Lisbon river ferry with the Cristo Rei statue in background

This ancient port city, and Portugal’s capital, has a huge amount to offer the discerning tourist coming here at the right time of year. “And when is that exactly?” I hear you ask. Well the best times to visit are just before or just after the main summer tourist season – so the ideal months are really April, May, June, September and October. At these times, the climate is usually perfect and the city isn’t as thronged with tourists as it is during July and August.

There’s so much to see and do here that you need to do your research and plan your trip wisely before you come. Lisbon is one of the few western European capitals with a river and a coastline. Its “Praça do Comércio” is the city’s main square and meeting area – and isn’t to be missed.

The Parque das Nações demonstrates how Lisbon maintains its close links with the river and its heritage and importance as a port city still today. In contrast, there are the city’s mediaeval quarters of Alfama and Mouraria, with the castle towering above – a castle which is mirrored by the Bairro Alto on the opposite hill and which leads down to the city centre known as the “Baixa pombalina”.

Meanwhile, Lisbon’s parks and nature reserves are superb whilst its golf courses and nearby beaches offer a diverse vacation for those looking for a little of everything.

So to call Lisbon a “forgotten” city may be overstating the case – but don’t make the mistake of missing out on this most diverse yet peaceful and European capital cities.

Lifecruiser Love Portugal

Other Portugal related posts at Lifecruiser:

Tips for nightlife in Algarve
Portugal Algarve Dream Stay
Portugal Trip Monte Gordo
Portugal Trip Tavira
Portugal Trip Ayamonte Spain
Enjoy a Memorable Holiday in the Sun
Top 5 All-Inclusive European Resorts
World Dogs: Portuguese Water Dog
 

A wonderful sunny place to visit is Portugal, with heaps of culture and things to do. Some of the best Portugal villas are situated on or near the Algarve. Steeped in history, you can choose to sunbathe on its many beautiful beaches, enjoy a family day out at a waterpark or hire a car and explore the stunning landscape along the beautiful coastline.

Vilamoura is a popular area with many sports and leisure activities on offer for the whole family, such as the Vilamouraténis Center which offers lawn bowling, swimming, golf, riding, squash and shooting. Indulge in a spot of retail therapy at the Marina Shopping Centre and try your hand at the area’s very own casino for a fun, glamorous night out.

Albufeira is another great location whether for a fun-filled stag weekend or a quiet family holiday – the area can accommodate both. There’s the Old Town with pretty white-washed houses, and narrow cobbled streets, with restaurants and coffee houses offering a picturesque view of the sea.

Then there’s the famous ‘Strip’, brimming with bars and clubs where you can party into the small hours. Other popular areas include the Duoro Valley – classified as a World Heritage Site where visitors can enjoy the area’s famous Port Wine, or cruise up the famous Duoro River by taking one of the many boat trips available throughout the day.

Or if you fancy roving further afield why not make Florida your holiday destination this year? Florida villas are some of the most beautiful in the States. The perfect place if you’re planning a family trip to Disney World Resort, you can opt for a villa just a short 30 minute drive from the park itself, where the kids can explore the Magic Kingdom as well as the Animal Kingdom Park, to name just two of the six on offer. Enjoy a number of attractions, restaurants, sights and sounds.

Orlando itself is bursting with things to see and do, with copious shopping malls and golf courses galore! Or why not admire some wildlife at Gatorland or SeaWorld’s Discovery Cove? In the evening you can be dazzled by the world-famous Cirque de Soleil or the quirky Blue Man Group, otherwise you can check out one of Orlando’s special dinner theatres for a fun-filled night of food and entertainment.

Another area worth exploring is the gorgeous Gulf Coast with numerous lakes and rivers for plenty of fishing opportunities, or you can opt for a cruise and take in the picturesque sights. There are also many fantastic fish restaurants to choose from. You can also go croc-spotting and admire many other types of wildlife at Everglades National Park. And if you want some brief down time, you can relax in a luxury villa, catch some rays by the pool and enjoy a cosy family night in, away from the demands of everyday life.

Lifecruiser Love Holiday Villas
 

Now, the reasons may be that I’m not young enough to hear about any nightlife, therefor I have done some research for the next time we will go there, that I thought I should share with you. I’ll start with a few other evening/night pleasures we have picked out for ourselves.

If you’re a golfer, ask for the twilight round at Vilamoura Old Course Twilight Rounds, really good value for a round for a discounted price on a great course and the lights are making it a very unique experience. (Reminds of the time I played winter golf in the dark with a self-luminous ball…)

Take the night walk in the impressive Arabic castle with defensive walls in Silves. The red walls, white houses and street lamps gives a true medieval touch. There is also a Laser show, Aquavision at Fabrica do Ingles (Cork Museum), with images projected to the walls of the castle, music, dance, Fado, Flamenco dancers and more. Also hosts the Silves beer festival in July.

If you’re a party person, preferring a really crazy nightlife, bars and clubs, stay in the Areias de Sao Joao area, the strip Avenida Dr Francisco Sa Carneiro. Or maybe Montechoro, about 2kms from Albufeira old town. (We will stay closer to the Old Town to get more peace and quiet, we can’t manage to party every night any longer).

Some popular places to remember: Kiss in Albufeira, Kadoc in Vilamoura (gigantic: takes 7.000 visitors!) with open-air terrace. Rock: Round Up Saloon in Carvoeiro. Discoteca Ubi and Bar Bubi in Tavira has foam parties… Monte Gordo: Bar42 with DJ, Karaoke & live music.

For a more romantic choice go to Breeze Algarve, Praca Vale de Lobo, to sit on the terrace in the sunset kissing… Or take Champagne and something to eat, some blankets and your beloved one with you to some beautiful place to watch the sunset… and perhaps the sunrise.

If you’re uncertain where to go to eat, the best way is to ask the locals where to go and eat their traditional dishes and you’ll get plenty of alternatives! That way you might get more unbiased answers, because if asking at the hotel as an example, they often favorite just a few restaurants – and sometimes very touristy.

Even if you’re not much for the nightlife, the Algarve region has a lot of picturesque fishing villages or small towns rich of culture and history along the long coastline, which is filled with long, sandy and always gorgeous beaches. A perfect holiday destination if you don’t mind some waves and a bit cooler water than in the Mediterranean, because this is the Atlantic Ocean.

We will for sure visit both Lisbon – and maybe even the north area – as well as Algarve next time…

©Lifecruiser Love Algarve

Other Algarve travel related posts by Lifecruiser:

Portugal Algarve Dream Stay
Portugal Trip Monte Gordo
Portugal Trip Tavira
Portugal Trip Ayamonte Spain
World Dogs: Portuguese Water Dog
 

Photo by Tambako

Feeling the freedom in the picture above? Me too – and the salty sea breeze that always make me feel more alive. The Mediterranean Sea might be my favorite sea so far. So wonderfully bright and clear.

There are so many interesting and beautiful countries around Europe to be explored. Sure, we have been to many of them, but you have to stay for a long time to really get to explore a place so that you feel done with it.

There are Med cruises to many countries, as Croatia, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Israel, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey.

What would be your choices of them?

My choices would be:

• Greek islands (unbeatable beauty!)
• Croatia (never been there and it look fab!)
• French Riviera (have been there but not on a cruise)

Greek islands Crete, Mykonos, Kos, Santorini (yes, me too want to experience the whitewashed houses on the cliffs!) and many more. Croatia with Split and Dubrovnik (world heritage site by UNESCO). The Adriatic coast look gorgeous if you look up images on the internet. Say no more.

The French Riviera is really not my option for a cruise in the high season because it so crowded, but in low season I highly recommend it. There is so much to explore that one could go on for ages. So many French medieval villages and Provence markets to enjoy.

Why not the other cruise destinations? Because some of them we’ve already explored enough and the other ones we want to explore more by ourselves and take our time doing it. That is not always possible when on a cruise.

I sometimes feel like cruises not fit us explorer to the fullest. On the other hand, as a very nice change, some days out at the sea could be so very relaxing and re-charging the travel batteries. Yes, it can be pretty exhausting to travel – I’m talking about getting to airports and new hotels on schedule.

Photo by Kevin

Or the opposite to relaxing: getting aboard to party and have a really great time socializing with all the other cruisers with the convenience of not having to use any transportation’s to get home after the party is over.

Be sure to choose a cruise ship with yummy menu’s, since you don’t have the opportunity to choose another restaurant when out at the Med Sea. (Remember our problems to find restaurants abroad?)

Last but not less important: Is it safe to cruise? In my opinion it’s as safe as anything else nowadays, you never know when the accident will happen – and it could as well be when you’re crossing the street. Pay attention to all safety precautions. Be alert. As always.

Yes, we have to be careful, but not overdo it and stop to live!

©Lifecruiser Love Med Cruises

Portuguese Water Dogs origins from the Algarve region in Portugal, where they have a very interesting history of herding fish into the fishermen’s nets, retrieve broken nets – even to act as couriers from ship or shores. It’s an excellent swimmer and distances as long as 80 km (in tempered water) is documented.

A Portuguese Water Dog is first described in 1297 in a monk’s account of a drowning sailor who was pulled from the sea by a dog with a “black coat, the hair long and rough, cut to the first rib and with a tail tuft”. Source: Wikipedia

It’s a fairly rare breed in Sweden, they occurred here for the first time around 1980, but has since then become very popular.

©Lifecruiser Love Dog Photos

Earlier related World Dogs posts by Lifecruiser:

World Dogs: Italian Bergamasco
 

When we went there it was on a charter trip with a travel agency and a last minute trip without even knowing where we would end up. It’s sometimes great and other times not so good. We were lucky that time – the hotel were OK, but not so much more.

The thing with last minute charter trips are: you’ll never know. If unlucky you could end up in the middle of nowhere and at a really bad hotel. It’s a chance you take – and sometimes you don’t want that.

The beach at Monte Gordo where we did stay, is one of the best beaches we have been at. Very fine sand and a very long and wide beach. We loved the fishermen and fishing boats there too.

The Algarve area did gave us the urge to go there some time again, there are many great beaches with very fine sand and lots of interesting things to explore. Climate is perfect too, even for an early spring experience as we had.

We did some shorter excursions by local bus, one of them to the market in Tavira, a really interesting town beside a river with a lot of interesting architecture for us architecture fan’s.

Since we were there in the beginning of our relationship, this was our perhaps most romantic trip actually. Portugal’s most famous music, the very special Fados singing, can make that to you. You see, it was on a Fados evening we realized just how much we love each other…

Fados has a bit mournful sound, often about the sea or life of the poor, but could actually be about anything and it’s very full of feelings, I guess that’s why we were so touched by it and got in such romantic mood.

Over all we did like the Portuguese landscape and villages we went by when on the bus or taxi between the airport and the hotel. We loved the red ground, very colorful views.

Another bonus is that it’s still a bit cheaper in Portugal, even as a tourist you can live cheap when staying in a rented villa or apartment and doing some of the cooking by yourself. Especially if you keep an eye on where the locals go for shopping groceries and other things and not to the most touristy shops.

Vale Do Lobo is another resort we have been considering – very popular for golfing holidays – home to two famous courses and we know a golfer that use to be there too, so it would be nice to have a meetup with him there.

Villas in Algarve is our dream choice when we will go there again, perfect when staying longer than just for a week and especially if you’re more than two in the family or with friends.

Perhaps even with a swimmingpool and definitely with wi-fi internet connection so we can report back to you all!

Lifecruiser ♥ Algarve

Lifecruiser earlier related Portugal posts:

Portugal Trip Monte Gordo
Portugal Trip Tavira
Portugal Trip Ayamonte Spain

Even though the photo is taken in our trip to Algarve, Portugal, already in 2004, our kisses are as many as back them (hundreds a day) and our love for each other is as strong as back then – if not stronger.

It was also at a Fado event in Monte Gordo, Algarve, that we first did feel exactly how strong our love for each other are. Suddenly it felt like we were alone, the others ceased to exist for us. The air was so loaded with love that no one could NOT have noticed that!

You know, that feeling when your whole throat is filled from your heart with love? I seriously thought that Mr Lifecruiser should propose to me right there. Though that came at another trip… in Paris…

Kissers for life, that’s us. Happy Valentine! XOXO

Lifecruiser ♥ Valentine
 

Lifecruiser earlier related posts:

Portugal Trip Monte Gordo
Portugal Trip Ayamonte Spain
Portugal Trip Tavira
5 Tip Top Beaches of Lifecruiser
Affordable Romantic Valentine Trips and Tips
Love Trips Snips
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