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72 HOURS IN…
Eastern Algarve
With Portugal’s No.1 ranked course and great appeal off the course, this area
compares favourably with the rest of this celebrated coastline, says Chris Bertram.
Singing the praises of golf in the
Eastern Algarve feels a bit like
trying to lure punters to your
pub quiz when Oasis are playing a
reunion gig round the corner.
Set against the riches of the Central
and Western Algarve, it is not
realistic to pretend the East can
compare in terms of quantity.
It can offer, though, not only the
No.1 ranked course in Portugal, but
also a different kind of golf break. It
is a contradictory scenario, because
while in one respect the area boasts
the superstar venue of Monte Rei, the
real incentive for eschewing the star-
studded central and western sections
is the East’s greater tranquility.
Much less commercial and much
less developed, this is where the cliche
‘real Portugal’ can justifiably be
applied; this is a Portugal of
breathtaking but quiet beaches and
peaceful fishing towns and villages.
The same broadly goes for the golf
courses, the support cast to Monte
Rei being lower-profile venues where
green fees are lower and tee sheets are
less crammed. We found the perfect
base for your trip too, the neat but
chic Robinsons hotel at Quinta da
Ria, just 35 minutes from Faro.
It sits betwen the towns of Tavira
and Monte Gordo, which offer a
more lively night should you seek one.
So, the paradoxical Eastern Algarve
can offer a bit of everything, and is a
bit more than a dry pub quiz to the
Centre and West’s Gallagher brothers.
The Cima course at Quinta da Ria
among mature woodland is one of
the Algarve’s unsung stars.