1 week in the Algarve, Portugal for €98 (incl flights + 3 star hotel).

The Dagda

Just saw this on Facebook.
Sounds too good to be true but someone might get a bargain...

http://ibe.gohop.ie/offer/9/hotel-10627744/flight-4427483

BluE-WinG

98 pp. That is a fantasic deal, gohop is reputable too... Excludes a €20 transfer... but still what a deal, if only I had the holidays left

Sleepy

Average temperature in December: 16 degrees, not exactly scorching but a lot better than it'll be here by then!

TriStar6

When you use the search there seems to be a choice of locations in the area, seems to be just the one discounted flight driving it

Padraig Mor

Savage deal.

RandolphEsq

It is about a €20-€25 taxi to the Albufeira strip if you wanted to get some nightlife in.

okidoki987

Good offer all right.
There's apartments all over the Algarve included in the deal including Villamora.
There's a €100 Ryanair surcharge lurking somewhere in there though

bmaxi

okidoki987 wrote: »

Good offer all right.
There's a €100 Ryanair surcharge lurking somewhere in there though

Yep. Unless you only bring a toothbrush and a change of jocks. I just don't bother with anything that includes the word "Ryanair" anymore, too much hassle.

Tusky

Sounds too good to be true.

Does anyone know any of the included apartments/hotels?

Is it expensive over there?

Klingon Hamlet

okidoki987 wrote: »

Good offer all right.
There's apartments all over the Algarve included in the deal including Villamora.
There's a €100 Ryanair surcharge lurking somewhere in there though

Bring a few changes of clothes and you're well under the weight limit, so I wouldn't worry. The only downside I can think of is the weather could be crap!

grimm2005

wow, this is awfully tempting. there's lots of hotels all around the same general price, any ideas which would be closest to tourist activities? It looks like the weather is decent enough in December anyway which is a major plus.

Has anyone been before? is it expensive to stay? and does the aiport transfer run 24 hours?

nxbyveromdwjpg

I wouldnt fancy it, it'll be freezing at night in those summer holiday apartments in December and not much will be open at all. They'd usually be empty at that time of year for a reason.

WalterMitty

nm wrote: »

I wouldnt fancy it, it'll be freezing at night in those summer holiday apartments in December and not much will be open at all. They'd usually be empty at that time of year for a reason.

Bring a fleece and a rainjacket just in case. Average temperature there in December is around 16degrees so like spring in Ireland. Still a nicebreak at that time of year for very cheap.

TheZohanS

I know that area reasonably well, was over there this time last year. It's grand during the day, you could wear your shorts and t-shirt but it does get chilly at night. A lot of restaurants will be closed around now but they'll open up again getting closer to xmas, say around the end of November. There are some really nice restaurants near those apartments that stay open all year. Drink is cheaper over there as in eating out.

Andrew33

Wasn't there something a while back about Ryanair not accepting tickets booked tru other sites?

vibe666

there's nothing wrong with Clube Praia da Oura for that price. they're tidy apartments, centrally located in albufeira and everything you need is reasonably close by.

we got married in the algarve last year and we were there scouting locations the year before and some of our wedding guest stayed there and it was grand.

a lot of the other places there are grand too, but my memory isn't that great so i'll have to get my wife to have a look over them and make recommendations when she's back from watching her niece play in a football final.

Tusky

Going to book this over the weekend so would really appreciate a solid recommendation on hotel/apartment. Cheers!

ldxo15wus6fpgm

If you click the late deals thing it's also available for the 30th november

grimm2005

Andrew33 wrote: »

Wasn't there something a while back about Ryanair not accepting tickets booked tru other sites?

Thats a good point, thought they they didn't do comparison website/package deals and only took bookings from ryanair.com. gohop are legit though so can't imagine there would be any problems.

there's nothing wrong with Clube Praia da Oura for that price. they're tidy apartments, centrally located in albufeira and everything you need is reasonably close by.

we got married in the algarve last year and we were there scouting locations the year before and some of our wedding guest stayed there and it was grand.

a lot of the other places there are grand too, but my memory isn't that great so i'll have to get my wife to have a look over them and make recommendations when she's back from watching her niece play in a football final.

Thanks for the info vibe, are points of interest/tourist activities easy to get to by public transport and do airport transfers run 24hours? I think i'll book this by monday. There seems to be a decent amount of things to do, but all in all i think it'd be more of a relaxed holiday. Either way for €100 per person, even if it's not the most exciting holiday, it's (hopefully) a bit of nice weather for a week and it's not going to break the bank.

vibe666

if you tick 3 star and these 3 options

Room Only
Bed and Breakfast
Self Catering

and then sort by price, low to high, pretty much all of them on the first page are going to be okay, but personally if i was picking it, clube praia da oura would be my first choice. its popular with the irish too, so expect to see lots of paddy heads at the bar.

alvor is a great spot to visit for the day (or to stay, if you like it quiet and quaint), villamoura is good for the opposite, with a massive marina full of big expensive boats to gawk at and bars and restaurants a plenty.

in albufeira the old town is well worth a look, lots of nice places to eat, drink and shop. the strip is good for the nightlife too, with a great steakhouse called wild & co. right at the bottom end, so get a tasty steak dinner and then head out for the night to dance it off.

we were there for 2 weeks and i think we ended up eating there 5 of the nights we were there.

there is a restaurant in guia called ramires which is world famous (yes really) for it's piri piri chicken. forget nando's, this is the real deal and a must for anyone visiting the area. it's a tenner in a taxi and there's not a huge amount else in the village, but it's totally worth it, i promise you. if i was staying anywhere within 100 miles of it i'd make the trip especially.

oh, and unless you are a very confident assertive driver, don't even think of hiring a car, everyone drives like mad max. seriously, i drove for almost 4 years living in tenerife and i thought they were bad. the Portuguese are insane on the roads.

the first time we were there we got a taxi from the airport and the taxi driver was doing 150km/h on the motorway so close behind the car in front that even tho i was in the front i couldn't see any of the road in front of the bonnet. :eek:

whatsupdoc?

Was in Alvor during the summer, some great restaurants but would imagine most of them would be closed in the winter.
I'd stick to Villamora, Albufeira if you're not looking for a quiet time and a good lot of bars/restaurants would be open.
Cost of living will be cheaper.
Driving is fine, taxi from airport to Alvor was €80 one way, car hire was €20 a day when pre booked.

Athlone_Bhoy

RandolphEsq wrote: »

It is about a €20-€25 taxi to the Albufeira strip if you wanted to get some nightlife in.

Is this true? Was going to book but don't fancy paying 40/50 a day on taxis.

portugaly

You must always be alert with such deals. Sometimes in the price is not included something. It must be only the airplane ticket or something else that is of course known only when you are there.

Andrew33

vibe666 wrote: »

oh, and unless you are a very confident assertive driver, don't even think of hiring a car, everyone drives like mad max. seriously, i drove for almost 4 years living in tenerife and i thought they were bad. the Portuguese are insane on the roads.

the first time we were there we got a taxi from the airport and the taxi driver was doing 150km/h on the motorway so close behind the car in front that even tho i was in the front i couldn't see any of the road in front of the bonnet. :eek:

That's bullsh1t, I've been driving in Portugal for the past 8 yrs and apart from their motorway behaviour (remind you of anyone else? oh yeah, US) the Portuguese are fine on the roads, not overly courteous but not aggressive either.
Though I will agree, sitting in the front seat of a taxi over there can be a hairy experience:D

okidoki987

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/

http://www.holidays-uncovered.co.uk/

Couple of sites I've used to check places out.

Squall19

Andrew33 wrote: »

That's bullsh1t, I've been driving in Portugal for the past 8 yrs and apart from their motorway behaviour (remind you of anyone else? oh yeah, US) the Portuguese are fine on the roads, not overly courteous but not aggressive either.
Though I will agree, sitting in the front seat of a taxi over there can be a hairy experience:D

I was there last summer and it was grand.

vibe666

Andrew33 wrote: »

That's bullsh1t, I've been driving in Portugal for the past 8 yrs and apart from their motorway behaviour (remind you of anyone else? oh yeah, US) the Portuguese are fine on the roads, not overly courteous but not aggressive either.
Though I will agree, sitting in the front seat of a taxi over there can be a hairy experience:D

well that's two different opinions then,

edit: okay three.

Squall19 wrote: »

I was there last summer and it was grand.

so take from that what you will and decide from yourselves, but that was one of dozens of incidents i either witnessed or ended up being part of in the time i was there, but maybe its just me, although we were out driving all day every day scouting the first time we were there and we didn't stop the 2nd time either, so we did spend a lot of time on the road.

also talking of driving, if you do decide to get a hire car and you are on a budget, beware of the large several hundred euro security deposit they may add on to the booking price either by credit card or cash.

TheZohanS

Andrew33 wrote: »

That's bullsh1t, I've been driving in Portugal for the past 8 yrs and apart from their motorway behaviour (remind you of anyone else? oh yeah, US) the Portuguese are fine on the roads, not overly courteous but not aggressive either.
Though I will agree, sitting in the front seat of a taxi over there can be a hairy experience:D

I've had the same experience, for the most part the Portuguese are good drivers. Just remember when you're on a motorway that the overtaking lane is for overtaking so don't stay in it. Overtake and pull back in to the driving lane ASAP.

bmaxi

TheZohan wrote: »

Just remember when you're on a motorway that the overtaking lane is for overtaking so don't stay in it. Overtake and pull back in to the driving lane ASAP.

The same rule applies on motorways in Ireland, so no chance, unless Portugal actually has a police force that is familiar with more than one or two of the rules of the road.

Andrew33

bmaxi wrote: »

The same rule applies on motorways in Ireland, so no chance, unless Portugal actually has a police force that is familiar with more than one or two of the rules of the road.

The Portuguese do treat the motorways like unrestricted autobahns and pay scant regard to the 120kmh limit (I've been overtaken at 200kmh+) but they do also move back in to the right lane after overtaking. Very rare to find someone cruising in the overtaking lane.

RandolphEsq

Athlone_Bhoy wrote: »

Is this true? Was going to book but don't fancy paying 40/50 a day on taxis.

Sorry, no it shouldn't be. I miscalculated. It is probably €12 -€16 to the strip in Albufeira.

pissed

Great deals to be had there for just over €100 a head. Have been there many times, find the driving fine. If you are thinking of hiring a car check out economycarhire as they offer an ann linclusive no excess rental at very good rates.

User Friendly

hire a car from under 50 a week if you think this is a good deal

pissed

I think £50 is ok for a weeks car rental considering you have no excess insurance included in that. Have also used an airport transfer company called algarve-transfers but they are coming in at €62 return for up to 4 people. The car hire looks the cheaper option.

Was there this summer and a lot of tolls being set up on the motorway from the airport. Not too sure if they are up and running yet though.

mrsbouquet

Tusky wrote: »

Sounds too good to be true.

Does anyone know any of the included apartments/hotels?

Is it expensive over there?

Club Praia de oura are lovely apartments and in walking distance of the strip and the town.
It is not expensive in this area, much cheaper than here.:)

54kroc

bmaxi wrote: »

The same rule applies on motorways in Ireland, so no chance, unless Portugal actually has a police force that is familiar with more than one or two of the rules of the road.

They don't the police to enforce the rules of the road, if people stay in the over taking lane to long the car behind will try to push them off the road.

I find winters over there very cold, the last time I was there I spent a fortune on logs for the fire.

Tar.Aldarion

Seems like an amazing deal!

grimm2005

Just booked this, the price has gone up a little bit (about €30) but it's not the worst, ryanair are the reason for this of course, booked a return coach transfer from gohop.ie as well which only cost about €23 for the 2 of us. Went for clube praia de oura based on the recomendations (thanks guys).

Looking forward to a hopefully a bit of good weather for a week now! Thanks a lot OP!

Babyblessed

We go to Portugal annually as my sis has a villa there. Those prices are good and whilst I was nervous driving there the 1st year we went, it was actually ok once you got your head around being on the wrong side of the road!

It wont be particularly warm but it will be pleasant and much warmer than here!!

Wish I could book and go away but I will be sitting my finals in the 3rd week of December and dont think I'd get much revision done in Portugal!

vibe666

vibe666 wrote: »

oh, and unless you are a very confident assertive driver, don't even think of hiring a car, everyone drives like mad max. seriously, i drove for almost 4 years living in tenerife and i thought they were bad. the Portuguese are insane on the roads.

the first time we were there we got a taxi from the airport and the taxi driver was doing 150km/h on the motorway so close behind the car in front that even tho i was in the front i couldn't see any of the road in front of the bonnet. :eek:

righto, i think i should edit that last bit as i seem to be the only one who thinks they all drive like mentallers over there, so it doesn't seem fair to leave it there if everyone else disagrees, so i stand corrected.

vibe666

the new groupon city deals include a 7 night stay for 4 (2 adults & 2 children) in the algarve for €129 too.

if it's anything like the tenerife deal from last week, it'll be excluding flights (edit:yep,+ cost of flights), but they seem to be cheap enough at the minute.

http://www.groupon.ie/deals/getaways/vamos-today/1383442

Highlights
Cliff top location with views of Atlantic Ocean
Family-friendly resort close to beach, restaurants and bars
Various nearby golf courses
Less than an hour from Faro Airport
The Deal

One week stay in one bedroom self-catering apartment with kitchen, TV, DVD player, and private balcony
Fold out beds for children
Glass of Champagne and bottle of Portuguese wine on arrival
VIP invitation to cheese and wine evening
Excursion discount voucher presented at welcome meeting

Fine Print
Must book by 30 November 2011. Expires 31 March 2012.
Limit 1 per group (up to 2 adults and 2 children aged 17 or under). May buy multiple as gifts. Booking required by phone 00351 282576454. Once confirmed bookings are non-refundable. Excludes flights. Upgrade to 2 bedroom apartment for four adults for €150. Check-in Sat only (times negotiable), check-out by 1pm. Original price based on hotel BAR (Best Available Rate).
See the rules that apply to all deals.

RandolphEsq

vibe666 wrote: »

righto, i think i should edit that last bit as i seem to be the only one who thinks they all drive like mentallers over there, so it doesn't seem fair to leave it there if everyone else disagrees, so i stand corrected.

They do drive like mentallers over there, they have one of the worst safety records on the roads in the EU. And I can see why! Absolutely incredible being in a taxi, you are taking your life in your hands.

vibe666

RandolphEsq wrote: »

They do drive like mentallers over there, they have one of the worst safety records on the roads in the EU. And I can see why! Absolutely incredible being in a taxi, you are taking your life in your hands.

yay, i'm vindicated!

okidoki987

Do you think the Irish are any better? :eek:

The Groupon doesn't include flights, The Go Hop does.

grimm2005

so any must see or do activities while over there?

RandolphEsq

grimm2005 wrote: »

so any must see or do activities while over there?

Nope, pretty boring down there. Golf and eating out is about it!

neon123

Does anyone know how much a round off golf costs?

califano

Yes the roads are like the involuntary luge. What doesnt help are those very short off ramps joining main roads having so little run off that your relying fully on someone elses cooperation to let you out because theres no hard shoulder, the hard shoulder is the wall!:eek:.

djfattony2000

Just back from a few days in Lagos, 80k from Faro.

Deffo hire a car as there is plenty to do and see, and its crazy cheap to do so (€11-13 a day with these http://www.atlaschoice.com/new/CarRental.aspx)

I didnt find the driving dangerous there at all, good motorways etc.

Things to do are:

The new GP track http://autodromodoalgarve.com/
Mountain Biking http://www.themountainbikeadventure.com/
Surfing http://www.surfexperience.com/
Go on a boat trip.
Visit the most westerly point of europe.
Sit on your h0le in a bar and drink €1.50 pints of Superbock

Nalz

djfattony2000 wrote: »

The new GP track http://autodromodoalgarve.com/

Word on the street is that you had a tough time on that track? That hair pin is supposed to be a tough one...nothing like getting lapped by a few mates :-)

djfattony2000

I should have included horse riding at 4am...