A Great South destination in Portugal * Albufeira ! Compared to South of Türkiye
Let me tell you about last year ! I wanted to soak up
some warm weather on these chilly cold days, so this year I went to the Algarve
- Albufeira in the south of Portugal, it was late June. Believe it or not, it
was the off-peak season, when I went back in September it was actually more
expensive.
At the end of June, the south is really scorching hot.
After a 2.5 hour bus ride, the owner of the airbnb where I was going to stay
showed hospitality and picked me up by car and then I settled in.
Of course, as usual, I was alone on this vacation, and
one of the reasons why I blogged about this southern vacation is to tell you
that I was able to have a solo vacation without any problems.
If you try to go south from Istanbul to Fethiye, which is
my favorite spot, it would take 9 hours by car. My new favorite, Albufeira,
took 2.5 hours by bus 😊 To be honest, I didn't go for
sightseeing much. My goal was all about fun, sun, sand and sea. I had come on
vacation to remove the dead soil of the last year and to get rid of the work
intensity.
I settled in my room, I was going to stay on my own,
without having to worry about being with anyone. It was a complete therapy
week.
As soon as I arrived, I went down to "Praia dos
Alemães" close to where I was staying to relieve the road fatigue and went
for a swim. The sea was definitely warmer than Lisbon in June, but it's still
the ocean, don't expect the heat of Antalya. The weather is very, very hot.
In the evening I got ready, I had a date 😊. I
started my vacation with nice cocktails and some dancing. Actually every night
was like this, with someone or alone. Having fun alone satisfies me most of the
time, you can meet all kinds of people out there. There are really incredibly
many tourists. Mostly British, Dutch, Germans. Even the way these people talk
to each other is very sweet...No one is groping or showing bad intentions. I
felt like I was young again on this vacation! Hehe.
The next day I went down to the beach again in the
morning, this time to "Praia do Inatel" and rented a sunbed. I lay on
the beach in the heat and went into the sea. The sand was too hot to walk on. I
walked home as if I had just come out of a sauna, dripping with sweat, the same
old story, getting ready for the evening.
This evening I went to "New town", had a drink,
listened to music on the streets, went from place to place. And nothing
happened to me. I honestly didn't know if I could walk around like this in
Gümbet, Bodrum. Gümbet is a district of Muğla, which is actually the city of
Bodrum, Turkey. My favorite is Bitez. These places are just like Albufeira
nights. Anyway, at the end I sat next to 3 English people who were close to
getting drunk, after a bit of chatting I got tipsy, called an uber and went
home and went to bed strictly.
One day I decided to go on a yacht tour with the ticket I
bought online. I landed in "Marina de Albufeira" around 10.30 a.m.
The "barbecue on the beach" and "excursion organization"
concepts I participated in was really successful. On the way, our tour guide
gave us some details about Albufeira that I don't remember now. As you know, a
bride and her bridesmaids were having a party on a yacht, so we were in a very
messy and party mood. We went to the Benagil cave, a popular attraction in
Albufeira, and watched it from the boat. It was a natural wonder with a cavity
at the top and a natural beach below. You can only get to Benagil by water, but
you can also rent small kayaks. Apart
from Benagil, there are other rock formations along the coast. Since there is a
lot of tidal current in these waters, there are different rock formations in
all longitudes.
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| Benagil cave |
Don't skip to check and get the photo for your thematic livingroom here :)
After stopping for a swim at a few points in between, we
reached the beach where the barbecue was going to be held. Some of us handed
their bags to someone and swam to the shore, while the rest of us crossed with
boats. I, of course, swam, I had to go to the sea, it was maybe 40 degrees... I
met 4 English girls on the trip, we had fun together until the end of the day,
they took me in as if I was completely one of them 😊 The
organization team makes barbecue for you on the beach. Then they gave you time
to enjoy yourself and have time to swim afterwards. Of course, on the way back
to the marina, you end the day with crazy music and dancing. This yacht trip
takes a day like this and walks you, I highly recommend it.
The next morning I tried the "Praia do Túnel"
beach, I was accompanied. I was not left without a cocktail 😊
After this day with the magnificent sea I went to the
"Old town" tonight. There is no end to the fun, there is already a
street like "a street of bars". People playing live music in the
venues, people performing live music on foot. But almost the same songs are
played every night. After 3 days you might get bored haha. I never felt in
danger after drinking so much. I'm interspersing this information in case you
think about it. Yes, I was usually on my own, I met people, chatted with them
and continued in the same way every night. I liked to meet new people,
different cultures.
Another day I signed up for what they call a
"dolphin hunting" tour. Don't get me wrong, this is a photo hunting
tour. You travel around in a small speedboat for about 2 hours. 1 hour of this
time they take you around the rock formations, out of one and into the other.
We entered Benagil cave here too. It was quite wavy on the last boat tour, it
felt good that we entered it again. Then we went after the dolphins for 1 hour
just to get closer and see them. The speedboat is a lot of fun, you get very
wet, meanwhile you try not to get the camera wet and take good photos when it
stops. As a result of long efforts, I managed to take dolphin photos a few
times, I share them below 😊
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| Marina |
The other days I partly hung out on the same beaches, at
night I usually went out to "Old Town", sometimes I cooked at home.
One night I made myself a princess treatment and went to a very luxurious
seafood restaurant. The service, the food and the wine, everything was perfect.
To tell you a lie, it was the first time I had scallops.
I visited Albufeira couple of tines, 7 days in June and 4
days in September and other years. I met many different people from different cultures. There
are people like me who come to have fun alone, people who come with their
buddies and party, there are all kinds of people.
There shouldn't be any problem in going on vacation
alone, I think if you can find peace when you are alone, there is no problem.
Some people might think, "Oh you poor, she has no one to go on vacation
with".
My motto is "I will not wait for anyone else's
pleasure for my vacation and sightseeing".
I invite you to this motto too! I hope you will
appreciate the vacations you take when you are on your own and we will enjoy
them together 😊
Suggestions for places to eat delicious local food :
Casa del Mar >> Luxury restaurant
O Zuca >> A more local restaurant
Beaches I recommend you to visit outside Albufeira:
Camilo, Benagil
For those who are curious :
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