The villa is surrounded by the holiday facilities that makes the area so attractive. There are a number of guide books and pamplets available in the villa when you arrive. Reading these will greatly add to the enjoyment of your holiday. Some of these are descibed below.
Shopping Facilities
There a wide range of shopping nearby. Firstly there is a small old fashioned corner shop about a 200 yards away out the back gate to the village. in this shop you can replenish quickly items you may require such as bottled water, bread, wine, beer, cleaning agents etc.The best supermarket in the Almancil area ia Appolonia and is located a two minute drive away back on the En 125. This has the best range of goods and interesting food around.
However if you travel 10 minutes north to Loule just before you reach the town there is a massive Hypermarket called Modelo with prices so low you won`t believe them. In general people shop in Modelo on the first day of their holiday and stock up and then top up in Appolonia for the fancy products during the rest of the holiday.
Finally if you want to move up the food chain of shopping take a trip into Faro. Just before you reach Faro turn in at the roundabout to "The Forum Algarve". This centre has Zara, H&M and all the big names, a selection of restaurants including fast foods such as McDonalds, Burger King etc together with an air conditioned cinema showing the latest english speaking films.
Restaurants
There are two resturants just around the corner from the complex. (See photo Gallery for photos) Adega Cova,(Tel 289-395 281), the nearest has good family fare. The front portion was clearly outdoors at one stage and the stone cobbled floor slopes from back to front adding to the charm and quirkiness of the place. They also produce their own wine.The second restaurant, O Malveiro (Tel 289-395 802) is a famous Mozambique restaurant producing curries and fish dishes that are more for adults. They also produce their own wine. It is generally necessary to book, however they also do take aways.
It is possible to walk to but better to drive the 3 minutes to "La Paella" (Tel 289-393 565) which is located at the junction with the En 125. This is run by two sisters from Valencia who produce a range of Paella dishes but also tapas to order. Apart from the Menu you will be given about 30 cards containing the names and description of different tapas. As you give each card to the waitress she brings it to the open cooking area in the restaurant and it will be cooked freshly before you. There are a range of reasonably priced local and Spanish wines but also a range of Spanish wines costing hundreds of Euros. They also do take aways.
Around the corner is a cheap and cheerful Pizza/ Pasta place known as Casavostra (Tel 289-397 565). You can eat in or take out here and also phone in your orders first if you wish.
Across the En 125 at the junction with the Estrada Vale d`Eguas is a French restaurant which we haven`t tried yet. It is called "Couleur France" (Tel 289 399 515) It is highly regarded.
These are the five local restaurants. There are more than a hundred excellent outlets in the wider area. You can see a list of these by CLICKING HERE to visit a local guide to the tourist facilities of Almancil.
Car Hire
We have ben using the LUZCAR company lately and find their service excellent. They are cheaper than the bigger companies located at the airport.You can book online before you go. Their representative will meet you in the airport lounge just outside the arrivals door. The forms are filled in swiftly and you pay in advance in either cash or by credit card.
The car is waiting just outside in the car park and you leave the car back to the same spot when returning. There is no being bused up to the Terminal.
Nice and simple!
Golf
Golf is of course the jewel in the crown in this area. There are 12 courses in close proximity. There is a very good website on Golf in the Algarve and if you CLICK HERE you will find a description of each of the courses in turn. The phone numbers to reserve your tee time are also given.In that regard, the green fees on each course can be found by CLICKING HERE.
The hassle and cost of lugging golf clubs through airports can now be overcome. There is a shop just around the corner from the villa which will hire golf clubs (Calloway, Ping, Taylor Made etc) shoes, balls etc. They have a net within the shop so you can try out the different sets to see what suits you best. This outlet is on the En 125 opposite the road down to the Karting Track. Mention us!
WATER PARK.
In the same outlet you can purchase tickets for the Water Park at a discount. Apart from saving money this saves you time when you arrive as there are generally slowly moving queues at the entry at most times of day.
Finally
We hope you have found this site informative and helpful in making a choice for your holiday. If however this is not for you there is a wide choice of alternative Villas available by CLICKING HEREAnother site with a wide range of offers can be reached by CLICKING HERE
