Algarve is almost fully open and, with flights starting to arrive at the beginning of June, the region is gearing up to its long-awaited summer season.
The weather has already changed, with temperatures now around 32ºC most days and the sea is certainly a comfortable temperature to relax and cool off in.
Phase three
Phase three of deconfinement begins on June 1, when the larger shops, shopping centres and cinemas will open. Albeit with certain restrictions in place.
Restaurants and cafés are currently allowed to serve with up to 50% capacity. This should change to full capacity on June 1.
Ryanair and Easyjet are planning to resume flights to Faro, from many northern European airports, on July 1 with TAP already adding additional flights to their long- and short-haul network. British Airways currently flies from the UK daily to Lisbon which has excellent road and rail connections to Algarve.
There are currently a few flights to Faro, check individual websites for confirmation of these.
Beaches
Beaches are open fully on June 6, with certain restrictions in place, as are golf courses.
360 of Portugal’s beaches will be flying the Blue Flag this year, with Algarve yet again holding the most flags (87).
Beaches in the western Algarve holding the flag this year include:
Silves and Lagoa areas: Armação de Pêra, Praia Grande Poente, Vale do Olival, Senhora da Rocha, Vale Centeanes, Carvoeiro, Caneiros and Ferragudo.
Portimão area: Rocha and Marina, Três Castelos, Vau, Alvor Nascente – Três Irmãos andAlvor Poente.
Lagos and Luz areas: Meia Praia, Portode Mós, Luz.
Vila do Bispo area: Almádena – Cabanas Velha and Burgau, Salema, Zavial, Ingrina, Martinhal, Mareta, Tonel, Castelejo, Beliche, Cardoama.
Aljezur area: Arrifana, Monte Clérigo, Amoreira-Mar, Odeceixe-Mar
Testing for Covid-19
Portugal is in the top ten countries of the world for testing per 1,000 people, sourced from Our World In Data. The feeling in the country is now one of positivity moving forward in a safe and controlled manner.
Jorge Branco quotes Dr Filipe Froes (Portugal’s most respected pulmonologist) in The Telegraph, Why Portugal’s Covid-19 test rate is more than double almost every other nation, saying, “… the anti-Covid effort had hinged not just on the rapid government response but on the wider community. From the citizens who stayed home or made PPE for doctors, to the winemakers who started making disinfectant and the factories churning out masks and face shields.
“In the end, this is not a miracle. This is work and organisation. … We follow a strategy. In Portuguese, we say this: ‘If you don’t know where to go, no wind is favourable.’”
Image: ©Bruno Simões | Pixabay