one of the Algarve’s best kept secrets

The tourist guides barely give it a mention but thousands of devoted holidaymakers, some of whom return year after year, think that Olhão is the best place for a holiday in the Algarve. It’s only a 20 minute drive from Faro and makes a great base to enjoy either trips to the beach, playing golf, or exploring different parts of the region with its ancient history and varied scenery. The Insight Pocket Guide to the Algarve describes Olhão as “one of the most underrated places in the Algarve”. Things, however, are about to change with the building of a new shopping centre on the main road and a new marina with 5 star hotel to be built in the next year or so.

Olhão’s main industry since medieval times has been fishing and it is still one of the largest fishing ports in the Algarve today. Gradually the village increased in size, but one of the turning points was when King João VI rewarded the brave fishermen of Olhão by elevating the village to the status of town in 1808 after 17 of them crossed the Atlantic Ocean, without charts, to bring the news to him in Rio de Janeiro (where the court had fled) that Napoleon’s troops had been forced out of the country.

Olhão Old Town

You can still wander among the stalls in the two market buildings on the quayside and buy fish that have come straight from the sea, as well as local fruit and vegetables from the surrounding area. Enjoy the gardens on the esplanade with the collections of birds and turtles and children’s playgrounds for the younger members of the family or eat at any of the nearby restaurants or catch a ferry across the lagoon to the islands of Armona, Culatra or Farol and spend the day on the beach. The island of Armona is a 20 minute ride away and the ferry runs pretty much hourly in the summer. Alternatively, thread your way through the labyrinth of the Old Town/Fishermen’s Quarter next to the quay to see the North African influence on house-building. Although they are best viewed from above to get the full effect of all the roof terraces or “açoteias”, if you can find a vantage point, the old cube houses are still worth a look from ground level and are small and whitewashed, with tiled facades which hide the parapets of the roof terraces, the characteristic “clenched hand” doorknockers and box-like chimneys. Don’t miss out on the annual Seafood Festival each August!

Olhão Marina Aerial View

Olhão has everything you could need as a visitor – shops, markets, access to several beaches, and a plenitude of restaurants and ATMs (“multibancos” in Portuguese). It’s on the main EN125 coast road, only 8 km from Faro, and can also be easily reached by public transport using either the bus or train. In fact, it’s on the main railway line that goes all the way to Seville in about 3 hours or you can drive there, if you wish, by carrying on along the A22 (which the maps show as IP1) into Spain.

Temperatures in the area range from an average high in the summer of 30°C during the day, dropping to an average winter temperature of 15°C. Please note that during the winter the temperature at night can fall to around 4°C and Portuguese houses do not normally have central heating.