Algarve Overview - part 1
The Algarve is Portugal's most popular tourist region, with beautiful beaches and gorgeous coves, bathed by the warmth of the Gulf Stream, plus excellent hotels, charming resorts, first-class world-standard golf courses and splendid food.
The region covers 5,412 square kilometres in the South of Portugal with around 350,000 permanent residents. The population rises to over a million in the Summer, as tourists are drawn by the region's often spectacular beaches and warm waters and its Mediterranean climate. Although the Algarve is not technically bordering the Med, its sunshine is just as reliable.
Algarve Geography. The Algarve is bordered by the Bay of Cádiz and the Spanish province of Huelva to the East; the Atlantic to the South and West and the region of the Alentejo to the North and East. Except for the coastal strip, it is a hilly area with fertile valleys, being split by the Ria Formosa, which empties into the sea at Faro. The other main rivers are the Rio Arade, which meets the sea at Portimão, and the Rio Guadiana on the Eastern border with Spain.
The coastlines either side of the Formosa estuary are quite different in character and appearance, so it is helpful to refer to the Eastern and Western Algarve – on which more later - as two different places (and the Atlantic coast could also be considered a third kettle of sardines).
The Algarve has two major nature reserves covering much of its territory: the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, extending from Faro to the Rio Guadiana and Spanish border, and the Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e da Costa Vicentina, which does indeed begin in the corner of the Alentejo above the Algarve, but extends down its Atlantic coast and turns around Cape St Vincent - Cabo de São Vicente - to Sagres then East to Lagos.
is 's most popular tourist region, with beautiful beaches and gorgeous coves, bathed by the warmth of the Gulf Stream, plus excellent hotels, charming resorts, first-class world-standard golf courses and splendid food. The region covers 5,412 square kilometres in the with around 350,000 permanent residents. The population rises to over a million in the Summer, as tourists are drawn by the region's often spectacular beaches and warm waters and its Mediterranean climate. Although the Algarve is not technically bordering the Med, its sunshine is just as reliable. . The is bordered by the Bay of to the East; the Atlantic to the South and West and the region of the Alentejo to the North and East. Except for the coastal strip, it is a hilly area with fertile valleys, being split by the Ria Formosa, which empties into the sea at . The other main rivers are the Rio Arade, which meets the sea at , and the on the Eastern border with . The coastlines either side of the Formosa estuary are quite different in character and appearance, so it is helpful to refer to the Eastern and Western Algarve – on which more later - as two different places (and the Atlantic coast could also be considered a third kettle of sardines). The Algarve has two major nature reserves covering much of its territory: the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, extending from to the and border, and the Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e da Costa Vicentina, which does indeed begin in the corner of the Alentejo above the Algarve, but extends down its Atlantic coast and turns around Cape St Vincent - Cabo de São Vicente - to Sagres then East to Lagos.
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