Olhão is in the Algarve.

Understand

Olhão is a major port and actually the largest fishing port in the Algarve. It is full of character with Moorish-style houses, an influence from the commercial links with Africa.

Get around

Buses between Olhao and Faro are fairly frequent on weekdays, not so much so at weekends. Buses stop around 8PM.

See

• Ria Formosa Natural Park
• Ilha da Culatra
• Our Lady of the Rosary Church

Do

In Olhão you have the possibility to enjoy and make the most of Ria Formosa through a boat trip, tours and other activities regarding nature and wildlife you find in the Natural Park:

• Natura Algarve, Avenida da República- Stand 2. (Doca do Recreio de Faro), ☏ +351 918 056 674, info@natura-algarve.com. Open year-round from 9AM-8PM. An ecotourism company in the Algarve that organizes boat trips, birdwatching and other ecotourism activities in the Ria Formosa Nature Park, which are available all year with several daily departures from the towns of Olhão and Faro. 

Buy

• Ria Shopping - in Olhão with 3 floors of shops and restaurants, a cinema, supermarket and children's play area. It's easy to get to (always a bonus!) - just follow the EN125 through the town and it is on the left if you are coming from the Faro side of town. There are lifts and escalators making access simple for everyone.
• Olhão's Market

Eat

The gastronomy of Olhão is bound to be mainly based around fish and seafood. The lagoons of the ilhas provide excellent nurseries for clams (amêijo), cockles (berbigão) and oysters (ostras), and the sea provides an abundance of fresh fish. Olhão was one of the first major canning areas for tuna and sardines and the fishing fleet continue to land their catches every day at the dock.

There are so many ways of preparing the fish and many of the recipes come from the fishermen. Arroz de lingueirão (razor clam risotto), lulas com favas (squid with broad beans), chocos com tinto (cuttlefish in their ink), amêijões (clams) lightly cooked in wine and garlic - the variations are endless!

Desserts are various delicious combinations of almonds, figs, eggs and oranges, whether incorporated in a feather light, moist sponge cake; figs stuffed with almonds; or little sweet marzipan cakes shaped into fruits and vegetables.

Drink

A lot of the wine sold in the Algarve comes from other parts of Portugal (for example from Bairrada in the north, Estremadura near Lisbon and Alentejo) but the Algarve does also produce its own wine, most of which comes from the Lagoa, Portimão and Tavira areas. Most restaurants will only have Portuguese wines on their wine list. The 'house' wine ("vinho da casa") in white ("branco") and red ("tinto") is nearly always a local Portuguese wine and good value. You can also opt for "vinho verde" which is a young 'green' wine, slightly sparkling, light and refreshing and goes very well with fish and chicken dishes, or rosé - Mateus rosé being the best known.

Sleep

• 1 B&B O Tartufo (Bed and Breakfast O Tartufo), Sitio do Gião, 41-H, ☏ +351289791218, otartufobb@gmail.com. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 12PM. The atmosphere at O Tartufo is described by Lonely Planet as 'a creative blend of traditional Moorish with a touch of contemporary hippy'. Our Bed and Breakfast is situated in the tranquil east Algarve of southern Portugal near Moncarapacho and the small village near the ocean, Fuseta. € 70. (updated Jun 2019)