A wonderful flying experience is a flight along the Algarve coast with breathtaking scenery and views. Aero Algarve offer a wide range of services from Plane hire , Tourist flights and Aerial Advertising to a complete holiday for those who wish to fly their own aircraft to the Algarve with the knowledge that help and information is always at hand, from the time you Take Off until we greet you on the apron....maybe still time for a quick dip in the sea or more likely you will be ready to relax with a cool drink by the pool as the Sun Sets. Website: aeroalgarve.com. Based at Alvor aerodrome Email: ken@aeroalgarve.com    Tel No: 00 351 282 495 828   Mobile no: +351 964 954 279  Fax No: +351 282 416 784

ARMACAO DE PERA.      
As it says in the guide…owes it’s existence to the Sardine!
Fisherman used to beach their boats on the shore what is now Armacao, before returning to their homes in the inland villages of Pera and Porches.  Huts were soon built to store tackle, followed by houses, a small fort (1661) and a chapel,  and eventually a village had evolved on the seashore. Nowadays it has become a thriving resort of hotels and apartments with all the trappings of bars, restaurants and shops. A pleasant shaded promenade with plenty of sidewalk cafes runs the length of the large safe beach. Fishing is still commercially very important to the resident community as can be seen by the number of boats and net-mending activity on the Eastern side of the beach.

This old part of the town is lovely and contains a number of old streets with names bearing witness to the activities they housed: ‘street of the fishing nets’, ‘street of sails’ and ‘street of candles and lamps’, for example. Armacao de Pera rises from one of the Algarve’s most glorious beaches where several kilometres of sand dunes give way to the regions characteristic low cliffs.The dramatically eroded cliffs on the west side are indented with little sandy coves.  A sightseeing trip along this section of the coast by boat is most enjoyable.

PORCHES.
Pronounced like the car, there is nothing speedy about this lovely quaint old village with its narrow cobbled streets and tiny cottages.  The parish Church bell can be heard ringing on the hour in full and tolls every quarter thereafter.  It never fails to ring and one of the few things in the Algarve that runs on time.  Porches is also the home of 3 very good restaurants, ‘Oleao de Porches’ , ‘Mr Grillo’, and ‘ The Winery’.

SAGRES.                  
It is the most south-westerly village in mainland Europe and, as such was on the edge of the
known world right up to the late Middle Ages.  Henry the Navigator is thought to have had his headquarters - his so- called “school of navigation” in the vicinity of Sagres, though the exact location is not known.  Perhaps it was within the fortaleza, defended on the land side by mighty
man made ramparts, and on the seaward sides by towering cliffs  From this headland fortress, the awesome cliffs curve round past the 17th Century fort at Beliche to the famous lighthouse on the point of Cape St. Vincent.  Steeped in history this is a windswept place of rugged beauty.  Nowadays,  it is the end of the line, well-beloved by backpackers from all over the world and of considerable interest to botanists and bird watchers.

ALVOR.                     
Sits next to a river estuary inside a sand bar.  The village proper consists of a jumble of low,
white washed houses in a maze of narrow streets leading down to the waterfront where the local fleet of small fishing boats is moored or beached.  The only activity carried out with any faint degree of urgency occurs in a waterfront shed,  the venue for a daily fish auction.  Some of the catch finds its way into the many local restaurants specialising in fresh seafood dishes.  The oldest and most notable building is the parish church with its splendid Manueline main doorway.  The old village has now been surrounded by high-quality hotels and holiday complexes, including the Alto Golf and County Club, its 18 hole course designed by the late Sir Henry Cotton for holidaying players of all standards.

SILVES                                
Once a city of glittering minaret and bustling bazaars,  it was the Moorish capital of the Algarve. 
Its imposing red sandstone castle was the scene of horrific medieval battles between Islamic Moors and Christians.  Crusaders on their way to the Holy Land played an important role in the reconquest of the Algarve in the 13th Century.  A few of those who fell in battle are entombed in the cathedral next to the castle.  Both the castle and cathedral are open to visitors.  Nearby is a small archaeological museum.  The tumultuous city of yesteryear is today a quiet market town in the midst of the Algarve’s main citrus-growing area.  Cork is processed locally.  The town hosts two annual festivals,  one celebrating oranges, the other Beer held in July.  On the third Monday of each month there is a particularly lively open air market.

PORTIMAO.                       
This is the largest town in the western Algarve. It has been an important port since ancient times
because of its location at the mouth of the river Arade.  Today it is a busy provincial town and a commercial fishing port.  During the summer months the quay on the town side of the river is lined with boats offering game-fishing trips and coastal and river cruises.  There are many outside restaurants specialising in regional sea food dishes close to the town end of the old iron road bridge spanning the river.  As a shopping centre, the main focus of activity is in the higher part of town,  in the vicinity of Praca d Republica and Rua do Comercio,  a pedestrian-only mall.  There are bargains galore, everything from hairpins to horses, in a sprawling regional market by the side of the railway station on the first Monday of each month.  The famous Sardine restaurants are situated under the old bridge and lunch of Sardines, fries, salad and wine or beer is charged at around £4.00 per head.

ALBUFEIRA             
is the Algarve’s most popular tourist town.  It is a fun, family- orientated resort enjoyed by all age
groups who like a bustling holiday atmosphere by the seaside.  It is a whitewashed blend of the old and the new. The Romans called it Naltrum.  The Moors renamed it Al-Buhera.  Not much of the old Moorish castle has survived the ravages of earthquakes and wars,  but a certain Moorish atmosphere still lingers in the narrow streets that lead down to the  main square, Largo Eng. Duarte Pacheco.  Old townhouses merge haphazardly with modern blocks of apartments in a tiered jumble overlooking two beautiful beaches.  One is reached through a short tunnel by the tourist information office.  Sun bathers share the other with fishermen mending nets by their boats.  Cafes, bars and restaurants abound in the old section of the town.

ALTE                                    
is probably the most picturesque and therefore the most visited of all the villages in the central
Algarve countryside.  To get the feel of village life,  stroll around its narrow backstreets.  Of special interest are the parish church and several natural springs.  The doorway of the church of Nossa Senhora da Assuncao is a fine example of 16th-Century tiles.  The signposted Fonte Grande and Fonte das Bicas are popular picnic spots.  To the east, there are fine views from the hilltop villages of Salir and Querenca.  To the west and outstanding landmark on the N124 as it runs through the centre of Sao Bartolomeu de Messines,  is a Baroque-style church, originally built in the 16th century and rebuilt in the 18th.  The interior columns are fashioned after twisted ropes.

LOULÉ                                 
is the busiest of the inland towns, an important sea of local government controlling a large chunk
of the Algarve, including the coastal region from Quinta do Lago to Vilamoura.  Castle walls near the town centre are reminders of Roman and Moorish occupation.  The parish church is 13th century Gothic.  The town’s grandest monument was built in memory of a Minster of Public Works who died during the Salazar dictatorship.  Loulé is a handicrafts centre and, if you peek into the many dimly lit workshops in the side streets between the tourist information office in Largo Bernard Lopes and the parish church you will see craftsmen working with leather, copper and wood.  Carnival is celebrated here each February like nowhere else in the Algarve.  Each Saturday morning, a bustling and colourful country fair comes to town.  

FARO                                   
is the capital of the Algarve.  As the largest, busiest and one of the oldest of the region’s towns, it
is concerned mostly with the serious business of provincial administration, trade and commerce. It
is best known among visitors for its international airport,  but spend a little time exploring the town centre located only a few kilometres from the airport terminal.  Praça Dom Francisco Gomes next to the harbour is  the best starting point for a town walk.  Make your way through the 18th century Arco da Vila into the Cidade Velha, the old walled town.  It was occupied from Roman through Moorish times but the feel now is of the 16th,17th and 18th centuries.  The modest cathedral, the Sé,  on the site of a former Moorish mosque,  was destroyed during the Lisbon Earthquake of 1755,  but some of its Gothic and Renaissance features have survived.

MONCHIQUE                     
is a small market town in a scenic range of rounded hills of the same name.  Its steep, cobbled
streets and its parish church, featuring a Manueline doorway, are overlooked by a derelict 17th-century Franciscan convent, Nossa Senhora do Desterro.  The shops are full of local produce, including baskets, rough woolen sweaters, soft leather slippers and gloves, honey and medronho firewater.  The slopes around about are terraced for farming or forested with cork, oak, pine and eucalyptus.  Six kilometres south and 300m below Monchique is the spa village of Caldas de Monchique nestling in a wooded ravine.  Eight kilometres up from Monchique, the rocky summit of Fóia is lined by restaurants famous for their barbecued chicken piri-piri.