Golf holidays in Tavira & Monte Rei
Golf holidays in Tavira are perfect for golfers who are looking for a taste of genuine Portugal, based in a real Portuguese town, where life goes on long after the tourists have left. Tavira is a quiet seaside/riverside town with an active river port and operational fishing industry: those looking for non-stop nightlife would be better trying elsewhere. However, if you want to play some great golf courses, eat and sleep well, a Tavira golf holiday is just the ticket.
The town's location is ideal for the half-a-dozen golf courses on the eastern Algarve. There is also a good selection of Spanish courses just over the border (well worth taking the trip to El Rompido to play their South course), plus you can be at Vilmoura in half-an-hour, where there are at least a dozen more courses: spoilt for choice!
Tavira - golf courses
Tavira golf courses are in good supply all around the town, so you will not have to stray too far for a game!
The closest, and best value courses, in the area are the twins of Quinta da Ria, which has a wonderful stretch of holes along the coast and Quinta de Cime on the inland side where you thread your way through gnarled olive groves.
One of the original Golf Clubs on the Algarve is to be found at Benamor encircling the old chapel. This is a great fun course with a delightful variety of holes fitted into some tricky landscape, the designer did well. It has a strong membership too - both local and ex-pat - that gives it a cosy 'Club' feel.
The giant in the hills is to be found up at Monte Rei. This is a new luxury golf and apartment complex that rolls so far around the wild hillsides that buggies are necessary (and included in your Green-fee). It is an amazing piece of golf architecture - worth saving up for!
There is also a Seve Ballesteros course lurking near the border with Spain at Quinta do Vale. Very much a game of two halves, with a flat (and watery) front-nine and a hilly back-nine.
And if those aren't enough for you, there are more Golf Clubs lying just over the border in Spain; El Rompido and Costa Esuri for example, plus all of the Vilamoura courses are in range too!
Tavira - where to stay
Golfers who wish to experience a taste of the real Portugal in between rounds will be in their element in Tavira. The town has a couple of very good hotels to choose from. We recommend the Vila Galé Tavira as the best place for comfortable rooms and strollability to the bars and restaurants in town. It also has a large courtyard swimming pool and plenty of spaces in its underground car park.
If you are looking for a more intimate and luxurious hotel in Tavira then the Pousada is a fabulous spot. An old convent in the centre of town where you will be looked after in some style and very well fed and watered too!
For a resort-based or self-catering style golfbreak there are the luxury apartments up at Monte Rei. Monte Rei is an exclusive development in the hills just above Tavira. A little isolated but it has everything on-site for an escapist golf holiday in the Algarve sunshine - including of course, 18 of the finest holes to be found in Portugal (with another 18 rumoured).
The villas at Monte Rei are clustered around a big pool and spa area and are nicely spaced to engender a feeling of privacy , indeed many have their own pools as well. The big benefit of staying at Monte Rei however is the substantially reduced Green-fee on their course, which, we can assure you, is well worth playing more than once!
Tavira - around and about
Tavira grew up round fishing, particulaly Tuna fishing to which profession their is a small museum to visit. The town straddles the estuary of the Gilão river, allowing small fishing boats to land their catch almost in the town square - you don't get fresher than that! And when it comes to dining out, the local restaurants certainly make the most of it.
As always we shall send you our list of tried-and-tested restaurant recommendations along with your tickets.
Getting to Tavira
Getting to your golf holiday in Tavira could hardly be any easier with so many flights to Faro - the gateway to the Algarve. We can arrange flights for you if you wish or are equally happy to let you book these yourselves if you prefer? We can arrange a hire-car for the duration of your holiday, or we have a very reliable coach and minibus company that we use if you prefer to be chauffeured from golf course to golf course around Tavira. Just remember to turn the other way on exiting Faro airport, when the crowds head West for Vilamoura and the other busy golf resorts such as Vale do Lobo, Quinta do Lago and Penina.
