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Golf Courses in Portugal

Golfing holiday location

Vilamoura, Algarve, Portugal
Sports and Activities

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Created from scratch in 1974 Vilamoura is the Brave New Face of the Algarve, and one of the largest leisure complexes in Europe. Its focal point is a 1,000-berth marina, surrounded by luxury hotels and holiday homes, and manicured golf courses.

Vilamoura has beaches on its doorstep and with many other sporty diversions, it is a great place to unwind. There may only be a thin veneer of local character but creature comforts and facilities are thick on the ground.

Vilamoura's immediate neighbour, Quarteira is often described as the Algarve's Ugly Duckling on account of its 1970s high-rise, Costa-style promenade. But time, and recent landscaping, has mellowed its concrete appearance. What Quarteira does have going for it is a family-friendly beach, a clutch of authentic inexpensive fish restaurants and a relaxed cheap-and-cheerful atmosphere which attracts Portuguese as well as foreign families on a budget.

Research by Paul Murphy.
Praia da Falésia This beautiful sweep of long, long golden sand, backed by tall ochre cliffs, is reached across a boardwalk which crosses a picturesque inlet and meadows and protects fragile dunes. It can accommodate all the bodies that are thrown at it, though you may have to walk a little way to find your own patch of sand. Keep walking and you'll end up in Albufeira!

Praia da Marina A functional rather than beautiful beach, this is the nearest patch of sand to the marina and is convenient if you don't want to walk (or drive) to Praia da Falésia. Breakwaters ensure a calm sea.

Praia da Quarteira This long, plain gently shelving, rock-free beach is divided up by several breakwaters which calms the waves and so is good for young children. A promenade lined with shops, bars and restaurants backs the beach.
Atlantic Park. (EN125, Quatro Estradas, Quarteira-Loulé road. Tel: 289 397282 or 800 204767 . Mid-Apr-Oct 10am-6pm; Aug 10am-7pm. Full day E11, after 2pm E9) The smallest of the Algarve's waterparks but still plenty of fun for younger children. It also has junior quad bikes and bouncy castles.

Roma Mini Golf, Vilamoura (just off the Marina by the Cerro da Vila Museum. Open daily 10am-midnight in summer, closes earlier rest of year. Tel: 289 300800) A smart mini-golf park with a Roman theme. Good fun for all the family.

Other good places to take the kids include Karting Almancil, a short trip aboard the Condor de Vilamoura, and aloft in the Vista Flyer balloon - don't worry, it is completely enclosed so they cannot clamber out of the basket!

(Price per person per meal excluding drinks)

Cheap (under E12/£8)

Romeu (Rua Gonzalo Velho 40, Quarteira Tel: 289 313990) Typically Portuguese blue-and-white tiled back street restaurant, just off the Quarteira seafront, serving all the usual local favourites, but with the accent on fish and seafood.

Adega do Peixe (Avenida Infante do Sagres, Quarteira. Tel: 289 388370) If you want the true taste of the Algarve this simple fish and seafood restaurant on the front close to the fish market will oblige. Select your fish, watch it cook on the barbecue and enjoy!

Medium (E12-18/£8-12)

Normandia (Vilamoura Marina. Tel: 289 313686) This smart French-owned bar and creperie on the marina front is a good place for snacking or just drinking and is particularly proud of its huge range of 80 beers and 40 whiskies. If you're dining here the house special is the French-style chicken.

Expensive (above E12-18/£8-12)

Akavit (Vilamoura Marina. Tel: 289 380712) Possibly the most attractive restaurant on the front-row of the marina Akavit typifies the pan-European nature of Vilamoura by putting a successful Modern European and Swedish spin on local fish and seafood dishes. The decor is predictably nautical, but nice!

Sirius Grill (Tivoli Marinotel, Vilamoura Marina. Tel: 289 389988) The thoroughly modern Marinotel is not everyone's architectural cup of tea but the views from this top-class restaurant, over the sea and marina, are superb, as is the food. Book a window seat, order any one of the fish specials, finish off with a flambe special, and you can't go wrong.

CJ's Restaurant and Bar (The Old Village, Vilamoura Tel: 289 388358) Set in Vilamoura's attractive "Old Village" (c.1974!), the rooftop terrace of this elegant restaurant is one of the area's most romantic rendezvous. The international-Portuguese menu features such local favourites as Cataplana de Tamboril (monkfish cataplana) and roast suckling pig or you could opt for the sizzling stone-cooked steak at your table.
Igreja de Sao Lourenzo (Church of St Lawrence).
The Igreja de Sao Louren?o sits serenely on a small hill in its own tiny hamlet, between the crawling traffic of the old EN125 and the motorway rush of the new EN125. Its interior, covered from floor to ceiling in beautiful blue azulejos, has been described as "the most notable in the Algarve and one of the most extraordinary in Portugal". It is the Algarve's most visited church. The church is usually open by tour only (Mon 2:30-6pm, Tue-Sat 10am-1pm, 2:30-6pm E2) and is always geared towards the next coach party, so if you are visiting it independently you will have to tag along and cross your fingers that it is in your language. If there is no tour imminent the custodian may allow you in by yourself.

The Centro Cultural de Sao Lourenzo (St Lawrence Cultural Centre, Tue-Sun 10-7, free admission) lies just a few yards downhill from the church, set in a beautifully converted terrace of traditional 200-year-old houses. A small exhibition of international modern and contemporary art rotates but unless you're a modern art lover this is not the real point of coming here. What you must see is the sculpture garden at the back. A giant naked neanderthal Samson greets visitors and the small but luxuriant sub-tropical grounds are strewn with ingeniously created large scrap-metal insects and other recycled beasts.

Top Tip If you would like to see a classical music concert in the Centro Cultural de Sao Louren?o, see the local newspapers for details, or better still, even before you visit the Algarve call (tel 00351 289 395 475 ) to book concert tickets as they sell out quickly. It's a lovely intimate venue with drinks and snacks served in the garden.

Loule

Loule is a bustling mix of old alleyways, ancient churches, castle remains, a neo-Moorish market hall, modern pedestrianised streets and a broad boulevard. It is also the central Algarve's main market town.

Markets For six days of the week it is quiet and mostly oblivious to tourism. Then, on Saturdays half the Algarve's coach operators pile in to see the town's two markets. By far the most interesting is the local produce market which operates daily (closed Sunday) but is at its biggest, busiest and best on Saturday. Stalls manned by wizened local characters in trilbys and aprons, spill out from the onion-topped central 1900s-market hall into the surrounding alleys, and the cacophony of sights and sounds and smells - of herbs and peppers and olives and sausages, vegetables and cheeses and meat and fishes, dried cod and live chicks - is a great experience.

Museu Municipal Next to the market the Museu Municipal, which occupies part of the old castle, features a handful of prehistoric, Roman and medieval relics. Climb the stairs for views from the castle ramparts.

Our Lady of the Conception Almost opposite the entrance to the castle courtyard is the tiny hermitage of Nossa Senhora da Conceizao (Our Lady of the Conception). Built in the mid-17th century it is remarkble for its mid-18th century azulejos and its gilt altarpiece. Sadly the church is in very poor condition. Tread carefully as in places it actually feels as if you may go through the floorboards!

Sao Clemente The main parish church, Sao Clemente, a three-minute walk away, is an architectural treat. It was rebuilt in the 16th and 18th centuries but retains its late13th-century Gothic arches and old stone windows. The landmark bell tower is the only remaining part of the city's main mosque, built in the 12th century and converted after the Christian Reconquest of the region.

Top Tip If you want a parking place in Loule on Saturday morning get here by no later than 9 o'clock.

Top Tip Next to the market in the courtyard of Loule's medieval castle remains, is the tourist office. Pick up a map to navigate you through the back streets of the old town.
Even if you're hardly stepping outside the resort it's still a good idea to hire a car. Despite the fact that Vilamoura is a self-contained complex, distances between places within it are so large that you have to drive almost everywhere.

Cerro da Vila Museum and Archaeological Site (Avenida do Cerro da Vila tel: 289 312153, Nov-Apr 9:30-12:30, 2-6, May-Oct 10-1, 3-7. E2) The Romans knew the present-day Vilamoura area as Cerro da Vila and, on a site next to the marina, you can trace the remains of a villa, public baths, necropolis, port and other areas. The finds from here can be seen inside the adjacent museum.

Bar 7 (Vilamoura Marina). This unassuming open-air bar on the marina is a treat for football fans who come here to drool over the assorted shirts and signed photographs of Portuguese and international soccer superstars. It is part-owned by Portugal's greatest player of the modern age, Luis Figo - though don't expect to see him serving over the bar!

Allegro, (Rotunda, Quinta do Lago). Smart lounge-style bar where the monied classes relax to the gently tinkling of a piano

Trigonometria Music Cafe (Buganvilia Plaza, Quinta do Lago). State-of-the art designer bar with three indoor and three outdoor areas plus snooker table.

Casino de Vilamoura (behind Marinotel. Tel: 289 310000) If you want to rub shoulders with the yachties and Vilamoura's nouveau-riche this is definitely the place to be. If they are not watching the floor show or at the gaming tables try the Blackjack Disco Club, part of the same complex. (nightly June-Sep, Thur-Sun rest of year).

Kadoc (Estrada de Vilamoura. Tel: 289 360485) This long-established smart young clubber's haven can accommodate up to 7,000 fellow ravers and its excellent music is often provided by foreign DJs so there's always variety. When it gets too hot you can chill out on the viewing terrace or in the garden.

Kadoclube, Kadoc (Estrada de Vilamoura). An older more laid-back club-within-a-club offering a more mellow option than the mainstream Eurobeat of Kadoc and its ilk.

Vilamoura Jazz Club (Prava do Cinema. Tel: 289 316272). Live jazz of a high quality is on the menu most nights at this elegant venue.

Blackjack Disco Club, Casino de Vilamoura (behind Marinotel, Vilamoura). This smart lively disco caters for a slightly older, more monied clientele and is part of the casino complex (nightly June-Sept, Thur-Sun rest of year).

Patio Disco Bar (Rotunda Quinta do Lago). One of Quinta do Lago's best clubs with several rooms for dancing the night away or just chillin' with sophisticated fellow groovers

T-Clube (Buganvilia Plaza, Quinta do Lago). You might spot some famous faces in this trendy nightclub frequented by Quinta's 30-plus crowd. It includes a restaurant and luxuriant gardens.
Vilamoura Marina Many of the big international brand names, particularly in clothing, are here providing convenience shopping for homesick yachties. There's little that's Portuguese or of value but one exception is Casa Caravela, near the Marinotel, which sells ceramics, tableware and general household items.

Loulé The town's reputation as a craft heritage centre, for basket-weaving, lace-making, copper-beating, leather-working and pottery dates back to the Moors. Sadly it is a dying business and there are far fewer shopping opportunities than the marketing hype leads you to believe. Individual workshops are scattered round the town but the only surviving concentration is on Rua da Barbaca, below the castle wall.

Gipsy Markets

Quarteira Each Wednesday Quarteira stages the Algarve's biggest and busiest Gipsy Market. The quality of goods is very variable and real bargains are few and far between but it's still an enjoyable and colourful event.

Top Tip Unless you want cheap (often shoddy) leather goods, or children's fashion clothes made in the Far East, give the gipsy market at Loule a miss.
Golf
Vilamoura Old Course (Tel: 289 322650) The best and most prestigious course in Vilamoura, designed in 1969 by Frank Pennink with tight fairways and plenty of character.

Millennium Course (Tel: 289 310333) This two-year old course, set in beautifully landscaped woodlands is already being hailed as a classic in the making.

Top Tip A handicap certificate is needed for all the courses listed here. Only good golfers, preferably with a healthy bank balance, should attempt the Old Course or the Millennium course (handicap, men 24, ladies 28). Book as far ahead as you can.

Pinhal (Tel: 289 310180). This lovely course is distinguished by the umbrella-palm (pinhal) trees, which line its fairways. You need to know what you're doing here even though Pinhal is more forgiving than the Millennium and the Old Course.

Vilamoura Laguna (Tel: 289 310341). Laguna by name and lagoon-like by nature, this is a good choice for proficient higher-handicap golfers who are not phased by water hazards and tight bunkers.

Vila Sol (Tel: 289 300505). A previous host to the Portuguese Open, the greens here are among the best in Europe.

Big-game fishing Hemingway wannabes flock to Vilamoura Marina and to underline its credentials a world-record 743-kg Black Marlin, caught from a boat out of this marina, is displayed on the quay, strung up and stuffed. Just inquire at one of the big-game fishing operators in one of the kiosks in the far corner of Vilamoura Marina.

Water sports Also in the huddle of kiosks in the far corner of Vilamoura Marina you can book jet skiing, waterskiing, parascending or various inflatable rides.

Go-karting Karting Almancil (Sitio das Pereiras, Almancil. Tel: 289 399899) This is the only karting track in the Algarve. It was inaugurated by the late great Formula One star Ayrton Senna so it's a serious circuit. There is a small independent track for younger children however.

Horseriding Quinta dos Amigos (Estrada da Fonte Santa, Escanxinas, between Quarteira and Almansil. Tel: 289 393399). This long-established English-run centre caters for all ages and abilities from a half-hour lead out for small children to dressage and show-jumping. More typical is its popular 2-hour beach ride.

Condor de Vilamoura (Vilamoura Marina. Tel: 289 312941) This old-fashioned sailing ship (which often cuts to motors!) is always a stirring sight in the Vilamoura Marina and offers a 3-hour excursion (E15-18) or a full-day with barbecue voyage (E35).

Vista Flyer Balloon (road to Praia da Fal?sia, tel: 289 316576/7, daily 10am-10pm, flights every 15 minutes (weather permitting). If you've never quite had the nerve to take a balloon flight or the prices are just too sky high, then this is the ideal compromise. The Vista Flyer is a tethered balloon that is gently released to a height of 500 feet while securely moored by powerful high tension cables. The views stretch all the way from Carvoeiro in the west to Faro in the east and the Serra da Monchique to the north. Take a warm top and your camera. A night flight is a great way of seeing the sparkling lights of the marina. Beware that the balloon will not fly in windy conditions so call ahead if you are making a special journey. Even though it may seem calm on the ground, up there it may not be so still.

Vilamoura Tourist information, temporary booths on the marina in summer
Quarteira Tourist information office: Praça do Mar. Tel: 289 389209

Vilamoura police. Tel: 289 313040

Websites
http://www.vilamoura.net

http://www.algarvenet.com
http://www.thealgarve.net

http://www.algarvegolf.net

Information correct at time of first publication in May, 2002.