Summer planning, Portugal question

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cliffdale

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I'm considering stopping off in Portugal,en route to the Med.

Shmbo would like to fly out and meet me. Looking at Exeter airport destinations,

there are flights to Faro and Porto.

How do these ports compare? Think about shmbo and shops, daughter and beaches.

Any comments about the places greatly appreciated

Cliff
 
Not sure you may leave a boat at Porto for any length of time, there is a lot of commercial traffic and (at least a few years ago) basically nothing for visiting yachts.
Your best bet would be leaving the boat in Povoa de Varzim, about 10-20nm north of Porto. It has a very convenient metro train connection with Porto airport (about half an hour or so) or with Porto town as well so you may hop there and visit. (The restaurant in the marina is excellent btw)
Povoa has a nice beach and the usual entertainment of a holiday place, shops, a nice market, a long string of seaside restaurants etc (lots of people during summer).

Povoa has an "Atlantic" feel, whereas when you get to Faro there is already some Mediterranean flavour in the air.
It depends on the boat you have, but for us we had to anchor a bit off Faro town so it was a longish dinghy ride every time.
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The town itself is very nice, quite nicer than Povoa if you like old stones, forts, etc. I can't remember is Faro town had beaches or not, but there are plenty all around in the lagoon.
 
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The big benefit of Faro is choice, within a days sail from Faro you have the whole Algarve, with several well sheltered marinas which are almost as expensive as the UK in summer. A good ploy is to take a cheap winter package for a few days and explore by car there are all sort of beaches to suit almost all tastes and all resort areas have good transfer facilities to Faro airport
 
I used to sail out of Leixoes, the port for Porto, though that was a very long time ago. It is safe and accessible and there is now a marina inside the port. You need to take a bus or taxi to get from Leixoes to the centre of Porto.

Porto itself is Portugal's second city and is very beautiful; it is good for site-seeing and shopping but it is more a city weekend destination than a place to go for beaches etc.

I don't know Faro but I should imagine it is more of a tourist destination and better for sun and sand.
 
cliffdale said:
I'm considering stopping off in Portugal,en route to the Med.

Shmbo would like to fly out and meet me. Looking at Exeter airport destinations,

there are flights to Faro and Porto.

How do these ports compare? Think about shmbo and shops, daughter and beaches.

Any comments about the places greatly appreciated

Cliff
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It might also be worth considering Cascais... This would involve flying from from Bristol (rather than Exeter) to Lisbon - but with incredibly easy access to Lisbon it has a good marina and anchorage. The facilities are great and the area is very nice:

http://www.portugaltravelguide.com/en/lx/beaches.htm

I wouldn't recommend Porto, so if flying from Exeter is preferred then I'd go for Faro. Perhaps meet them in Lagos and spend a week or so pottering east...

Have a great trip!

Pete
 
If merely stopping off, I would recommend some time in Lagos on the Algarve. Fly into Faro, taxi to the station, pleasant train ride to the station at Lagos which is right outside the marina.

No brainer for me!

Lagos isn't cheap, but where is? You can always anchor in Alvor whilst awaiting SWMBO, then nip into the marina for a few days to pick her up and show her a good time :)
 
Halcyon Yachts said:
It might also be worth considering Cascais... This would involve flying from from Bristol (rather than Exeter) to Lisbon - but with incredibly easy access to Lisbon it has a good marina and anchorage. The facilities are great and the area is very nice:

http://www.portugaltravelguide.com/en/lx/beaches.htm

I wouldn't recommend Porto, so if flying from Exeter is preferred then I'd go for Faro. Perhaps meet them in Lagos and spend a week or so pottering east...

Have a great trip!

Pete
Click to expand...

Much as I like the Algarve have to agree that Cascais and Lisbon would be a good place to meet, could then sail down to the Algarve with SWMBO.

Definitely avoid Porto for a long term stop with the oil slick and rubbish in the marina, ok for overnight only.
 
Halcyon Yachts said:
It might also be worth considering Cascais... This would involve flying from from Bristol (rather than Exeter) to Lisbon - but with incredibly easy access to Lisbon it has a good marina and anchorage. The facilities are great and the area is very nice:
Click to expand...

+1 for Cascais, it is also the only marina where I was greeted with a bottle of red wine nicely wrapped even if I stayed only for one morning before continuing my passage.
Lots of English boats around there, most for short stops whilst sailing either north or south.
 
We spent a week in Oiras at the mouth of the Tagus in the summer while family came to visit. Marina has a pool you can use as the sea is a bit cold on the Atlantic coast.
Great place. Easy train to Lisbon.

Would second the Algarve if family want to have a sail as well. Much flatter seas than the west coast. Nice beaches, anchorages and interesting towns. Marinas are expensive in the summer though. Albufeira was the best value for us. Nice beach, Faro lagoons and Isle Culatra not to be missed.

Currently in sunny canaries!
 
Pavoa de Varzim is a good choice from the point of view of flying into Porto - about 35 minutes on the metro and then a 10 minute walk to the marina. The yacht club bar is welcoming and when we visited you got a free drink chit per person on board when you booked into the marina! The town is very Portugese with a thriving market and good shops. We flew home from there to UK for a wedding but the guy crewing for us had a great time visiting the port houses in Porto. The barman when we were there had a family port business and was very free with the samples one night we were there - great time had by all!

We also stayed in Oiras for about a week and were underwhelmed by Lisbon and the other 'hot spots' on the coast. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, although it makes a good place to sort water system problems - the marina put us in touch with a guy who waved his wand and sourced all the bits at a reasonable price and then fitted them at no charge.

As for sailing, the Altlantic coast of Portugal is not my choice of cruising ground. Nowhere to stop except in ports and marinas and not much to look at as you go, apart from the incredible numbers of pot and net marker buoys.

No idea about the Algarve. We sailed direct to Cadiz as we were under a bit of time pressure.
 
Richard10002 said:
If merely stopping off, I would recommend some time in Lagos on the Algarve. Fly into Faro, taxi to the station, pleasant train ride to the station at Lagos which is right outside the marina.

No brainer for me!

Lagos isn't cheap, but where is? You can always anchor in Alvor whilst awaiting SWMBO, then nip into the marina for a few days to pick her up and show her a good time :)
Click to expand...

I love Lagos. Great bars and nightlife if you know where to look otherwise it's a very quite peaceful town. Great restaurants, beautiful beaches and only an hour's drive from Faro along the motorway or as Richard says 2 hours on the slow train. I'm just back a week ago from there and was sitting at the marina enjoying a coffee and a large portion of apple crumble and custard and swmbo was having a coffee and a large lump of chocolate cake with cream which cost a total of 6 euros. Last week the weather wasn't too good but a couple of days the sun was out and it was around 17 degrees C. Not bad for December!
We were in Majorca during the summer months and I can tell you Portugal is considerably cheaper for eating and drinking than Majorca.

Oh and Ryanair flights from Prestwick cost £80 each return :)
 
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