DAY 1 – ARRIVAL AT FARO AIRPORT
Transfer to Vila Monte – Farm House. Surrounded by flourishing nature, this hotel is a wonderful blend between the typical houses of the Algarve and the sumptuousness of modern styles.
The program for the rest of the day will depend on the time of your flight, but, if you arrive up until mid-afternoon, we’ll take you to Noélia & Jerónimo restaurant, a wonderful restaurant in Cabanas, quite near the hotel, which is simple and clean, but will definitely surprise you with their original flavors. Try the fried cuttlefish roe with sparkling wine and fried small cuttlefish with fried hake roe and fava bean rice.
DAY 2 – MARKET-TO-TABLE
The day begins at the Olhão Market, one of the most essential and lively markets in the Algarve. The green vegetables and the seasonal fruit join the meat and the fresh fish in a combination of color and scents. You’ll be able to know more about the secrets of the gastronomy of the region, its origins, and variants.
After buying everything, it is time to get back to the hotel to prepare lunch with the chef.
After lunch, it is time for a nap, leaving later for dinner. Today we will take you to one of the most renowned restaurants in the region, São Gabriel. The excellent service, the scenery, with a Mediterranean-style garden, the complete wine menu put forth by an amazing sommelier and the degustation menu prepared with everything this region has to offer will make this an unforgettable dinner.
DAY 3 – GOING NORTH
We’ll drive a bit up until we arrive at Mértola, a small Roman village, with Moorish and medieval traits, which grant it a visit on its own. A stroll around the village, climbing up to the castle and the ancient Mosque, today a church, will work up an appetite.
We’re farther away from the sea — today a mere 1 hour away from — and that’s palpable on the menu. Here the main characters are meat and bread, garlic, olives and olive oil. At a small local restaurant, you will want to try the traditional cozido de grão (a traditional stew with meat and chickpeas) and pork meat with migas (a dish typically made with bread crumbs and other ingredients) with lovely red wine. Before getting back, there’s still time to walk around an old mining village, with its tiny houses, a small museum and landscapes worthy of futuristic films.
For dinner, we suggest grilled fish in one of the small restaurants in Praia da Fuseta — you can’t get simpler and more natural than this.
DAY 4 – MORE ELEGANT AND BY THE SEA
Today we will take you to more elegant places. If the weather allows, drive down to Praia do Ancão and start your day with a swim, and then have lunch in one of the region’s icon, Gigi’s. Before sitting at the table, choose the fish or seafood that will go directly to the grill. The restaurant is all made of wood sitting on stakes in the sand dunes protected area next to the beach and it’s one of the rendezvous spots for the Portuguese and foreign jet set.
For dinner we chose one of the most beautiful towns in this part of the Algarve, Vila Real de Santo António, right next to the Guadiana river, bordering Spain. This restaurant is a bit more formal, called Vistas, where chef Rui Silveira created a degustation menu in which he uses the best ingredients of the region, amazing us with delicious flavors and textures.
We haven’t mentioned desserts not because there aren’t any, because there are aplenty and they’re mind-blowing! The Algarve’s traditional sweets have a strong Arabic influence, with almond, fig, eggs and carob as the main stars. Besides being incredibly delicious, they’re also pretty, real-life edible works of art. Before heading to dinner, walk around town to buy some of these delicacies to take home.
DAY 5 – SAYING GOODBYE
Before leaving, one last meal and a visit to the Algarve’s capital, Faro, right next to the airport. A traditional lunch in one of the classic restaurants in the city. It is well worth a visit with all the time in the world, so you can wander around town and its historical center. At Faro e Benfica restaurant, you can try the traditional Algarve dishes, like the cataplanas (of Arabic origin), massadas, feijoadas, among many others. It is time to try a fish cataplana and wreckfish massada.
Transfer to airport.
