A return to Farol, Culatra and Faro (Oct 24)

I’m not normally one for returning to the same place time and time again, but I’m happy to make an exception for this little corner of the planet, especially for a weekend.

This is our third visit here in relatively short succession.

We’ve always come here out of high season, when the temperature is cooler and there’s more elbow room. 

We arrived at a sensible time, late afternoon, and on an EasyJet special from Gatwick. The number 16 bus was not due for 45 minutes, so we grabbed an Uber to our apartment. We stayed in the same place as before (in the old town), but this time in a first floor apartment.

It was a similar price to the bus, but getting an Uber gave us a head start on Friday night, and given it was fast approaching “cocktail o’clock”, that focused our minds! So a quick bag drop followed by a hot foot to the centre of town.

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Saturday

We headed off on a high speed rib to the tiny island of Farol, which took us to a small jetty built into the lagoon. In the height of summer I should imagine you have to book the rib, but out of season we’ve always simply rocked up and hopped on the next one.

We were planning a similar experience to the trip we did in April. The weather was stunning, and the sea calm and inviting.

Our first stop along the coastal path was at an idyllic beach bar (Mar Amais) facing the Atlantic. It was time for our first beer of the day.

It was a perfect place to relax. The bar music mingled with the sound of the waves and the hum of other guests talking in the distance. We grabbed ourselves some comfy chairs, sat down and simply took in the views. It’s a rather magical place and quite popular, given its proximity to the jetty. The beaches close to the bar were a little bit busier than on our last visit, but we still had plenty of leg room.

It was time to breathe and simply relax…. you could feel the troubles of world floating off into the distance.

Leaving the bar, we walked for forty minutes or so, along the shoreline where we were greeted with acres of empty beaches leading to vast areas of sand dunes. We were heading towards a boardwalk a mile or so down the coast, which would take us across the island towards Culatra. There are no roads on this island, just footpaths and boardwalks, a collection of small homes, a handful of restaurants and a few bars catering for day trippers.

The beaches were pretty much empty from the moment we left the bar until we reached the boardwalk – so we stopped a few times along the way and went in for a dip. The walk took us a little while as we kept stopping to simply take in the view.

Before heading for Culatra we made one final visit to another beach bar which was conveniently location next to the entry to the boardwalk, and the only one open at this end of the beach.

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Seafood lunch – Aqua Chill

We knew where we were heading, the same seafood and fish restaurant we came to last time called Aqua Chill; unbelievably the owners recognised us immediately. We selected a shared platter of local fish. It was the second great meal we have had here, and nice to be remembered after six months!

We decided on a scenic walking route back to the jetty, on marked footpaths over the dunes. We hadn’t done this route before and simply followed the pathway.

Phew, we ended up cutting it a little fine with only about 5 minutes to spare! Well, perhaps we should have checked the “tide” timetable first, along with the layout of the footpaths which were fast disappearing under seawater before our eyes. It was ok in the end, and only required a “little” wading.

The wine helped!

Could have been interesting though, as we’d booked the last rib of the day…

The map below shows the route.

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Pipers and 24bar

What an amazing evening it turned out to be too.

We started off in 24Bar, with its ridiculously low priced cocktails, before heading next door to Pipers and its quaint rooftop terrace. We shared pizza in the town to soak up some alcohol and then headed back to the main bar where it all got a little messy!

The live music was top drawer and had everyone in a great mood – the place was bouncing.

It wasn’t long before Emma was up on the dance floor (never seen that before have we…). Honestly the bands they had booked were really great. It ended up being a very late one!

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Sunday

After breakfast on the rooftop terrace at the Faro Hotel, we headed off by river bus to Faro beach and a walk along the spit right to the very end.

We love this beach, especially where the roads disappear. It’s like stepping back in time. Fishermen live in the houses which are build along the dunes, and we are surrounded by water on all sides, the deep Atlantic on one side, and the lagoon waters on the other. Both are teeming with wildlife including flocks of flamingoes and thousands of fiddler crabs. We avoiding tripping over the dustbin-lid sized jelly fish that had washed up on the beach.

We really didn’t want the day to end.

But the day did come to an end and we topped it off with a glorious evening. We ended up in what I think is a relatively new restaurant in Faro, it’s near the old town and is called Sabres do Churrasco Premium. It is South American cuisine and has a wide range of meats on offer and superb customer service.

It was the most pricey meal of the weekend, but the setting was fantastic as was the food and the guy who served us.

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Home time

Our final day of the weekend came around too fast. This was a great short trip, only a few days, but we managed to pack at lot in.

After a lazy start, we hopped on the small public ferry which took us from the jetty at the old town to Faro beach – just across the lagoon. The ferry drop off is ideal for a short walk to the airport bound bus stop (number 16) which is by the lagoon bridge.
We spent most of the day wandering the beach and visiting restaurants and bars. The sun came out to say goodbye before catching our bus, taking the five minute journey to the airport.

So until next time!

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Hints, Tips and recommendations

Restaurants – all 10/10 for different reasons

1. Sabres do Churrasco Premium – South American food, lots of meat. Superb quality, great wines, fast service!
2. Aqua Chill – Seafood Bar and Restaurant in Culatra, great quality local seafood and fantastic helpful staff. We love this place!
3. Restaurant La Forchetta – Italian food with a seriously attentive manager who quietly watches over customers like a hawk, making sure their needs are met and the staff are engaging. Also great quality food.
4. Chalet Japanese/Chinese buffet – unbelievable value and great quality
5. Hotel Faro – for great breakfast buffet with decent walk-in rate for non guests.

Pubs and Bars

1. Pipers pub in Faro – try the rooftop bar at any time, and the main bar after 9pm on Friday and Saturday nights for live music. Great value cocktails. One of the best barmen I’ve been served by – ever (see picture).
2. 24Bar – next to Pipers – great value drinks and music until 4am.
3. Mar Amais in Farol – beach bar (cash only or PayPal).

Accommodation (low – mid budget can be found on booking.com)

1. Happening guesthouse (9 Rue de Sao Francisco m, 8000-169, Faro). Clean and tidy double rooms, roof terrace, kitchen, four shared bathrooms kept clean. Quiet part of town (although open air music can often be heard all over Faro usually until about midnight or a little later). The hotel is just next to the old town walls.

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Click on the map below to see the route in “my maps”