, because both are beautiful and worth seeing. But we have to decide one place to stay. so I asked for any advice from people who were there.
we're going to use public transport.
thanks!
But we have to decide one place to stay
You probably think I'm being a nitpicking nuisance, but when you say "place" do you mean town or accommodation?
If you mean town, I think that's for you to decide between Faro and Lagos. Faro is about twice the size of Lagos and the two are about 2 hours apart by bus. Lagos has perhaps better access to a dramatic coastline and off-the-beaten track villages, but remember that off-the-beaten-track usually means sporadic bus services. Faro has better access to the "beach islands" around Olhao and Tavira.
Once you've decided on the town, tell us and then people can recommend accommodation options. In the meantime, in addition to the recommendations made by TRRK, check http://www.booking.com/ for discounted hotel rooms. You don't pay a cent until you check out. I use it all the time.
I was in Faro last year and stayed at Hotel Faro. The rooms were nice and the hotel is right on the water. The roof deck is nice for a sunset drink, too. The hotel is not too far from the train station, so it's convenient if you want to take day trips along the coast.
If that fails, Hotel Eva next door is of similar quality and is also a good choice.
The Hotel Faro gets an average rating of 7.6 on booking.com: that's not very good. The Hotel Eva gets the same score.
Of course, those booking.com ratings are based on customer reviews, people who have actually stayed there. I'd trust those reviews far more than a description on a website where the hotel paid for its placement.
I normally stay in Tavira, east of Faro. Pensao Princesa do Gilao in Tavira is quite cheap, offers good value and can be found in Google. It is nicely placed in the center of Tavira with lots of restaurants around
I would recommend Lagos any day over Faro,
Faro, although the capital of the Algarve, is really an administrative centre and not a travel destination. The old centre around the Sé (Cathedral) is small.
Lagos, however retains the feel of a historic Portuguese town while having great beaches as well as restaurants and night life. The west coast, if you have a car, is well worth exploring.
I must declare an interest here....I live in Lagos.
As regards hostel accommodation, the Pensão MarAzul is great but be aware that a dirty great big car park is being built right behind it at present.
If you are hostelling and on a budget have a look at the following.
http://3monkeys.me.uk/monkeyhouse/
(Good food at night in their cafe next door )
http://www.risingcockhostel.com/</a>
(In-crowd destination - But you are always well looked after by Mama)
http://juventude.gov.pt/Portal/Lazer/pt/PLagos.htm</a>
State-Run Youth Hostel
http://www.goldcoasthostel.com/</a>
Gold Coast Hostel
For information on getting to Lagos, have a look at the articles on the following page on my blog:
http://barlaventostravelblog.blogspot.com/search?q=Lisbon+to</i>Lagos