Geography/climate
The Algarve is the most south western part of Europe and offers a beautiful sub tropical climate, with warm summers (average 30 degrees) and moderate winters (average 12 degrees). The Algarve comes from the Arabic “Al Gharb”, which means west, or more precisely, west of the Iberian Península or west of Andalucia, where the Arabs first settled.

Golf courses
Currently there are in excess of 35 golf courses throughout the region and in the next few years this number will grow significantly. Golfers are spoilt for choice in the Algarve. Among the very best: São Lourenço (San Lorenzo), Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo, Monte Rei, Vila Sol and Vilamoura courses.

Beaches
Along the 220 km of Atlantic coastline there are many unspoilt beaches, great for kite surfing such as the Arrifana & Carrapateira beaches, and other calmer beaches for sunbathing and swimming.

To the west of Albufeira the beaches are in general smaller coves, surrounded by beautiful rock formations. For example: Prainha, Marinha, São Lourenço, Evaristo, Coelha and São Rafael. Ponta da Piedade near Lagos is a rock formation landmark not to be missed! Some beaches can only be reached by boat. No beaches in Portugal are privately owned. The land owned by property on the coast, stops where the sand begins.

The beaches (praias) east of Albufeira are in general long stretches of sand with rock formations such as you see at Praia de Falésia or dunes as you see at Praia de Ancão, Praia de Faro, Praia de Tavira, Praia Verde, to name a few.

Water sports
The various marinas with modern facilities along the coast, such as Vilamoura, Albufeira, Portimão and Lagos, offer the opportunity to practise water sports and to moor your boat.

Property
Most resorts are to be found along the coast, often created around golf courses, like Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo for example. In land you find the more typical Quinta (farmhouse) style properties.
The Algarve is a great place for holidays, but more and more people choose the Algarve to live on a permanent basis. There are several international schools, which provide a variety of education and as a result there has been an influx of young families, who prefer the Algarve quality of life.

Flight connections
Faro airport has very good connections with main airports in the UK, Ireland, Germany and The Netherlands with an average of 2.5 hours flying time.

The Alentejo (literally: Além Tejo = on the other side of the river Tagus) is a fascinating area of undulating land, with cork trees, cattle, vineyards, monastries, and Roman and Arab historical sites. The Alentejo is an up and coming tourist area, especially around the Alqueva lake, which is the largest artificial lake (250km2) in Europe. Most of the Alentejo is reached within an hour’s drive of Lisbon, which makes it a popular weekend destination for Lisbonites. Prices in the Alentejo are still far lower than those of the Algarve, and investing in real estate there is an interesting proposition.

Geography/Climate
Most of the Alentejo has a land climate: summers are slightly warmer and the winters are cooler than in the Algarve.

Golf courses
There is one golf course near Marvão, which is currently under construction and there are plans for another golf course near the Alqueva lake. There is plenty of available space for golf courses in the Alentejo, so there will certainly be more to come in the future.

Beaches
The Alentejo has wonderful sandy beaches, stretching along the western side of the Alentejo South of Lisbon are many surfing as well as bathing beaches, slightly cooler than the beaches in the Algarve.

Property
Property varies from beautiful old buildings in the cities and villages, to smaller and bigger farms, or just houses with a lot of land and of course wine producing “Herdades”. Great opportunities for people that love peace and tranquility and above all: nature, space and clean air. Resorts are still in the very early stages of development.

Flight connections
Lisbon airport has very good connections to most of the major airports in the world. You could also choose to fly from Lisbon to Faro on one of the many daily flights or fly direct to Faro airport from your airport of origin.