Villa Miracampo by Portucasa

Albufeira - Villa

We had a fantastic week in the Miracampo 8-bed apartment. Even in late October, the weather was hot and sunny and we were able to explore the beautiful beaches, lots within walking distance of the property. The apartment is very well-appointed, with modern, stylish decor and plenty of space and lovely views of the orange grove and surrounding countryside. The large swimming pool was great for lounging with a drink and sunbathing. There were plenty of great places to eat nearby. We hired a car from a place just up the main road (can’t remember the guy’s name). He was very helpful and gave us tips about driving around the Algarve and some interesting places to visit. We will definitely go back to the Miracampo apartment. It’s perfect for a family holiday,just a relaxing break for two!

We LOVED our time at Mira Campo - it surpassed our wildest expectations and we will be back! After years of trying to find that perfect place that ticks the box for a family with both teenagers and younger children, not to mention parents who like a certain standard of luxury and comfort - we have finally found a place that kept everybody happy.

The villa is split into two apartments, the upstairs and downstairs - both of which are MASSIVE! We stayed in the downstairs which has five bedrooms.

The bedrooms are all beautifully decorated, each with its own theme and individual touches. The beds are super comfy and there is oodles of storage space in each room. We also loved the fact there was so much additional communal space, which is so helpful when you have a big family like ours.

The kitchen is huge too and really well equipped with everything you need including electric juicers. The villa is right next to an orange grove and our youngest loved finding oranges and making fresh orange juice for everyone (you can buy big bags of oranges for next to nothing)

There is a BBQ area outside that overlooks the orange grove and we spent many happy evenings, BBQing sardines and other local delicacies, whist watching the sun set over the orange grove.

The pool is great too, the little paddling pool works well if you have toddlers (or as a fill up station for super soakers if you have boys like ours who love a water fight!) The pool itself is big enough to do proper lengths in plus perfect for inflatable races! 😉 The surrounding gardens are beautiful, so much so that you could quite happily spend two weeks simply lazing around the pool and find yourself not really wanting to do much else.

That said, we did manage to tear ourselves away from the pool to get to the beach, which is a short stroll away. Our favorite beach was Castelo Beach - it's stunning and like a little piece of paradise! You can hire sunbeds and umbrellas there, but they are quite pricey. Our top tip if you are going to use the beach a lot is to buy one of the big oversized beach mats for about €10-15 (with enough space for all 5 of us to sunbathe) and a beach umbrella - they sell these all over the place in all sorts of designs and worked really well.

We swam most days in the sea - it's cold when you first go in but once you're in its just beautiful. You can hire kayaks, paddle boardspaddleboats with a slide on the back which the kids loved. If you don't want to walk to the beach there is a free car park and Castelo also has a bar on the beach that serves a decent range of snacks and drinks.

There are a number of other beaches and coves within walking to explore. As well as Castelo we visited Evaristo, Sao Rafael and Coelha during our stay - all are clean well equipped and never too crowded. The walk along the cliff tops is stunning but don't try and do it in flip-flops as the ground is quite uneven in places.

Near to the villa there is a well equipped spa supermarket with a little bar attached that all the locals seem to frequent. The traditional custard tarts they bake daily are highly recommended! There is a lovely little Italian restaurant called Bella Piatto, at the top of the road that we visited a number of times, full of character, great food and very reasonably priced.

We also had a meal (without the kids) at Evaristo, a gorgeous seafood restaurant on the beach. It is a beautiful and romantic setting, where you pick out your lobsterfish and they prepare it at your table paired with some fabulous wines. Watching the sunset over the bay, listening to the sound of the waves lapping against the shore, whilst eating delicious fresh lobster... I could go on, it was well worth the end bill, even if it was a tad eyewatering!

We ventured into Albufeira itself a number of times - it's about a 10 minute drive. The old town is beautiful with lots of quaint shops to visit. There is a fairly vibrant nightlife with plenty of buzz to keep