Winter in the Algarve

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The Algarve is part of the southern coast region of Portugal, serving as a popular year-round tourist destination for both international visitors as well as the Portuguese themselves. With a warm climate throughout the year, for the British holiday maker, winter in the Algarve has much to offer.

The Climate

The Algarve offers a sunny, dry, warm sub-tropical climate 12 months out of the year – offering more sun hours than California USA. Even during the winter, the Algarve has warm days, although the nights can get a bit chilly. A visit during the beginning of February offers what the natives call the “Algarvian Snow”, but don’t fret, that’s just their name for the almond blossom. Vegetation and flowers grow all year around in the Algarve.

The Algarve as a Winter Holiday Destination

As a get-away from the cold and snow, a visit to the Algarve during winter is warm enough to allow for some enjoyable beachfront time. The main coastline faces south, which means the sun warms the beaches from early morning until night while backing cliffs offer protection from the cool breezes from the north.

Winter also proves a wonderful time for walking tours and bird watching, with plenty of coastal and countryside areas to enjoy. For the shopper, there are plenty of shopping centres as well as monthly market days to enjoy. The bigger markets, like Estoi and Algoz, provide a country fair feeling – complete with animals.

For the sight-seer, winter is the perfect time to take in some of the historical sites. These include the ancient Moorish capital of Silves and the old walled town of Mertola. For the golfer, the Algarve is a delight, having served as a preferred holiday destination for golfers for the past 30 years. The main golf season runs from late autumn to late spring, with European golfers taking advantage of the mild winter and warm sunny days to keep up their game.

Food and Drink

With over 200 km of coastline, fish and seafood is a stable part of the local diet, with daily fishing trips bringing tuna, bream, cod, and monkfish as well as prawns, clams, oysters, and squid. In addition to the traditional Portuguese restaurants serving this wondrous seafood, the Algarve also has a wide-variety of other restaurants serving international cuisine such as Chinese, Italian, English, Mexican, and Thai. Drink includes fabulous Portuguese wines as well as three national brands of Cerveja (beer). Portugal is also known for its port – offering a selection of ruby, tawny and white as a delightful after dinner refreshment.

Accommodation

During the winter months, comfortable and affordable accommodation can be found in abundance. Even more so than in summer, there are plenty of cheap hotels in Algarve on offer, as well as fabulous deals on villas, apartments, and hotels. Because this is considered the off-tourist season by the locals, winter visitors can be selective and negotiate deals. This doesn’t just apply to the Algarve – a variety of accommodation and cheap hotels in Portugal are ripe for the renting during this time of the year.