Recommendations for cities/resorts/villas etc

What you got?

Lagos (Algarve) is nice

Tavira, Algarve is really nice.

Been to Lugo, A Coruna and Santiago. All very nice, not sure about them being good for a family holiday though. I am told the Wesr coastal areas and Rias Biaxas are lovely though. Excellent beaches etc. Apart from that, know nowt.

Cascais in Portugal is nice, as is the area from Lisbon to the coast.

Thanks folks – keep em coming please

Praia da luz just outside Lagos (Algarve) is nice. OH’s parents have a villa there and we go there every year. Loads of lovely quiet (and busy) beaches all over the coast around there.

Praia da Luz by brf, on Flickr

Quiet lanes in The Algarve by brf, on Flickr

The Algarve – Boat by brf, on Flickr

The Algarve – Cliff top running by brf, on Flickr

The Algarve – Beach by brf, on Flickr

The Algarve – Lamp by brf, on Flickr

The Algarve – Portimao beach by brf, on Flickr

The Algarve – Ferragudo by brf, on Flickr

The Algarve – Ferragudo by brf, on Flickr

Galicia is amazing. Costa da Morte is stunning. We went in early September ’07 and it was pretty quiet so less busy and very enjoyable. There a some wonderful quiet beaches there, same old story of 10 mins walk from the car park and the whole place is yours.
Be prepared to speak Spanish though, the first language there is Gallego and Spanish is the 2nd language but they’re very friendly
We moved around a lot to tour with the car and tent but the following places are lovely:
Muxia, Camarinas, the beach at Carnota, La Coruna is interesting, Santiago sublime, Lugo fab with huge roman walls
If you go inland there are some stunning places, Serra do Courel
My email is in my profile if you need more info

Aveiro, Portugal. Lots of lagoons, San Jacinto national park and nice big hills just inland.

We went to Galicia in 2010 and stayed outside Pontevedra (nr Vigo) in a villa in the hills. Lovely villa with swimming pool, and good location for some on the door step mountain biking on double tracks across the mountains. Not a lot to do in the village, but whilst we were there, we visited a really nice beach resort just inside Portugal:
http://www.praiaancora.com/

It had a lovely beach, which had a good paddling area for the kids and some nice restaurants. I see it made number 1 beach in Portugal!

http://aspiringbackpacker.com/2012/06/5-beaches-portugal/

Vigo also has a WC DH track and Manzeneda bike park is about 1.5 hrs from Pontevedra

Bit of a generalisation but Algarve is the developed mainstream choice and Galicia the wild and unspoilt region.

We did a few family villa holidays on the Algarve, Quinta du Largo, Val du Lobo. Lots of villas with pools, golf, beaches, water parks and lots of tourists.

Galicia has been on my to do list for a while, parts are wild and its mostly unspoilt and there is a national park where wild bears still roam. Also great wine (Albarino). I love the quote above which says you must speak Spanish, perfect !

Galicia/Northwestern Portugal… also know as the Costa Verde.

There’s a reason why it’s so green… lots of rain.

Felt as if I was in Wales rather than Spain when I went.

Which may or may not be a bad thing… but is something to bear in mind, if when you think about Portugal you are only thinking of the Algarve type resorts (edited after the below… but you know what I mean)

Bit of a generalisation but Algarve is the developed mainstream choice and Galicia the wild and unspoilt region.

Depends where you go in the Algrave – I’ve cycled pretty much all of it over the years and anywhere West or North of Luz is pretty much unspoilt. There are loads of beaches without a single building in sight on the West coast.

Thanks again, very useful

Sorry to resurrect this, but I’m looking to book somewhere soon. Is Lagos OK as a base? Ta

Lagos is fine as a base. Small, but not too small. Lots of beaches and coves all around. If you want tranquility, you can find really quiet beauty spots with a 30min drive. We go there every year, as wife’s parents have a villa in Lagos.

Have a look at Ferragudo, nice quiet fishing town, good restaurants and just over the river from Portimao. Beach is nice. Anywhere inland is great for riding bikes, really quiet roads with good surfaces. The climb up to Montchique is great. I’ve not done any off road there but have seen plenty of mountain bikers and people on DH biked being uplifted to the top of the mountain.

Theres a few bike hire places in the area that do guided trips.

Ferragudo is very picturesque, see photos above. Montchique (Foia) is the highest point in the SW Algarve:

Foia summit (highest mountain around) by brf, on Flickr

Thanks guys it’s all coming together nicely now
Just need to find the apartment / villa.

Booked apartment at Vita Sol in Lagos. Roll on July 😀

Geoff, I’m looking for the same thing in August – do you mind posting what you found – or PM me (in profile) if you’d rather not.#

Edit: sorry by that I mean a summary of why you chose Lagos? Its on my list for a family holiday.

Thanks

Monte da Vilarinha on “the Algarve”.
Taking our 2yo in April. Went before he was born. Lovely little place in the hills.

Whist you are in Lagos look up Jim at http://www.themountainbikeadventure.com/ and he will take you for a days uplift assit on a very decent saracen 141 hire bike , foia, monchique all round there, are some excellent trails.
For appmts we stayed at http://www.sollagos.com/cheap, basic, 10 mins walk from centre of town.

My review of the apartments, the biking and a few restaraunts in Lagos are here http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/members-reviews/fat_tranny

Kryton I’ve PMd you

I thought I’d update this thread.

Thanks again for all the recommendations. We’ve just arrived back after 16 days in Lagos and it was excellent.
I can highly recommend the Bom Diam dolphin watching and fishing trips – although do try not to get stung by a weever fish, it hurts like hell!

@geoffj – always interesting to see how these threads turn out, thanks for the update