Portugal: more than a beach

The Euro 2004 football tournament, which briefly spotlit eight host cities and their environs, seems to have acted as a catalyst for tour operators and their clients to look deeper into other parts of the country.

In particular, the northern Minho (also known as the Costa Verde) region is attracting unprecedented attention. With new scheduled and charter flights to the three mainland international airports — Faro, Lisbon and Porto — we are also expected to take increasing numbers of short holidays there this year. Now we can choose to travel for as long or short a period as we like, and there is a widening choice of activities, such as hiking and golf, wine tasting and gastronomic tours, as well as exploring lesser-known places such as the ancient university town of Coimbra.

Portugal’s Atlantic islands — Madeira and the Azores archipelago — are also on a roll. The former is busy trying to shed its fusty “Madeira, m’dear” image, while the latter will get its first direct flights from the UK in April.

Southern comfort

THE south coast is still the choice of about 60 per cent of British visitors to Portugal. The Algarve is the only sliver of the country to have a truly Mediterranean climate, albeit with cold Atlantic tides washing in over the golden-sanded beaches.

But last football-crazed year, we deserted the Algarve in droves, presumably fearing a tide of lager-fuelled loutishness. This year holiday companies are trying to entice us back, resulting in some alluring deals, especially at the budget end of the market.

First Choice Holidays (0870 7500001, www.firstchoice.co.uk) has added crèches, swimming clubs for small children, soccer school for older ones, and teenagers’ entertainment to its family holidays. A week in a one-bedroom apartment at the Alto da Colina Club at Balaia costs £1,433 during May half-term for two adults and two children. Two weeks in August is £2,179.

Thomson Holidays (0870 5502555, www.thomson.co.uk) offers a week at the Vilanova apartments in Albufeira for two adults and two children during May half-term for £1,268, or £1,800 for two weeks in August.

Other operators at the less-expensive end of the market include Airtours (0870 2418971, www.airtours.co.uk), and Thomas Cook (0870 1111111, www.thomascook.com).

However, the Algarve is trying hard to return to the halcyon days of luxury hotels and exclusive villas with pools, which set the region apart from the Spanish costas in the early years of mass tourism. The authorities are enforcing a rule that no hotels with ratings of less than four stars are built, while others are being upgraded to this level. The most common new developments are villas with private pools.

Meon Villas (0870 8508551, www.meonvillas.co.uk) offers Monte Zurrappa, which sleeps 12, for £1,479 rental only, for the May half-term week, or £3,449 for two weeks in August. Flights, from a choice of ten UK airports, and car hire can be booked as required. For villas with pools, also try The Villa Agency (01273 747811, www.thevillaagency.co.uk), Style Holidays (0870 4444404, www.style-holidays.co.uk), CV Travel (0870 0623412, www.cvtravel.co.uk) or Sovereign Villas (0870 9003290, www.sovereignvillas.co.uk).

Powder Byrne (020-8246 5300, www.powderbyrne.com) has a week for a family of four in a two-room family suite at the five-star Vila Vita Parc for a total of £5,492 in the May half-term and £11,768 for two weeks in August. Prices include flights, B&B and all-day childcare in the “scallywags” club. For luxury hotels (though without the childcare), try also Elegant Resorts (01244 897777, www.elegantresorts.co.uk) and ITC Classics (01244 355340, www.itcclassics.co.uk).

At the far end of the price scale, two families each consisting of two adults and two children could rent Quinta Tundavala near Lagos for two weeks in August with Scott Dunn (020-8682 5010, www.scottdunn.com), for a total of £19,640, including flights, cars, a chef, food and two nannies.

Looking deeper

“THE Minho? . . . . it’s fast becoming the new Tuscany,” comments one tour operator, desperate to satisfy the surge in demand for old houses and cottages in the far northwest of Portugal.

As in Tuscany, there are restored, traditional farmhouses to stay in; historic towns rich in castles and churches to tour; and hills and vineyards to walk through. But unlike central Italy, or the Algarve, this region has unbroken beaches fringing a cold Atlantic, better for surfing in wetsuits than for bathing, and a climate cooled by the nortada north wind.

Vintage Travel (0845 3440420, www.vintagetravel.co.uk) specialises in this region, renting properties such as Quinta d’Azenha, a converted water mill near Caminha on the Spanish border with three double bedrooms, swimming pool and tennis court.

A week over the May half term costs £939 rental only, two weeks in July or August is £2,990. Flights and car hire can be arranged. Portuguese Affair (020-7385 4775, www.portugueseaffair.com) also has a good selection of Minho properties.

The coastal areas near Lisbon are generally a couple of degrees warmer in both air and sea temperature. Resorts such as Cascais and Estoril are also becoming popular for combining beach holidays with exploring.

Destination Portugal (01993 773269, www.destination-portugal.co.uk) has a week in the three-bedroom Casa do Lagoa villa at the edge of the Obidos lagoon near Lisbon for £474 per adult and £436 per child, including scheduled flights and a car, based on four sharing. A fortnight in August is £844 (children £840).

Travellers touring Portugal by car are becoming less dependent on pousadas (the network of state-owned inns and converted historic monuments), as more rural hotels and so-called “manor houses” offer accommodation in far-flung corners. A week staying in a variety of these costs in the region of £520 per person based on two sharing in May with Magic of Portugal (0870 4030531, www.magictravelgroup.co.uk). The price includes flights, car hire and B&B.

Other companies specialising in more remote parts of Portugal include Portugala Holidays (020-8444 1857, www.portugala.com), EHS Travel (01993 700600, www.ehstravel.co.uk), Abreu Travel (020-7229 9905, www.abreu.co.uk), Uma Casa Portuguesa (020-7923 3368, www.ucp-tours.co.uk), and The Individual Travellers Company (0870 0773773, www.individualportugal.com).

Short and specialist breaks

A FABULOUS new five-star hotel, the Cascais Miragem (00 351 21 006 0600, www.cascaismirage.com) opened last October at the beach resort of Estoril, and makes a good base for weekend breaks. Caravela Tours (0870 4438181, www.caravela.co.uk) offers three-night B&B stays there for £509pp from May to October, including scheduled flights and private transfers.

Arblaster & Clarke (01730 893344, www.winetours.co.uk) runs various escorted wine tasting and gourmet tours to Porto and the Douro valley. A six-night trip from May 28 to June 4, taking in both of these and including flights, transport, tastings and most meals, costs £1,099pp based on two sharing. Try also Winetrails (01306 712111, www.winetrails.co.uk).

Sailing up the Douro from Porto on live-aboard river cruisers provides another way to see this region. VFB Holidays (01242 240310, www.vfbholidays.co.uk) offers a seven-night Douro cruise from July 11 or 23 for £933pp based on two sharing a cabin and including flights, accommodation and all meals.

Mundi Color (020-7828 6021) offers city breaks to Coimbra, the university town which last year hosted the England v Switzerland match. Three nights’ B&B at the three-star Astoria hotel costs £262 in May and £272 in June based on two sharing, including flights to Porto and car hire. Other city and short-break operators include Kirker Holidays (020-7593 2288, www.kirkerholidays.com) and Cresta Holidays (0870 1610950, www.crestaholidays.co.uk).

Walking for leisure has never been a typically Portuguese pastime, but itineraries through the Peneda-Geres national park in the far north; the mountains of the central Serra da Estrela; and the castle-crowned hilltops of the Alentejo region between the Algarve and Lisbon have been devised. Inntravel (01653 617906, www.inntravel.co.uk) offers unaccompanied itineraries with some original routes, including a coastal walk in the wild, less-visited far west of the Algarve.

A seven-night trip staying mainly in two-star inns costs £512pp in May or October, including B&B, five dinners and three picnic lunches, but excluding flights (which can be arranged). Other walking specialists include ATG Oxford (01865 315678, www.atg-oxford.co.uk), Explore (0870 3334001, www.explore.co.uk) and Exodus (0870 2405550, www.exodus.co.uk).

Golf has been big in the Algarve since the 1960s, and remains one of the principal reasons why visitors come here off-season. The peak months are May and September, when it’s cooler. This year, prices are cheaper than for many other top golfing destinations, partly because of the increased supply. There are now 27 courses along the Algarve, including the new Vilamoura Victoria, which will host the 2005 World Cup in November.

The Vilamoura resort has also opened a five-star hotel, the Vilasol Spa and Golf Resort (00 351 289 320375, www.vilasol.pt). A week’s stay at this hotel costs £509 in May and £659 in September with Serenity Golf (0845 3302077, www.serenityholidays.co.uk).

Prices include scheduled flights, B&B and car hire. Tee-off times at any courses can be booked in advance. Other golf specialists include Leisure Link (0870 0607965, www.leisurelinkgolf.com) and Golf Par Excellence (01737 211818, www.golfparexcellence.com).

The islands

MADEIRA has an ever-expanding choice of accommodation, ranging from rural farmhouses and inns, to plush hotels in and around Funchal, the capital. The latter, in particular, are attracting a younger crowd, including families with young children taking advantage of excellent children’s clubs that are now provided.

Tour operators report an increase in demand for romantic, long-weekend breaks by couples enticed by hotels such as the Cliff Bay, which has opened a new spa.

With no budget airlines flying to Madeira, almost all holidays are inclusive of flights with British Airways or TAP Air Portugal, and there are few cheap deals going. Cadogan Holidays (023-8082 8313, www.cadoganholidays.com) offers a week’s B&B stay at the five-star Cliff Bay for £779 in the May half-term, or £1,384 for two weeks in August including flights. Other Madeira specialists include Atlantic Holidays (01452 381888, www.atlanticholidays.net) and Castaways (01737 812255, www.castaways.co.uk).

The scale of take-up for holidays in the Azores is yet to be seen. The only certain fact is that the direct flight starting in April will make walking, touring, whale-watching and island-hopping trips to the mid-Atlantic archipelago accessible as never before. Sunvil Holidays (020-8758 4722, www.sunvil.co.uk), which has produced a dedicated Azores brochure, offers a week at the four-star Hotel Caloura on the island of San Miguel for £537 per person in May, or two weeks in July for £1,045 per person.

Prices include flights and B&B accommodation. Headwater (01606 720033, www.headwater.com) offers Azorean walking tours, while Wildlife Encounters (01737 218802, www.wildlife-encounters.co.uk) organises whale-watching trips.

NEED TO KNOW

Getting there: TAP Air Portugal (0845 6010932, www.tap-airportugal.co.uk), flies from Heathrow to Faro, Lisbon, Porto and Funchal.

British Airways (0870 8509850, www.ba.com) flies the same routes from Gatwick. Portugalia (0870 7550025, www.pga.pt) flies from Manchester to Lisbon and Porto.

From May 19, Monarch (0870 0406300, www.flymonarch.com) has flights from Gatwick to Lisbon from £67 return. Monarch also flies to Faro from Gatwick, Birmingham, Luton and Manchester.

EasyJet (0871 7500100, www.easyjet.com) flies from Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, Nottingham and Bristol to Faro. Ryanair (0871 2460000, www.ryanair.com) flies from Stansted to Porto. Jet2 (0871 2261737, www.jet2.com) flies from Manchester and Leeds/Bradford to Faro. Flybe (0871 7000123, www.flybe.com) flies from Exeter and Birmingham to Faro.

Further information: The Portuguese Tourist Office (0845 3551212, www.portugalinsite.com).