| Overview | Things to do | Suitability | Country Info (Portugal) |
 |
Tavira has a pleasant setting on an estuary of the Ségua river at the foot of a hill girded by the remains of ramparts built by King Dinis. The Roman bridge and Moorish walls testify to the town's long history. In the past Tavira was an important centre for tuna and today continues some of its fishing activities. The local beach is an offshore bar. The town has 37 churches.
Tavira, to the east of Faro in the south-east corner of Portugal, is one of the most photogenic towns along the Algarve coast, sporting white-washed houses topped with decorative chimneys and pyramid shaped Roman-tiled roofs, set among orange, fig and almond trees. Although tourism is now the main industry, the resort is still a working fishing village with a compact old centre, and more modern development has largely kept to the resort outskirts. The rest of the area is rural and largely unspoilt, bounded to the SW by the Ria Formosa Nature Reserve and by the tiny, charming fishing village of Cabanas to the E. The accommodation is mainly second-class self-catering accommodation, either villas or in large complexes farther away from the resort. In the outlying areas a few 4-star hotels can be found. This area suits travellers from the economy to mid-market range,generally self-catering beach holidays. Locality: Towards the SE corner of Portugal, 20 mls E of Faro and its airport. Straddling both sides of the mouth of the River Gilao, in fairly flat terrain with mud flats and sand bars along the coastline. |
