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A
holiday in Portugal or Madeira ensures visitors can bask
in the sunshine at the western edge of the Iberian
peninsular. Overall, Portugal and Madeira offer scenic
landscapes, excellent shopping, restaurants, sporting
activities and historic monuments. Most holidaymakers
would associate a holiday in Portugal with the sandy
beaches and rocky coves of the Algarve, but travel to
the north of the country and you'll discover a well-kept
secret of rural landscapes and a traditional way of life
and two excellent cities to explore � Lisbon and Porto.
Portugal�s coastline runs the length of its
Mediterranean coast and has a sunny climate and mild
winter temperatures, making it a popular year-round
holiday destination. It has been called a playground for
the rich and famous and it is easy to see why this
fashionable region attracts visitors from all over the
world. There are lovely sandy beaches, rocky coves,
marinas, cobbled streets, gypsy markets, watersports and
world-famous golf courses. There are also plenty of
pretty villages steeped in tradition are worth visiting
especially if you happen upon one of their local
festivals. Madeira is located in the Atlantic Ocean off
the Portuguese coast approximately 600 miles from
Portugal�s capital, Lisbon. The dramatic landscapes and
lush vegetation on the island make for a memorable
holiday and it is a popular choice for couples. It is
unspoilt and full of traditional charm and at the same
time a Madeira holiday offers a relaxed atmosphere and
friendly welcome. The standard of living in Madeira is
high and this is reflected in the local products it has
on offer. The island itself is actually the top of an
underwater mountain, formed in an ancient eruption. It
possesses some of the steepest cliffs in the world and
the rich volcanic soil has produced an incredibly
diverse and colourful flora, giving it the nickname "the
floating garden". Flights from the UK take about 3 hours
30 minutes. The average flight time is 2 hours 45
minutes to Portugal and 3 hours 30 minutes to Madeira.
Lowcostholidays.com offers a wide range of cheap
holidays to Portugal and Madeira available to book
online so you too can enjoy this wonderful area. Search
for a cheap Portuguese or Madeira hotel within certain
dates using our site search facility or use the link
below to view the full listing of all our Portugal and
Madeira holidays.
Portugal & Madeira Hotels
We have a wide range of cheap Portugal and Madeira
holidays to suit families, couples, groups and sun
seekers. Whether you are looking for self catering
accommodation, apartments, bed and breakfast hotels, or
a half board or All Inclusive package holiday in
Portugal or Madeira, we have the perfect Portuguese or
Madeira holiday for you. Combine our cheap hotels and
flights to create outstanding value Portugal or Madeira
package holidays. Book a cheap holiday to the Portugal
and Madeira with Lowcostholidays and have enough money
left to enjoy the following:
RESORTS
Lowcostholidays.com features all the popular
destinations in the area.
Portugal
: Albufeira - famed for its beaches, entertainment and
its nightlife. Vilamoura - features a wide choice of
accommodation and is bursting with sporting and leisure
facilities for the whole family. Praia de Rocha - a
sweeping bay with excellent conditions for water sports
and a cosmopolitan feel. Lagos - surrounded by some of
Portugal�s best beaches and has a marina and plenty of
historic buildings. Quarteria - located next door to the
Vilamoura area and has grown from a fishing village to a
popular resort with a long beach, promenade and plenty
of shops and restaurants. Tavira - one of the most
architecturally attractive towns and is a quiet and
relaxing area. Almancil - famous for its pottery and is
closeness to the popular resorts of Quinta do Lago and
Vale do Lobo. Estoril - has blue flag beaches, great
shopping, wining and dining. Cascais - near to Estoril
and is a charming area with great beaches. Faro - a
modern, lively city with attractive shopping precincts,
good restaurants and a frenetic nightlife. Portimao -
with fine sandy beaches framed with cliffs and rocks and
offering a cosmopolitan atmosphere. Lisbon - is the
Portuguese capital and full of historical points of
interest, shops, cafes, bars and restaurants..
Madeira
: Funchal � a modern city and a unique area which can be
explored on foot. Canico � is a quiet option suited to
those who appreciate rural beauty. The town centre has a
varied offer of restaurants and shops and a pretty
Baroque church. Machico � has a great beach and
excellent facilities for swimming and sunbathing. Porto
Santo � a separate island off the coast of Madeira with
9km of beach ideal for a relaxing holiday. Ribeira Brava
� a small town on the south west coast with many street
cafes and shops. Santo de Serra � excellent golf and
attractive surroundings..
BEACHES
The Algarve has 160 kilometres of sandy coastline
overlooked by red sandstone cliffs so there is never a
shortage of places to sunbathe or take a dip in the sea.
The coast by Faro is particularly popular with off-shore
islands and blue lagoon waters while Praia da Dona Ana
in Lagos has a beautifully secluded beach that is rarely
crowded. The beaches are also popular for water sports.
Madeira has a mountainous terrain and a few small, yet
pretty, beaches offering access to the sea and pleasant
sunbathing areas. Funchal has overcome the general lack
of beaches by building a lido where you can swim.
However you can also take a ferry from Funchal to Porto
Santo where there is approximately 6 miles of unspoilt
coastline with a sandy beach and clean, clear waters.
SHOPPING
The main shopping areas along the Algarve are in Faro's
Rua de Santo Antonio and in Portimao, where you'll find
boutiques, shops and designer goods. Forum Algarve is a
huge mall with over 200 shops and Loul� is ideal for
leather items as well as pretty Portuguese hand-painted
tiles. In Albufeira the main shopping area is the Rua 5
de Outubro where there are plenty of clothes shops.
Locally-made goods are available from local markets,
which appear in most towns on a weekly basis. In
Madeira, Santa Qui�ria is home to the island's largest
shopping complex and with its 83 shops, 20 restaurants
and 7 cinemas it's much more than a just shopping
centre. The centre is decorated with local flowers and
designed to reflect the local traditions, with a
Maderian village at the entrance. The pretty cobbled
streets of Funchal offers shops, shopping centres,
boutiques and high street stores; a real shopper's
paradise.
NIGHTLIFE
Albufeira is the place to find lively bars and
restaurants as well as top nightclubs such as Kiss,
which offers three floors of clubbing heaven where
you'll find house, techno and hip-hop being playing
until dawn on one of the many party nights. Kadoc in
Vilamoura is another hugely-popular venue able to hold
up to 7, 000 clubbers. Nights are lively and long here,
with doors staying open until 7am. Liberto's in
Albufeira is another draw for clubbers as it offers not
only a dance floor, but swimming pool, TV screen, palm
trees and a 'rich and famous' clientele. Praia da
Rocha's main strip has good choice of bars, restaurants
and clubs, including Katedral, a popular disco with a
terrace overlooking the sea where you can catch your
breath in between all that dancing. The rest of the
Algarve has its fair share of bars and restaurants to
spend an evening in, perhaps at a more relaxed pace over
a good meal and glass of wine. For the liveliest
nightlife in Madeira, Funchal is the place to go where
you can enjoy a good selection of restaurants, bars,
clubs and disco's and even a casino. There are
street-side bars to relax with a drink in, trendy clubs
to dance the night away and the sophisticated air will
make the experience a real pleasure. Elsewhere on the
island you can expect to spend the evening enjoying a
glass of local wine and a good meal, all in great
Maderian surroundings.
INFORMATION
Language: Portuguese with English widely spoken
Currency: Euro
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