As Andorinhas: Holiday Villa Algarve

06/07/2024

Another blog, this one full of recommendations of, and looking at some of the stunning beaches (and their differences) to visit, either on a day trip from the villa, or if you want to stop off at one or two en-route to or from the airport.

Whether you want a day trip to the beach, or to use the time between your flight and your check-in/out time of your accommodation to visit a beach (what a fantastic start or end to your holiday) here are some ideas of which ones might be worth a visit. The beaches in the Algarve are absolutely stunn...

05/07/2024

Yay, we made it to gaining superhost status on Airbnb! 🎉🎊 Wahoooooo! We look forward to welcoming many more visitors and hopefully helping people to create memories and have a wonderful holiday. Thank you to all our guests who've been patient with us through any bumps on the journey and given us helpful feedback. We value you all.

30/06/2024

As owners of As Andorinhas: a holiday rental villa in Monchique, we've written this blog with the aim of it being informative and helpful, full of interesting facts, and to give ideas, all about this gorgeous, peaceful place, Monchique.

Monchique is one of the most peaceful places in the Algarve, Portugal. It is a gorgeous little town which is worth a visit. As owners of a holiday rental villa in Monchique: As Andorinhas, we've written this blog with the aim of it being informative and helpful, full of interesting facts, and to giv...

25/06/2024

If you (or someone in your family or group) are someone who suffers with anxiety or finds new situations difficult, then going on holiday can be quite a challenge, as much as it may be wanted.

We are aware of the struggle and are always happy to help in any way we can. We can answer as many questions as are helpful and provide a walk through video of the property. I'm also someone who tends to take photos of everything, so if there's anything you want to see (contents of what's in the kitchen for example) it's quite likely I'll have photos I can send you.

Don't suffer in silence, or let it put you off, we're here to help.

19/06/2024

Seeing the clouds beneath me takes my breath away.
Do you like flying?
❤️ = I love it. Get me away from the cold.
👍 = I tolerate it to get to where I want to/need to go.
😬 = Not really, I'd rather holiday somewhere that doesn't involve flying.

18/06/2024

I've been a bit slow in doing it, but next year's dates have now been released and are open for booking.

17/06/2024

Two things that I can never get enough of when visiting Portugal: the vibrant colourful bushes and the endless palm trees everywhere. They make my heart rejoice.

15/06/2024

Zoomarine is one of the best attractions in the Algarve in my opinion because there is such a variety of things to do. It's a mixture between a theme park and a water park. It's near Albufiera and about 45 minutes from the villa.

14/06/2024

Carvoeiro (45 minutes from the villa). More beautiful coastline, sand, sea, watersports, restaurants, nice walks along the top and a vibrant town.

12/06/2024

Beautiful As Andorinhas!

11/06/2024

Today we went to Slide and Splash Waterpark in Lagoa, what a great place! It's only 35 minutes away from the villa and it is fabulous for all ages.
There's another one called Aquashow Waterpark which is 55 minutes away in Quarteira which is meant to be the biggest one in Portugal.
So much fun to be had!

11/06/2024

As the weather wasn't that great (although it got better once out) we ditched our waterpark idea and ended up at Zoo de Lagos (about 35 minutes from the villa). We'd not planned to go here at all but loved it and would definitely recommend it, particularly when the weather isn't so good. It takes about 2 hours to go around and is reasonably priced.

We then drove for 10 minutes to get to Praia de Luz, a gorgeous beach with lots of palm trees. I particularly recommend this beach to non-sand lovers as you can have the beach experience without touching the sand if you want to, with great rocks to scramble along and a wonderful promenade with restaurants along the beach. There's water sports available too.

Lagos also has a brilliant marina with a variety of fantastic boat trips right by a nice town to wander around.

The zoo was a great trip in its own right, but there's plenty to do nearby if you want to combine it with other things.

10/06/2024

Sunny Portugal is not so sunny at present ☁️, so we're very appreciative of the cupboard full of games here to work our way through.

09/06/2024

Stopping off at a couple of beaches on our way to As Andorinhas from the airport.
This one is Praia de Nossa Senhora da Rocha in Porches, nearly an hour from the villa.

09/06/2024

Stopping off at a couple of beaches on our way to As Andorinhas from the airport. A great thing to do if you have some spare time before check-in or after check-out.
This one is Praia de Benagil in Lagoa, 45 minutes away from the villa. It's quite a small beach, the main thing is kayaking and paddle board trips and boat trips taking off from here to go off and look at the stunning caves. There's also a beautiful walk along the top. The sand is quite grainy, so if all you're wanting to do is sunbathe there are probably better beaches to go to. There are also a couple of nice places to eat overlooking the sea.
The shoreline along the Algarve is famous for how beautiful it is. You can see why!

06/04/2024

I love these little glass fish, made by a local artist in Monchique (the local town to the villa). We always bring one home with us.

My father-in-law has a whole fridge full of magnets from places he's been. Such a lovely reminder.

Do you have a certain type of memorabilia you collect from your holidays, what are they?

28/03/2024

The new addition to the villa: a hammock! So exciting. It will live outside, but here is Iain testing it out after having built it/put it together.

07/02/2024

I love it when we get to see these little lizards. They are a novelty coz I don't get to see them in the UK, but not creepy coz they will run a mile to get away from you as quickly as possible.
Would you enjoy seeing one or be freaked out? If you've stayed at the villa did you see any?

05/02/2024

Cosy As Andorinhas!
Why aren't holidays in Portugal in the winter more popular? No, you probably won't go home with a suntan, but the climate in the Algarve is wonderful! It has more than 300 days of sun per year. It has mild weather and the Portuguese winter is more like our (English) spring. The average temperature between January and March is 12-15°C but we usually expect days where it gets up to 18-20°C.
With time away to rest and be restored, such stunning views, some wonderful places to visit, gorgeous beaches, nice weather and a cosy fire, As Andorinhas makes a wonderful holiday destination in the winter too.

13/01/2024

I'm trying to book some times away this weekend.
Have you got anything booked yet? Where are you off to?
I love that excited feeling of finally having booked something after thinking about it for a while. The lead up to it can be stressful with making decisions, doing research etc. It really is all worth it though. Are you a last minute booker or a keen planner?
January can be quite a depressing month so booking something lifts the mood and gives us something to look forward to. Not just holidays but anything really, big or small.
Excitement and good times await us!

28/10/2023

The main holiday season in the Algarve is April until the end of October. But as this draws to a close it still has loads to offer. I've been out of season and it remained fabulous, just in a different way. I've posted this before, but here's the link to a blog I wrote about the pros and cons of a winter holiday in the Algarve:

The Algarve is a popular summer holiday destination, but it can be a fantastic winter holiday option too. There's definitely more to the Algarve than just going home with a suntan (as lovely as that is). Whilst I'd love to sell to you a winter holiday in the Algarve, I'll keep it real with the cons....

18/10/2023

I love this chess set that lives at the villa. I like to think of all the different people that have enjoyed playing it.
Often life is too busy to fit in such things, but the joy of holidays is that you have time.
We have a cupboard full of games and puzzles. When we were setting up the villa we heard other hosts say that it's not worth having them because visitors often don't respect them and bits get lost and broken and left in a mess. We decided we'd take the risk, because we love the wholesomeness of playing games together, and what better place than when you have lots of free time on holiday.
Has there been games available at the places you've been on holidays, and have you enjoyed them? I know they are not for everyone, but many people comment that they've really appreciate them.

05/10/2023

A gorgeous view at As Andorinhas in October.
There's no guarantees of the weather in October, but it's 31 degrees there at the moment. Lush! Meanwhile, here in England I'm freezing!

30/09/2023

Although I'm 44 I still occasionally do things that make me think 'ooooh I'm actually a grown up'. I had one of those moments just now when I received the business cards I'd created. Something I never imagined I'd do.
Excited to have these to be able to give out to people when the occasion arises.

29/09/2023

The swallows checking out their nest after being back from migrating for the winter (this was in March). They are such a delight to watch dancing around the sky.

The villa is named As Andorinhas which means The Swallows. I don't know who named it, but they've obviously been around here for years. We love that we have a swallows nest on the terrace.

Our logo has a swallow in for this reason, also the hills because the villa is halfway up a mountain, and the sunshine, because, hey, Portugal gets 300 days of sunshine a year, wahooo!

25/09/2023

The previous owners have left a photo album of the villa being built in 1987-1989. It's so interesting seeing how it was done and what it's become.

22/07/2023

We now have a BBQ at the villa, wahoo! And a new sun umbrella.

We are always trying to listen to feedback and what people would want to improve the villa.

A hammock and/or a swinging chair looking over the view are the next things on our wish list....hopefully in the not too distant future.

19/07/2023

New blog:

There are lots of different parts to planning a holiday: Deciding where you want to go, finding accommodation, booking transport, sorting out practicalities like insurance, etc. And then comes the fun bit: planning what you're going to do when you're there.

This blog is here to help you with that. It will hopefully give you a taster of what is available.

There really is such a fantastic variety of things to do nearby, hence.....

…..this blog is loooooong, but feel free to read the ones that take your fancy and skip the others.

There are lots of different parts to planning a holiday: Deciding where you want to go, finding accommodation, booking transport, sorting out practicalities like insurance, etc. And then comes the fun bit: planning what you're going to do when you're there. This blog is here to help you with that. I...

09/07/2023

As Andorinhas by night.

30/06/2023

With holiday season upon us I thought I would re-share this blog I wtote. There are always high hopes and expectations for holidays to be a fantastic time and little talk of the realities of the stresses and the normal frustrations that come with being human beings that are still there even on holiday, and maybe even more so. Have a read.

Let's normalise the reality and make some helpful steps to help relieve some of them.

Here's an extract from a post I put on Facebook just after we we got back from the most 'proper' holiday we'd had as a family: ''I can't bring myself to share such wonderful pictures without keeping it real. We had many stressful, upsetting, disappointed moments on this holiday, starting with turnin...