harveyvibes

Hi everyone. My wife and I are middle aged and now with the kids just gone we've talked about escaping the UK winter gloom for some Portuguese sunshine. We were just wondering if people here could give us a little advice on where to stay. For us a good place would be close to a metropolitan area for good food, activities, events etc. We don't speak Portuguese so a UK Expat community we could join would also be important. Ideally we would drive there. Any ideas, regions, places that people might be able to suggest would be more than welcome. Thank you

Rambling archer

For winter sun Algarve (perhaps avoiding the bigger centres like Albufueira which is getting a bad reputation at present) - consider Tavira, Faro, approaching from the Spanish border to save on expensive PT motorway tolls. If less fussy about heat and sun, but for a better climate than UK especially in Spring and Autumn (remember you will have to split your visits to a max of 90 days within 180 days) perhaps look at Caldas da Rainha, an hour north of Lisbon, close to the nice coastal resorts on the Atlantic, surfers paradise beaches near Peniche and 5 minutes from Obidos, large expat communities, events, markets, etc.
Big cities eg Lisbon and Porto are increasingly expensive and even crowded.
If you have unlimited cash to spend, then Cascais just west of Lisbon ... but a bit of a pain to get to in the car.
Northern PT does get wet (same climate as Galicia in NW Spain) in winter and eastern parts are mountainous, chilly in winter, and not noted for cosmopolitan activity centre.

SgtTroy

Sintra, Ericeira...all within 30-40 minutes from Lisbon.

riv

MORE detail would help to garner more useful suggestions:

1] What sort of desired / maximum amount do you wish to spend on rent ?

2] What length of rental do you wish to engage ?

3] HOW important is sunny weather compared to whatever other aspects attract you ?

4] The three month in six months limit has been referred to : so what three months would you envisage coming ?

Alan PT

Of course you'll find plenty of people to recommend places in Portugal on this forum, but TBH, if you just want to hang out with British people in the sunshine, you might find more options for lower cost on the Spanish coast. This is why "A Place in the Sun" seems to be 70% Spain these days - we have started calling it "A Place in the Spain"

Red Eric

Alan PT

I promise to eat several Pasteis de Nata in penance!

offthepiste

Also, pack a dehumidifier and a wooly jumper for indoors

harveyvibes

Thanks, just the detailed kind of reply I hoped I might get

harveyvibes

Yes, I agree, more detail is probably better

1) No real budget, obvs the cheaper the better but not at the expense of staying in a bad or cut off area. Circa £1000 month but for the right property we'd consider slightly higher

2) In the first instance probably 2 months, early January to early march.

3) Main reason to go is sun, the gloom you get here in the UK is truely something to behold. However we'd also need things to do, visit, would be nice to hang out with UK expats too but if thats all we do theres plenty of that here So I guess a mixture of sun and those other aspects slightly weighted toward sun.

4)

NataHH

Bear in mind if you are travelling on an UK passport you can only stay 90 days. When we were looking for a place to buy we stayed during the winter months near Lisbon and in the Algarve. We realised that the Algave was approx 5 degrees warmer and the weather was more settled. So we decided it would be the Algarve. So on our next visit we looked at Tavira and Lagos. This was year 2000 and Tavira was too quiet but this has probably changed since then. I love Lagos. It has a culture centre, indoor sports facilities, fantastic beaches and probably more Brits than Portuguese.

Why not split your time in half and see for yourselves. There are plenty of airbnbs around. Make sure the heating is included because once the sun disappears it gets cold and the damp creeps in. Something they do not tell you on the "Place in the Sun" programme.

harveyvibes

Sounds like good advice Using Goggle maps I was surprised to find out the travelling time to Lisbon area or Algarve is pretty much the same from Santander so why not travel to the Algarve. We'll be travelling down in a Tesla EV though so it'd be interesting to see what the charging infrastructure is like down there.

harveyvibes

Looking around on Airbnb I might have to up my estimate for rent to about £1500 give or take.

riv

So it is not the case that ' the cost is irrelevant ' or anything like that. Your first post gave off a different vibe.

That being the case, Lisbon might be more difficult : you MIGHT find a one bed flat somewhere in Lisbon for a grand or so a month, but it would be difficult.

LESS difficult in the Algarve, where Jan-March are off season months : there I think you would find a two bed flat ( if very lucky with sea view ) for around a grand, a month, and you could seek to negotiate that as an all inclusive , with council tax and utilities and internet included. Once based in the Algarve for two or three months, you could always experiment half way through with a week or a fortnight in Lisbon. DON'T think of driving to Lisbon though - the train is much more relaxing and approx three hours from Faro. Plus there's no way whatever you would ever use a car to get around within Lisbon. You can do it all on a combination of on foot plus studied in advance use of the Tram routes [ yes of course the no 28, but not only that one .]

As to places to stay in the Algarve : bearing in mind also your culture requirements, i would suggest OLHa~O as a place to look for a winter rental : there are quite a few ( but not overwhelmingly so, as in more western parts of the Algarve ) expats now in Olha~o, and some are attracted by the arty scene, also live jazz in restaurant on the waterfront and so on. Very easy access on train or road to Faro. But much more agreeable, because smaller, less crowded, less touristy.

There are various Agencies which might find you a two month rental in midwinter. If it's still going The Crumbling Foundation in Olha~o would also be worth contacting.

Although there are reasonably priced restaurants in Olha~o, if you like cooking there is also a superb indoor market with fresh fish and produce to buy whenever cooking takes your fancy.

Make SURE your rental has HEATING : many many places do not, and in the winter months you would find that really uncomfortable : it may be sunny and pleasant outside ( by the way, there will for sure be some cloudy and rainy days in Jan Feb ) but it will be cold and damp inside. A log burner for the rainy days would be nice ( but not so easy to find ).

chislenko

If you are a beach person Harvey and look at the East Algarve then be careful not to pick one of the places where the beach is "detached" and only accessible by ferry.

Yes it is a novelty at first but if you just want a morning walk on the beach, it ain't happening.