Tavira is a calm, pleasant little river town of ancient bridges, terracotta tiles, 16th century mansions, churches [naturally, this is Portugal], fishing boats and bars, though there are no major sights here - the castle remains, for example, hardly merit more than 15 minutes.

The vast beach and camp site at Ilha de Tavira is 2km by road, then 100m of water, with regular ferries costing  1 return. There are plenty of cafés and water sports facilities open during the summer months.

Tourism here is restrained and mostly not of the package kind so Tavira is an excellent choice for those who fancy roasting on a beach during the day but having a somewhat ethnic environment in the evening.


Approached through green fields studded with almond trees, the photogenic town of Tavira is the most attractive town in the Eastern Algarve. Lined with 18th-century houses topped by pyramidal Roman-tiled roofs, it was one of the most important Moorish settlements in the region, along with Silves and Faro.

The proximity of Tavira to the Moroccan coast bolstered its importance, formally recognised in 1282 by King Dinis who gave its seamen equal rights to those of Lisbon. It achieved city status in 1520, having become one of the largest ports in the Algarve.


What to see. The best view of Tavira is from the walls of the Moorish castle, which rises out of a cluster of houses and gardens. Behind the castle is the church of Santa Maria do Castelo, traditionally built on the site of a mosque. The church of the Misericórdia boasts a fine Renaissance door, 18th-century azulejo glazed tiles and a beautifully-carved high altar.

The interior of the church of São Sebastião has paintings depicting the lives of Jesus and Mary. On the other side of the square, the church of Santo António features a life-size tableau of angels and saints attending the funeral of St Anthony.
Nearby. The parish church at Luz de Tavira 6 km away features contrasting Manueline and Renaissance doorways and relics from before the 1755 earthquake. 11 km long and 500 m wide, the long, sandy beach setting of Ilha da Tavira is easily reachable by ferry from the terminal 2 km south of the town centre.

Tavira, located to the east of the major Algarve town of Faro, is a working fishing village with a long history of trade. The location is great for visitors who want to get away from the bustle of busier tourist areas to the west of Faro. The old part of the town has many cafes, exhibitions and displays by local art and craft producers. Wandering the streets, soaking in the atmosphere is one way to enjoy the town. Visitors can walk to the castle battlements, a bit of a hike but at the end there is excellent view of the townÂ's colourful rooftops, old buildings and the glistening sea. A short boat trip from town is the Ilha de Tavira (Tavira Island) which has a beautiful beach to the east and plenty of space to bathe, swimming and beach comb.

Portugal Travel Guide, climate:
Best: June - September, and you can expect it to be very hot July-August.
OK: April, May, October. This is a maybe time. Maybe wonderfully sunny and warm, maybe rainy and cool, it's a gamble.
Worst: November - March. Cool and often wet, including the Algarve.
Length of stay:
Minimum worthwhile stay, not incl. flights: Lisbon for a weekend.
Recommended travel time: A couple of weeks to see Lisbon, some of the nearby towns such as Sintra, Obidos, Evora or hit the beaches around Cascais [west] or Caparica [south].
Main Festivals in Portugal:
Feb/March, Carnival. Various colourful festivities during the last days before Lent.
March/April: Easter Week Festival in Braga, with bizarre processions.
From 1st Thursday of May for 2 [?] weeks, Coimbra, Queima das Fitas, wild end of year celebrations at 'Portugal's Oxford'.
12-13 May, Fatima Romarias [in Fatima]. Severely religious mass pilgrimage event.
12-13 June, Festa de Santo Antonio, a night long street fair, esp. in Alfama and Mouraria districts.
20-24 June, Festa de Sao Joao, nationwide [23-24] but longer in Porto.
Around 20 August, Festa da Nossa Senhora da Agonia, Viana do Castelo, a very lively celebration with parades, fireworks and art shows.
12-13 October, Fatima Romarias [in Fatima]. Severely religious mass pilgrimage event [again!].

Activities Guide:
Hiking: Not a Portuguese pastime and mostly lacking in spectacular views, determined walkers can nevertheless find good trails. The most scenic are in the north e.g. Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela, Parque Nacional da Peneda-Geres and Parque Natural de Montesinho. The Algarve has many walks, but lacks natural beauty unless you hike along the coast.
August-February, a couple of days a week is hunting season, so check locally if you might be walking into a shooting arena.
Biking: Mountain biking is fashionable and bikes can be rented in many tourist areas. Some locations even offer guided bike travel e.g. the Algarve, Sintra and National Parks.
Surfing: One of Europe's best surfing destinations due to a high level of sunshine and consistent [though not necessarily huge] waves along the whole west coastline. .
Wind/kite surfing: commonplace and often sharing space with board surfers at beaches like Guincho and Rocha.
Pros especially enjoy regular high winds on Portugal's SW tip, near Sagres.
Swimming: Buckets of great beaches with soft sand and lots of character, see Algarve, right.
Snorkelling/Scuba: cold and fairly dull.
Golf: The south of the country is where most of the great courses are, with the Algarve leading at 26 championship courses.
Portugal Star Guide: Monuments ****
Shopping and souvenirs
***
Walkability ****
Food Quality and Variety ****
Value for Money ***
Hotel Prices and Value ***
Beaches *****
Wildlife **
Landscape **
Local People ***
Architecture ***
Safety ***
Nightlife and Clubbing ****
Health Problems few
Museums ****

Cuisine Guide:
Portuguese cuisine tends towards the solid and not particularly cheap in tourist areas, but pick the right place in one of Portugal's more sophisticated areas, such as Lisbon's Bairro Alto or the Algarve's Lagos, and you can have an excellent, interesting meal for a reasonable price.
Seafood is particularly impressive, and of this type, sardines are the best value.
Bacalhau - salted cod - is the national dish and is served in a zillion different ways, many of them edible.
Away from Lisbon and the Algarve food is much better value. good value snacks are commonly available, including filling soups for lunch - though soup is not normally served alone.
One of the Portugal's most unique customs is the almost obligatory cover charge for bread, butter, olives and some kind of paste. .
Coffees are wonderful and house wines are drinkable by all but connoisseurs. Try a glass of cold white port too.
Local beers are OK, and the black/stout beers are better than OK.
Why Travel to Portugal?
This little country is loaded with superb beaches, moderate surf, amazing castles, churches and monasteries, and has unique architectural art in the shape of Manueline decor and azulejos tiling .
Great summer weather is guaranteed, seafood is excellent and reasonable value and locals are reserved but friendly, especially towards people NOT speaking Spanish.
Crime rates are low and fast long-distance driving is easy on magnificent new, well-signed motorways.
Downside:
- The countryside is often unattractive and disappointing, especially the Algarve away from the beaches.
- The sea, being the Atlantic Ocean, is on the cool side.
- Car travel in many towns is a nightmare of narrow one-way streets and endless traffic jams caused by medieval roads trying to handle a recently affluent 4-wheel society.
Portugal Travel Guide, destinations:

1] ***Lisbon has a lot to offer, though it's not quite up to the capital standards of its bigger neighbours. See Lisbon Travel Guide.
2] ***Sintra: Not so much for the old town, but for various parks, gardens and four spectacular buildings in and around it - the 14thC twisted gothic Palacio Nacional, the fantastical Quinta da Regaleira, and up a cool forested hill, the superbly atmospheric Moorish Castle and the totally Disney Palacio de Pena - with a fascinating royal family life museum. 45 minutes by train from Lisbon.
3] ***Obidos. The most striking of Portugal's hilltop walled towns, Obidos is perfection, within easy travel of Lisbon and well worth an overnight stay in a cute little pensao to enjoy the ramparts and streets without the company of packaged people. Book ahead!
4] ***Evora. Probably the most interesting town after Lisbon, World Heritage Evora is stuffed with a variety of sights and a mere hour from Lisbon . Don't try and drive into the city! Park outside the walls. Nearby is the largest group of prehistoric stones in Europe, the 95 monoliths [Almendres] of Cromeleque. Accessed through a gorgeous cork forest, these are smaller stones than Stonehenge, but totally devoid of commerce, restrictions or even other people most of the time. .
5] ***The Algarve is culturally a near desert and apart from the beaches a scenic dead loss. The strands of sand, however, are huge, clean and often characterful, though the water is cool and may be choppy too. .
6] *** Marvao. Another gorgeous walled hilltop town, in a prettier landscape than Obidos and with fewer tourists, but a little distant.
7] **Scenic countryside: not much around, but the rolling hillocks and cork trees of Alentejo are lovely, especially carpeted with yellow and purple flowers in May . The terraced valley and gorge of Douro, popularly seen via a rickety railway, is stunning, and could be combined with a trip to Porto [below] and Stone Age art at Vale do Coa, where thousands of Palaeolithic drawings can be seen on 17km of rocks. Minho, in the far north is wet, green and mountainously rural, with good beaches and featuring Portugal's religious capital Braga. Braga's 35 churches include a popular pilgrim's target - Bom Jesus do Monte.
8] ** Porto. Portugal's second city sports some arresting buildings, a World Heritage district of tiled terraced houses beside the river and a barrel load of wine tasting lodges. .
9] *Coimbra: A pretty riverside university town and Portugal's capital in the 1145 AD, but Coimbra hardly deserves the travel hordes it gets. .
10]***Churches/Monasteries: even atheists will enjoy some of the madly magnificent religious structures scattered around the country. Some notable ones are the Convent of Christ at Tomar where the Knights Templar were based , Batalha Abbey , Alcobaca monastery, Evora's Misercordia and the bone chapel in Sao Fransisco, Mafra's Palace/Monastery, Lisbon's Jeronimos monastery for the ultimate Manueline decor and Sao Vicente de Fora monastery [NOT the church as some guide books say!] for the best in story telling azulejos.

Portugal Tours
Electricity:
Electric sockets are 230v and take 2 round pin plugs.
Safe travel guide:
Crime is uncommon, though as usual, pickpockets are active in areas frequented by tourists. Be especially careful on Lisbon's famous Tram 28! There have been rare attacks/robberies by gangs in Lisbon, Porto, Estoril and Cascais, so be sensible about flashing valuables and where you walk late at night.
Language guide:
Portuguese is similar to Spanish in many ways, though they are not over-fond of their Spanish neighbours so English is in some ways better to use than good Spanish. Or start with English and switch to Spanish if necessary? Whatever, at least learn Bom Dia, Boa Tarde, Desculpe, Por Favor, Obrigado and Adeus/Chao.
Car Travel Guide:
Motorways: With superb new, EU funded motorways and excellent signposting fast intercity travel in Portugal is a cinch. But few drivers observe the 120kph [75mph] limit, many travelling well in excess of 160kph [100mph]. So DON'T force your little rental car to slowly overtake another vehicle unless you fancy a lunatic 4x4 or BMW sitting on your bumper at high speed; DO keep your eyes on the mirror and give those nutters plenty of space, they do cause a lot of accidents.
Towns: Old town driving is another matter entirely. Streets are often medieval, extraordinarily narrow, complicatedly one way, and traffic jammed. .