Portimao, Algarve
Welcome to PortimaoUncovered.com! Your guide to Portimão, in western Algarve. For information about the town, its beaches, accommodation, restaurants, bars, shops, things to do and in fact, all things Portimão!
Portimão is the biggest town in the western Algarve and sits on the bank of the Arade river facing Ferragudo on the opposite bank. Portimão's atlantic beach of Praia da Rocha has, over the years, become a resort in it's own right with lots of hotels and apartments, restaurants and bars, discos and clubs and shops, which is why we have a separate 'Praia da Rocha' section.
Portimão is a mix of late 19th, early 20th century buildings in the older part of the town, and high rise apartment blocks in various pastel shades of blue, pink and coral around it. The town centre is simply perfect for those who love to shop! It is jam packed full of shops, offering a wide choice of clothes, gifts, souvenirs, electrical goods and general household items. You’ll see brands you see at home, such as Mango for the ladies and plenty of traditional shops selling bargain leather goods, such as handbags and belts.
There are also plenty of bars, restaurants and café’s where you can sit for a bite to eat or a drink and watch the town carry on around you. To see the more relaxed side of Portimão, wander down to the river front, where the 'Manuel Bivar' gardens are, and have an ice-cream or a coffee at one of the cafe's along the front.
The roads in and around Portimão are quite confusing and congested, especially if you end up in the narrow back streets where everyone parks on both sides of the road! There is plenty of car parking around the town, and there is a particularly large car park on the waterfront which is very easy to find if you approach from the marina end and follow the river. The parking here is free, but there is often someone directing you into spaces- it is wise to tip him 50 cents or a Euro to 'watch' your car! It has to be said that this is quite a common, if not ethical, practice in some of the larger towns, but having found the door lock cover placed on top of the car when we didn't pay- 50 cents seems cheap!
On the outskirts of Portimão town centre are lots of larger supermarkets and a new (2006) retail park on the N125 between Alvor and Portimão. On the main dual carriageway around the town heading towards Praia da Rocha is a large 'Continente' supermarket on the left hand side. Although not obvious from the outside there are also lots of other shops in the mall (shoes, clothes, accessories, electrical, sports goods etc) as well as a small food hall. The retail park on the N125 is home to another large Continente (previously a Carrefour), as well as shops for office supplies, electrical goods, furniture and garden equipment amongst others.
Portimão is excellent for shopping and also has quite a lot of events throughout the year like powerboat racing or jet-skiing on the river, fantastic fireworks and live music to celebrate the New Year, and various exhibitions and sports events at the Expo-Arade centre. By the end of 2008 there should also be a motor racing circuit just outside Portimão where the first event is scheduled to be a Superbike Championship race at the beginning of November.
There is also a fantastic modern marina – a marina that you simply have to see with your own eyes, because you’ll never have seen colours like it! Only a place in the Algarve could carry off ochre and terracotta! The marina is at the eastern end of Praia da Rocha at the entrance to the river.
The town itself is probably not where you would choose to stay, being very built up as you would expect. However there is an abundance of accommodation both at Praia da Rocha and on the roads leading to it - all of which is within walking distance of the town centre. The area just to the west of Praia da Rocha, Praia do Vau, also has plenty of mostly low rise accommodation around the beach and still accessible to the town.
New to Portimão in 2007 is the arrival of 'Nikki Beach' in conjunction with Tivoli Hotels, bringing their luxury holiday formula to this area of the Algarve.
There are plenty of things to do whatever your age in the Portimão area - there are boat trips for fishing, trips to the caves, dolphin watching trips or a trip up the Arade river to Silves from the river front. There are several golf courses nearby and at Portimão municipal aerodrome near Alvor various pursuits like parachuting for the more adventurous! Lagos zoo is just a short distance away to the west and Zoomarine at Guia is just a short distance to the east - both great family days out - or for those that prefer to keep cool, then Slide and Splash Water Park at Lagoa is nearby as well.