FAQs
How far is the nearest airport from Number42?
Faro airport is 15 kilometres from the property and is less than a 15 minute drive away .It is easy to pick up a taxi or an Uber at the airport if you are not hiring a car. Seville airport is a two hour drive away and Lisbon airport is within a two and a half hour drive from the property.
What is parking like?
Number42 is in the old part of Olhão so the streets around are narrow. Though parking is unrestricted around the property we leave that to the locals and we generally park in a car park which is 5 minutes’ walk from the property.
Are there good restaurants and bars in Olhão?
The restaurants in Olhão are numerous and many are exceptional. Within a 5 minutes’ walk from the property there are 30 or 40 restaurants and numerous cafes and bars. Olhão is renowned throughout Portugal for its fresh fish and shellfish.
How do you access the beaches?
Olhão is the point of access to three idyllic islands (all car free) with miles of amazing sandy beaches. Some beaches have facilities and relaxed restaurants and cafes but it is not difficult to find places where it is just you and the odd seagull. Ferries ply to and fro on a regular basis and there are also water taxis. The nearest island is 15 minutes ride in a ferry or a 5 minute hop in a water taxi. If you want to drive to a beach then within 20 minutes you will reach Fuseta beach and Faro beach and within half an hour there are many other beautiful beaches all along the east of the Algarve. Less than half an hour away is Barril beach where a small train takes you through the Ria to an island beach with several restaurants in an exceptional setting.
What is the shopping like?
Olhão has lots of quirky shops to browse in as does Faro and it is 20 minutes drive to the Designer Outlet Algarve where the dedicated shopper could spends many happy hours.
Where are the nearest supermarkets and food shops.
On the sea front ,a 3 minute walk from the house, are two market buildings designed by Gustave Eiffel. One contains the fresh fish market which is a tourist destination in itself and the other is packed with fresh vegetables and cheese and meat shops. There are numerous supermarkets around Olhão and there is a large supermarket within a 5 minute walk and other smaller shops nearby.
What day trips would you suggest?
As a change from the beaches and restaurants you could do a tour of the salt pans and see how they make the finest salt (fleur de sal) in the same way as it was done in Roman times. You can combine that with a mud bath in the salt pools which are said to be very good for the skin. Another possibility is a tour of a nearby olive oil farm where they make several types of olive oil (which we love) which have won many international awards. Take a walk through the salt pans or through the nearby Ria Formosa natural park and watch the birds where you will probably see flamingos among many other species. A trip to the old town of faro and a tour round its cathedral is a pleasant outing. Go in the afternoon and have sunset drinks on Faro beach or in the rooftop bar at hotel Faro.