ALGARVE

To make a holiday trip to or through faro car hire can be a delight. It is a smaller country to its neighbour Spain and therefore has a more personal and endearing character. The major resort areas, such as the Algarve, offer the holidaymaker as many attractions as anywhere in Europe.

Electrical Current
The current all over Portugal is 220 volts AC and connection is made by a two-pin plug. The plug today acts also as an earth except in older buildings that use older models of this two-pin plug.

Emergency
By calling anywhere in Portugal on 112 you will be connected to Fire, Police and Ambulance services. Every Fire Brigade also maintains one or more ambulances for emergencies. Chemists can give advice on simple health problems and suggest appropriate treatment. They are also permitted to sell many medicines without a doctor's subscription. A green cross on white background denotes a chemist. A red cross on a white background denotes a Red Cross station. In most towns there are Emergency Treatment Centres (SAP) that will provide medical assistance 24 hours a day.
Security in cities and towns is handled by the "Polícia de Segurança Pública (PSP)", rural areas by the "Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR)", and the traffic by "Brigada de Trânsito". On motorways and several major roads there are SOS phone boxes for help in accidents or breakdowns.

Throughout Algarve car hire there is a chain of Tourist Offices manned by bilingual staff to assist the tourist. As the Portuguese are by nature hospitable they are keen and proud to share their country with foreign visitors.

Commercial Hours
The normal shopping hours are from 09.00 hrs. until 19.00 hrs on Mondays to Fridays. Saturdays is from 09.00 hrs. until 13.00 hrs. There are some shops that extend their hours and their days of opening. Shopping Centres are open from 09.00 hrs. to 23.00 hrs all week except for certain Public Holidays.

Disabled Facilities
There is a great a lack in past design and facilities to provide their needs. Happily, awareness is now showing and this is evident with the appearance of special parking spaces in public areas, special toilets at airports, stations, and centres of entertainment. In Lisbon (217 585 676) and Porto (226 006 353), there is a dial-a-ride disabled bus service. Also in Lisbon (218 155 061), Braga (253 684 081), and Coimbra (239 484 522), there are taxi services for disabled persons.

QUINTA DO LAGO

Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo are essentially the two main beaches of the town of Almancil, although both have now grown to become very well known residential and holiday developments for British holidaymakers and golfers. The town of Almancil has a decent selection of restaurants and an even bigger selection of estate agents, interior decorators and furniture shops. East of Almancil is a small place named São Lourenço. The church here is well worth a visit as it is covered inside with beautiful 18th Century ceramic tiles. Also, very close by you will find the "São Lourenço Cultural Centre" that is open to the public. Quinta Shopping is located directly at the roundabout at the entry to the Quinta do Lago Resort and has a range of fashionable boutiques, interior décor shops, Chinese and Italian restaurants, real estate agencies and - an English pub.

VILAMOURA

Introduction to Vilamoura
Vilamoura is the name given to an area rather than to any actual town. It is outstanding in that it is one of the largest single tourist complex in Europe and covers some 2.000 hectares of land. The land is variable in its vegetation, some parts covered in pine forests whilst others open recovered marshland. The company that owns this complex is extremely environmentally conscious and every effort is being made to protect nature within its continued planned development. Due to its size it offers the visitor nearly every form of sport and entertainment, and its southern border is lined by a long sandy beach and its Atlantic Ocean. Amongst the many attractions and facilities there are five different Golf Courses, a large Marina, a Lawn Bowling Club, a Tennis Centre, a Sports Club, a Shooting Club, 5 Star and 4 Star Hotels, Tourist Apartments, self-catering Villas, Night Clubs, an International Casino, a Cinema, a private Airstrip and an excellent Riding School. Within the centre of Vilamoura there is a preserved Roman Site and Museum of Cerro da Vila providing an interesting glimpse into the past of this interesting area. In Roman times this location was important in producing a fish paste known as "garum". The ruins also include the baths in which the mariners used to bathe. As a location specifically designed for tourism it has proved to be a very successful location for all ages due to the variety of its facilities that it provides holidaymakers. The municipal administration of the area falls under that of Loulé.

Vilamoura - Nearby Locations
Neighbouring the area is the once upon a time small fishing village of Quarteira that has since the 1960s blossomed into a dormitory town. To the northeast is the commercial and administrative town of Loulé.

Vilamoura is most definitely not an old fishing village. The Romans were here once and left a couple of ruins at the centre, but if they saw it now they would think, “my how our little town has grown”. Vilamoura is stunning. It is one of the largest single tourist complexes in Europe and covers some 2.000 hectares of land – that is about 5,000 acres in old money. With an estimated 6,000 permanent residents and 1,650 hectares of prime Algarve beachfront property, Vilamoura is now one of the most successful tourist resorts in southwestern Europe, generating over 600,000 visitors per year, more than 4 million hotel bed nights, and 6,500 direct jobs. Initially it suffered from over development in some areas, but for the last ten years the owners of Vilamoura have been very successful at integrating existing and new development with the natural landscape and environment of the Vilamoura countryside and beaches. Due to the size of the Vilamoura resort area it offers the visitor nearly every form of sport and entertainment, and on the southern border is a long sandy beach and the Atlantic Ocean. Amongst the many attractions and facilities there are six different Golf Courses, a large Marina, a Lawn Bowling Club, a Tennis Centre, a Sports Club, a Shooting Club, 5 Star and 4 Star Hotels, Tourist Apartments, self-catering Villas, Night Clubs, an International Casino, a Cinema, and an excellent Riding School. Vilamoura has a good selection of hotels and apartments from 3 to 5 star luxury, with board options from self-catering to half board.

Vilamoura has its own shopping centre next to the marina with a good selection of tourist and upmarket shops. From Vilamoura you can get to the Algarve Shopping centre or to Faro in 15 minutes.