Spain and Portugal for Visitors

There are good reasons why the Algarve is the most popular part of Portugal. From Portugal.org.

Offering some basic information on Algarve in Southern Portugal designed for the tourists coming to Algarve for the first time. Including tourism, transportation, photos, cities information, beaches, rental cars, and culture. This site will give you a good look at the Algarve before you actually arrive.

Disperse, I think, is the word for this annual event which not only takes place in various Algarve localities but lasts from January to October or even November.

Very acceptable tourist guide, in English and Dutch.

One of the oldest websites dedicated to Portugal on the Internet.

Not a great deal of hard information, if the truth be told, but entertaining background gen from a London travel agency.

A complete guide to the Algarve by a team of locally based experts providing you with knowledge of all things Algarve. Restaurant reviews, info on Algarve nightlife, golf courses and first class shopping. Rates on transfers, car hire, hotels, golf and activities as well as weather reports and maps.

Nicely made commercial portal, covering Algarve accommodation, eating out, shopping, real estate, cities and surroundings and the Algarve people and country.

The Net version of this weekly for English-speaking Algarve residents is well made and written, with just a hint of ex-pat quirkiness.

Web directory which I intend to plunder.

Beautiful photographs and not much content.

Beautifully designed website, though with less actual content than would appear on first sight.

No, that isn't a typo, it's a play on words. 'All-garve' is, in the words of its organizers, "an integrated event-promotion and planning programme which focuses on lifestyle, glamour and the cosmopolitan spirit to make lifetime experiences possible for all those who participate in them," which in ordinary English means it's the mother and father of all summer festivals. Music, Entertainment, Art, Jazz (isn't that music?), Gastronomy, Sport and Dance are its categories, and its events will be held throughout the Algarve - Albufeira, Castro Marim, Faro, Lagoa, Lagos, Sagres, Silves, Tavira and Vila Real de Santo António, but especially Portimão, Vilamoura and Loulé.

Indespensable for anyone looking online for information about the Algarve, Dave's Guide is "not guaranteed to be definitive or totally accurate but... does contain general advice and many reviews of Towns, Villages, Hotels, Apartments, Bars and Restaurants based on visitor comments." Its slightly home-made look covers a surprising breadth and depth of information, particularly on places not included in other guides, and it is a pity that Dave seems to have tired of his project.

In spite of occupying more or less half the region, the Eastern Algarve, as I have pointed out many times, is far less well known than the west, but at least as interesting. This site, from a company offering non-resort holiday home rentals, includes an online guidebook to the area covering its beaches, the Ria Formosa National Park, golf (of course, this is still the Algarve, after all), birdwatching, the Guadiana River, and the area's most important places: Tavira, Olhão, Castro Marim, Vila Real, Estói, and others.

Places to see, essential information, an image gallery, what's on, weather, maps, hotels and resorts and more.

Information and resource site for the Algarve including a live forum for Algarve residents and visitors.

Commercial site from a UK Web development outfit, with some first-rate material under "Resort/Attractions."

The officiial website of the Algarve Tourist Region, now more bureaucratic than useful for visitors. Try 'Visit Algarve,' the promotional website listed on this page, instead.

Portuguese-only website.

Complete guide to the Algarve region from the regional tourist board. The Algarve's beaches, golf, sport, business and leisure, culture, tradition, accommodation, climate, and more, including the Algarve's more important towns: Albufeira, Alcoutim, Aljezur, Castro Marim, Faro, Lagoa, Lagos, Loulé, Monchique, Olhão, Portimão, São Brás Alportel, Silves, Tavira, Vila do Bispo, and Vila Real de Santo António.