Things to do in Carvoeiro - Algarve - Portugal

Activities in the Carvoeiro area

• Tourist train trips:
  
  The tourist train tour around Carvoeiro departs every 40 minutes and runs on a non-stop journey for 30 minutes up to Rocha Prava resort and back.
  The train runs daily from 10.00am to 10.00pm; except Tuesdays and Fridays between 11.00am and 3.00pm.
  It departs from the square at the bottom of the hill, near to the tourist information office. The price is between €3-5.
   
  On Tuesdays and Fridays, the Carvoeiro tourist train takes visitors over to Ferragudo for a tour of the village and leaves 2 hours free to explore. The train departs from Carvoeiro (near the tourist information office again) at 11.00am and returns at 2.00pm. Adult tickets cost €10 and children's tickets cost €8. To book a seat on the tourist train to Ferragudo, book with the driver of the train.

• Diving: Tivoli Almansor Dive Centre, Praia do Carvoeiro, Tel: 282 351 194
                Divers Cove, Praia do Carvoeiro, Tel: 282 356 594

• Golf: 'Pinta', 'Gramacho' and 'Vale de Milho' are the nearest courses

• Tennis: Carvoeiro Clube de Ténis at Mato Serrão, Sesmarias. 
  Tel:282 357 847

• Adega Cooperativa de Lagoa - Wine tasting tours: 
  09:00 – 12:00 and 14:00 – 18:00. 
  Contact details : E.N. 125, Lagoa 8400-901.
  Tel. +351 282 342 181
  Fax +351 282 342 369

• Municipal swimming pool in Lagoa: Opening hours - 
  Monday and Friday - 09h30 -14h30  and16h00 - 21h00
  Tuesday and Thursday - 16h00 - 21h00
  Wednesday - 15h00 - 20h00
  Saturday - 09h00 - 13h00
  Closed Sundays and holidays. 
  (You will need a swimming cap and flipflops for poolside use).

• Aqualand (The Big One): Water park near Alcantarilha. Open from 26th May to 12th September (2008) 10.00h to 18.00h

• Santa Bernarda Pirate Ship trip to the caves from Portimão, Tel: 282 422 791 
  More information about Santa Bernarda Pirate Ship trips
   
• Dolphin watching (Praia da Rocha): Contact SeaLife,Tel: 919 919 200

Areas of interest in and around Carvoeiro

• Carvoeiro cliff tops, 'algares' and Cabo de Carvoeiro:
  The cliff tops around Carvoeiro offer plenty of scope for walking and some great views. You may also come across some 'algares' which are holes in the cliff where the sea has eaten it away from underneath - there are some near the lighthouse at Cabo de Carvoeiro - luckily they are fenced around, but it just shows how fragile the cliffs can be.
  
  

Churches in the Carvoeiro area

• Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Encarnação ( 'Our Lady of the Incarnation'): Carvoeira - inside the remains of the 17th century fort.
  
  

• Igreja Matriz in Lagoa: It was very badly damaged in 1755. After it was rebuilt it still retained a manueline door and the baroque altars from the 16th century.
   
  

• Igreja Matriz in Estombar: It has been classified as a national monument. It was built on a hill overlooking the village in the middle of the 16th century and is reputedly one of the best examples of manueline architecture to be seen in the barlovento region of the Algarve.

• Igreja Matriz in Porches: Originated in 16th century, but reduced to a ruin after 1755 and was rebuilt at the end of the 19th century. 

Galleries and Museums in the Carvoeiro area

• Galeria de Arte: Escadinhas Povo do Burro, nº 2, Praia de Carvoeiro

• Galeria Maré d'Arte: Rua do Casino, nº 54 r/c A, Carvoeiro

• Galeri Greenhil: Rua da Liberdade , nº 86, Lagoa
  
  

Historical remains in the Carvoeiro area

• Fort of  Nossa Senhora da Conceição: The remains of the 17th century fort on the cliffs above Carvoeiro - built to defend the area from raiding corsairs.
  
  

• Forte de São João do Arade at Ferragudo: Began life in the 15th century as a lookout tower protecting the Arade estuary and was extended in 17th/18th century. At the beginning of the 20th century it was turned into a home on the initiative of the poet, Coelho Carvalho. It is now privately owned.
  
  

• Other historical remains in the Ferragudo area are those of Atalaia and Quinta da Torre which were medieval watchtowers to give warning of attacks by pirates and corsairs.