Vilamoura

If life on one of Europe’s most glamorous waterfronts – in more ways than one – appeals to you, then a holiday villa with a pool at trendy Vilamoura ticks the right boxes.

This perennially popular manicured resort centres on Portugal’s finest marina, lined with shops, bars, restaurants and nightspots, (including an International Casino with glamorous shows) where celebrities are frequently spotted. Chill out on one of the attractive lounge decks and enjoy the lovely views to the marina with its many yachts. Or, if you are looking for some Zen moments, there are Spa & Wellness Centres and a superb three-mile-long sandy beach along which several excellent beach bars and restaurants will offer just the perfect spot for a sunset drink with tasty meal to follow.

History

Vilamoura was created on the grounds of Quinta do Morgado of Quarteira, a farm with 1600 hectares which was acquired by the banker and founder Cupertino de Miranda in the 1960’s. The centre of the development was to be the Marina, around which the resort was to be built. Together with Lusotur, Vilamoura’s management company of the time, building of real estate started in 1966 and the excavations for the Marina began. The first sailboat to enter Vilamoura Marina was the ‘Giralda’ of his Royal Highness the Count of Barcelona, in 1974. Five years later, in 1979, several hotels, apartments and developments had been built and the Marina was already getting busy with its front structures finished, including apartments, restaurants, bars, and shops.

Vilamoura Marina has been awarded the title of “Best Portuguese Marina 2019” by Publituris, at the Portugal Trade Awards for 9 consecutive years, ever since this award was first created. Vilamoura Marina was the pioneer in Portugal and remains the largest marina in Portugal possessing 845 berths, a fully working boatyard, professional sail training centre, a quayside practically surrounding the marina with a diversity of holiday accommodations, restaurants, bars, and shops. Vilamoura Marina has kept growing and developing, in keeping with the changing needs of the market.

Attractions

A wide variety of cruises, big game fishing, dolphin watching trips, cave tours, and water sports are all available from the Marina. Wherever your Vilamoura villa rental is located you will be within a very short driving range of one of the area’s five superb championship golf courses, a tennis and padel club, a riding school, a shooting club, sailing club, and other sports facilities.

The resort presents many routes for walking, running, and cycling and some of those routes are lined with outdoor exercise equipment. Bikes can be hired at various spots.

For culture lovers, there is ‘Cerro da Vila’ – ruins of a Roman Village of Century I BC, right next to the Marina.

Neighbouring Quarteira is famous for its daily bustling fish market and the colourful Wednesday Gipsy Market. Just on the outskirts of Quarteira-Vilamoura the famous waterslide park ‘Aquashow’ is situated, certainly worth a day of good fun!

Affinity Villas offers many more destinations for Algarve villa holidays including Tavira, Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo, Loule, Silves, Porches, Carvoeiro, Ferragudo Alvor and Luz.

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Golf

Play golf or arrange a golf lesson at one of Vilamoura’s five golf courses, drive over to the Vila Sol golf resort or venture out and discover the courses at Vale do Lobo, Quinta do Lago and many other golf courses throughout the Algarve. Click here for more details.

The first Vilamoura course opened back in 1969, which is when the Vilamoura Golf Club was established too and is affectionately known as ‘The Old Course’ because of it being the second oldest golf course in the Algarve. Then there are the Laguna Golf, Millennium Golf, Pinhal Golf and Victoria Golf. All with 18 holes. The Vila Sol resort features 27 holes which are laid out in 3 circuits.

Beach Life

Enjoy a day at one of the beautiful beaches on either side of the Marina. A variety of water sports will keep you busy or hire sunbeds with parasol and just relax. There are several beach bars which serve cool drinks and tasty tapas as well as offering complete lunch/dinner menus and sunset parties.

Affinity Villas’ holiday info package for our clients includes a beach book in which most of the beaches on the Algarve can be found.

Big Game Fishing / Sailing & Boat Trips

A truly unforgettable fishing experience – blue and white marlin, swordfish, tuna, bonito, dorada or you could be hooking a Mako Shark, Blue Shark or Hammerhead Shark! “Catch and Release” is practiced in order to preserve the species. Enjoy the pleasures of sailing aboard the ‘Condor de Vilamoura’ a magnificent replica of an American fishing schooner with 2 masts and 34m in length. Built in Portugal in 1987 specifically for tourism, this ship is ideal for parties and private charters.

Visit the caves, snorkel and lunch on the beach. All of this and more can be booked at the Marina’s quayside at the far end on the right.

Getting Around

Wherever your Vilamoura villa is located you will be within a very short driving distance of one of the area’s four five superb championship golf courses with its club houses and restaurants, the Vilamoura Tennis & Padel Academy and other sports facilities.

Not only the Marina boasts a wide choice of restaurants, bars and shops, explore the other parts of Vilamoura and you will be pleasantly surprised. The international Casino houses a restaurant, dazzling show and busy nightclub. Two other famous nightclubs are to be found just outside Vilamoura, in the direction of Albufeira.

There are many supermarkets in Vilamoura and Quarteira. The town is very well connected by a low fare bus service with many tourists taking the opportunity to travel along the coast to find remote beaches or visit Albufeira, Loulé and Faro for the day. Quarteira offers a lovely long stretch of boulevard lined with good local restaurants and cafés on one side and the beach on the other; a pleasant walking route connects Vilamoura to Quarteira.