train trip to tavira

Thursday 3rd of September.

We travelled by train to Tavira along the coast, a distance of approximately 30 kilometers and a beautiful route through the nature reserve Ria Formosa.

We didn't rent a car this time and for a change it was nice to travel by train to nearby towns in the East Algarve.

Using my blog as a diary is so cool on days like this. By capturing beautiful moments through photography, your memories are more vivid. In september 2015 we also visited Tavira, hence a trip to memory lane.

Before lunch we wandered through Tavira town and after a delicious arroz de marisco dish, we took the ferry to Ilha de Tavira.

We spend a few hours on the beach, before we started our return journey in reverse, boat, walk, train...

Before the train left for Faro, we still had time for drinks and croquetes de bacalhau.

jardim da alameda & ilha de faro

Wednesday 2nd of September.

After breakfast under the lemon tree we went to the harbour to buy the tickets for the ferry to Faro Island. Because there are only a few tickets available each hour, you have to make sure to book the tickets in time and also have to tell in front which ferry you want to take back. So you have to decide in advance, how many hours you want to stay on the island.

On our way to the harbour, we had a walk through the Alameda João de Deus Garden around the corner of our street. Something between a small botanical garden and a city park. We had coffee and cake on the terrace at the 'quiosque' in the park. The gardners were pruning the palm trees and the place was covered with beautiful huge palm leaves. I even considered to bring one home, but it was to big for my suitcase.

ria formosa

Seven days in Ria Formosa - Monday 31st of August - Monday 7th of September

Initially we booked a trip to New York City together with our son Minne last year. At that time we could not yet imagine, traveling in 2020 would not be so obvious.

The three of us agreed to cancel our trip to New York, however the two weeks off remained unchanged. Staying home for two weeks was not an option.

After our relaxed and safe summer holiday in Portugal in June, traveling to the Algarve seemed a good alternative.

Our road trip along the south west coast in September 2017, was great fun. We travelled from Olhao, Lagos, Alentejo to Lisbon, but never visited Faro.

The nature reserve Ria Formosa we know from our stay in Olhao was stunningly beautiful, so we were eager to explore more about this area.

We booked a room at Lemon Tree Stay and tickets to Faro at the very last minute.

A bonus summer week in Portugal (how wonderful) and now another week off at home.

We arrived on Monday evening at our hotel and went for dinner on the cosy neighboring square and were in the holiday mood instantaneously.

The next morning we had breakfast under the old lemon tree and went for a walk through the city center.

On the terrace of the cafe around the corner (which immediately became our favorite pub), we had coffee with pastéis de nata!

In the harbour we booked tickets for the ferry to Ilha Deserta for the afternoon. All beaches near Faro are only accessible by boat through the Ria Formosa lagoon. Not very handy, however astonishingly beautiful. And until the ferry arrived, we had time for sardines and cockels.

Ilha Deserta is the most quiet and deserted island (hence the name) and has a large dune area behind the sandy beaches.

Around 6 pm, we were picked up again by the ferry boat and it took about 45 minutes to reach the mainland. After a shower and very late siesta, we went for a portuguese tapas dinner on the mediterranean terrace at A Tasca do João, the tavern of João. Especially the Sautéed chorizo with honey and thyme was divine. We have to try the recipe at home soon.

Que primeiro dia maravilhoso...