In October 2011, I went on a beach holiday.

It literally was just that: Beach, pool, sun and in order to not seem like a terrible tourist I took the red City Sightseeing Bus to at least see something of the town I was staying in.

Still most of the days I spent in Albufeira, Portugal was about catching the sun. In the evenings I made in down to the Montechoro Strip (the area with all the cheesy restaurants and pubs), but I have to admit, which I have to say is not my favourite part of town. I feel like I’ve outgrown those kind of tourist bars, but regardless, I had so much fun!

At the start of the year I had an intense trip in South Africa, and 2011 also marked my first year of full-time work, so I felt like I deserved a beach holiday with not too many sights. However, since Albufeira is small, I managed to see a few things of note which I can write down here.

Albufeira Beach

From the hotel, the best way to travel to the beach was by super gimmicky train. We have a train like this in my hometown (Hoek van Holland) but apart from that I’ve never seen a transportation train like this anywhere. Sitting on this train in my bikini certainly wasn’t my proudest moment.

You can visit Old Town and the beach only by escalator. Portugal did it, something I hadn’t seen anywhere else! An escalator like that near the beach…

The beach itself was nice, but nothing special. I don’t think we tried very hard to find the best beaches in Albufeira.

Old Town

Right next to this beach, you can find Old Town. An area with Artisan shops, but also some restaurants, bars and karaoke bars (I even found a Dutch Snackbar, which made me super happy since I didn’t see one for a long time living in Edinburgh).

In one of the restaurants in Old Town,  I met a new love of mine. Lemon sorbet (presented in a lemon)!

City Sightseeing Tour

Before doing the infamous City Sightseeing Tour in Albufeira, I was a bus tour virgin. I didn’t love it, but it will not be the last time I tried it. It’s super convenient when you have a day to kill and you don’t want to rush yourself from sight to sight. However, on the next bus trip I will get off the bus to actually explore the sights. In Albufeira, I was happy to bask in the sun and to let the sights roll by me.

Along the way I saw some nice roundabouts… (I think this one was football inspired, but I’m not sure)

…some nice marina views…

… some pretty pastel coloured buildings…

… and a church.

Conclusion

I didn’t get a perfect impression of the sights in Albufeira, but it suited the purpose of my trip. I was there to enjoy the sun in October, and I definitely managed that! I’ll have to visit Portugal another time to be more tourist sight-oriented. I had a look at all the different tours offered by Get Your Guide and they look absolutely fantastic!

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