Ferragudo Holidays
Ferragudo Holidays – Traditional life lives on
The Algarve has changed considerably over the last couple of decades and many traditional fishing villages have expanded to become busy tourist resorts, but Ferrugado still retains its historic charm – and its fishing fleet. The village sits at the mouth of the River Arade, with beautiful views across the river to the busy resorts of Praia da Rocha and Portimao.
This is a village for exploring, wandering through the cobbled streets around the village square, up the hill to the church, down to the waterfront to watch the fishermen unloading their catches at the fishing pier, or along one of the paths across the cliff tops to the lighthouse at Ponta do Altar.
A holiday in Ferragudo is most of all for relaxing and taking things easy, but there is plenty to do if you have an ‘active’ moment; fishing, trips around the coastline and caves, dolphin watching, or you can take a trip up river to the lovely historic town of Silves.
When to go
The ‘ideal’ time to go to Ferrugado depends entirely on what makes an ideal holiday for you. As a small village it can get quite crowded during Easter and school holidays, but there is so much to do in and around the resort that you will have no difficulty keeping yourself happily occupied at any time of the year. You can enjoy a beach holiday anytime from mid-May to mid-October; as spring arrives in April and autumn bids farewell at the end of October, the temperatures in these months are comfortable for mountain walks and long strolls along the beach.
The weather in Ferragudo
As spring warms up, the Algarve bursts into bloom after the light rains of January and February, and with temperatures climbing from around 20º you begin to cast off the woolly jumper and slip into shorts. By June the long sunny days bring temperatures of 25º, peaking at the scorching high 20s-low 30s at the height of August. The cool breeze drifting of the Atlantic can make you forget that the blazing sun above can have an effect on tender skin, so take precautions, particularly with young children. Autumn is the reverse of spring, lovely warm sunny days and evenings that cool to around 19º in November, although you may get the occasional heavy shower. Even in winter you won’t feel particularly cold during the day, but it’s worth taking that woolly jumper for a stroll in the evening.
Getting the best deals
There’s no doubt that one of the best ways to get a good deal at any time of the year is to take an all-inclusive holiday. This doesn’t mean that you have to have every drink or eat every meal at the same hotel – although many people do – but what you save by booking your accommodation separately could save you enough for a couple of ‘splash-out’ nights. Flights will not only be less expensive out of high season, there will also be less of them, although the extra expense of travelling to an airport in the UK could well be compensated for in reduced hotel rates.
Airport and travel need to know
You can fly to the Algarve from twenty-three airports in the UK and Ireland, including Edinburgh (EDI), Cork (ORK), Liverpool (LPL), Exeter (EXT) and Stansted (STN). Low-cost airlines Ryanair, EasyJet, and Jet2 fly to Faro; Aer Lingus, Thomson Flights, Air Berlin, British Airways and Monarch also have flights to the Algarve.
If you are travelling as a family or group you may be able to shave a bit off your transfer costs on the 67km trip from Faro airport to Ferragudo by using a private hire car or shuttle bus service, some of which allow you to share with others going to the same destination. You will need to book these online. Otherwise a taxi will cost between 60-80€ (£49-£64) one-way, depending on the size of the vehicle and time of arrival. (Hires between 9pm and 6am weekdays, plus weekends and bank holidays carries a 20% surcharge.)
There are bus and train services from the airport to Ferragudo, but you need to get a bus or taxi from the airport into Faro town.
Best beaches in Ferragudo
Ferragudo has two beaches, Praia Grande in the south and Praia da Angrinha in the north, separated by the São João de Arade fort, and both have wonderful sands. Grande Beach is long sweeping bay where the river Arade joins the Atlantic Ocean and is the larger of the two, with more facilities and beach cafes. It rarely gets crowded, but if you want a bit of extra space a short stroll across the sands to Angirnha beach will give you all the space you need.
The beaches are very popular with windsurfers as a seawall give protection from Atlantic waves. This also makes them some of the safest in the Algarve, and Praia Grande has a children’s playground right on the sands, so it’s no surprise to find it is very popular with families.
Praia do Molhe, Praia dos Candiros and Praia do Pintadinho are all small sandy coves. The latter two are easily accessible, but Praia do Molhe has a long flight of steep steps leading to it so could prove difficult for families with young children.
Just over the river, Praia da Rocha is a beautiful long, wide beach of golden sand, and there is plenty of space for everyone, even at the height of the summer season. The wooden walkway that runs the length of the beach makes it particularly easy for families with pushchairs, and wheelchair users. Sun beds and parasols can be hired, and there are so many cafes, bars and restaurants that you don’t need to leave the beach at all during the day.
