Living and birding in the Algarve - where? (2 Viewers)

[hopster]

Hi/Boa tarde

I may soon have the opportunity to fulfil a long-held ambition which I had thought might never happen. To live in the Algarve and enjoy the climate and environment that I like so much as my local area, not as an occasional holiday destination. I may be offered a job in the EU which provides me with a work visa and, I hope, the flexibility to live where I want as long as it is near a good airport and has good internet connectivity.

As well as cycling and swimming in the sea, another set of related activities that I greatly enjoy is birdwatching and general nature observation, hiking and camping. Could any here that either live in the Algarve or know it well guide me towards areas to live that would provide a variety of these opportunities? I would prefer not to be too far from the sea, or from Faro airport as I will need to do international travel for business, but also for the place to be peaceful and not too plagued with traffic and pollution. It would be nice to be within cycling distance of a railway station too - though I realise the line that goes East to West is not exactly up-to-date. These may be conflicting aims!

The area I know best is around Armação de Pêra, Silves and Lagos, but I know for example that the East of the Algarve has sand areas just off the coast which are well known for birdwatching. Perhaps there are some nice places there?

Also, links to any birdwatching, hiking or camping clubs would be very helpful, especially if they have English speaking versions.

Many thanks in advance and obrigado

Michael

 

[kb57]

I recently moved to Tavira and would commend it as a great place to live - although it's not exactly quiet being a bit of a tourist town, it is way quieter than the western Algarve areas you've been to like Lagos, and significantly cheaper. Fuseta and Olhão are cheaper still but a less pretty - all are linked by the rail line. Vila Real do Santo Antonio has access to great birding sites (and Spain!) but is a little further on the train from Faro. There are cycle paths in various states of completion along the coast, and cycling is generally quite popular.

The rail line isn't terrible, 40 minutes to Faro from my local station, and is in the process of being upgraded with electrification - pylons are already in place from Faro to west of Tavira. People put bicycles in the goods compartment at the front of the train.

You will need to complete a few bureaucratic formalities in order to live in Portugal, the most obvious of which I can avoid due to being an EU citizen - hopefully your job will give you right of abode though. Everyone needs a NIF (NI) number in order to open a bank account, rent / buy an apartment, buy a car or do lots of things - if you are coming from UK (EU citizen or not) you will need a fiscal representative in Portugal to do this - you basically use their address until you get a place of your own. Transferring your address from the fiscal representative to your Portugal address will then trigger your inclusion in the Portuguese tax system, the need to get a residence card after three months, and the need to change your driving licence.

 

[hopster]

Thank you very much kb57! Lots of useful and practical information here, I'll need to make notes and check things out.

I'm glad the rail line is being upgraded because when I used it before (a few years ago) it seemed rather old and a bit in need of maintenance, with a timetable that was 'occasional' rather than 'regular'. I remember leaving from the station nearest to Armação de Pêra (Algoz I think) and travelling West to Lagos and East towards Faro and taking my bike with me on the train to explore at the destinations.

Yes I hope my job would provide the work visa/right to stay and good to know about the NIF etc. I have a friend there who is considering renting me a place in Almancil until I get to know the place better, so perhaps she could also be my fiscal representative?

Maybe we can do some birdwatching together if/when I get there!

M

 

[kb57]

Thank you very much kb57! Lots of useful and practical information here, I'll need to make notes and check things out.

I'm glad the rail line is being upgraded because when I used it before (a few years ago) it seemed rather old and a bit in need of maintenance, with a timetable that was 'occasional' rather than 'regular'. I remember leaving from the station nearest to Armação de Pêra (Algoz I think) and travelling West to Lagos and East towards Faro and taking my bike with me on the train to explore at the destinations.

Yes I hope my job would provide the work visa/right to stay and good to know about the NIF etc. I have a friend there who is considering renting me a place in Almancil until I get to know the place better, so perhaps she could also be my fiscal representative?

Maybe we can do some birdwatching together if/when I get there!

M

Anyone who is a Portuguese national can be your fiscal representative - a lady from the estate agent we used did it for us at first, or you could use an accountant. So if she is willing to do it (there are some formal responsibilities attached for her) there is no reason why she couldn't.
Almancil is as good a place as any to start off, centrally located and very convenient for the airport - the wider Loulé area has good birding too, there's a whole list of places in that area I haven't explored yet. Gonçalo Elias' book '100 best birding sites in the Algarve' is worth getting to give you some idea of where to go locally.
When you get settled in I'd be more than happy to meet up for a day's birding - I'm hardly qualified to be a local guide yet though, still finding my way around - unfortunately I do freelance work and spend a lot of time stuck in my apartment writing reports up, but I'm gradually getting to know my local area a bit better.

 

[Gonçalo Elias]

A short note about the railway line: trains are much slower these days than they were 50 years ago.

In the 1970's and 1980's there were several fast trains, which made the entire journey from Lagos to Vila Real in 2h27m, but this is no longer the case, as all trains now stop everywhere and the trip takes three hours. The line will be electrified in the near future but unless they introduce fast trains again, it's unlikely that the journey time gets much shorter.

 

[hopster]

A short note about the railway line: trains are much slower these days than they were 50 years ago.

In the 1970's and 1980's there were several fast trains, which made the entire journey from Lagos to Vila Real in 2h27m, but this is no longer the case, as all trains now stop everywhere and the trip takes three hours. The line will be electrified in the near future but unless they introduce fast trains again, it's unlikely that the journey time gets much shorter.

Interesting.

For me more regular would be more important than faster. I seem to remember one train per hour or maybe even fewer, and even fewer at weekends.

 

[Gonçalo Elias]

The regularity (number of trains per day) is roughly the same as it was 30, 40 or 50 years ago.

Timetables are available here: https://www.cp.pt/StaticFiles/horarios/regional/comboios-regionais-vila-real-s.antonio-lagos.pdf

 

[hopster]

So still one train every two hours quite commonly. I wonder if this will improve with electrification?

 

[Gonçalo Elias]

So still one train every two hours quite commonly. I wonder if this will improve with electrification?

No sure at this point. The main problem with CP is the lack of trains, including electric ones, so even if the line is electrified they won't have enough trains to provide frequent (say hourly) services.

 

[jogresh]

I guess the other factor is supply & demand. The last time I took the train Faro to Lagos in 2017, it wasn't much busier than back in the mid 90s, though the trains were newer but not as full of character! So there may not be enough passengers to pay for more frequent services perhaps. 🤔🤷

 

[kb57]

I use the train quite frequently and it's a well used service - I think a key issue is line capacity - it is only a single line and there are only passing loops at certain stations, so if a train is running late there will sometimes be a long wait to let it pass. I'm not sure either how electrification will help this issue, even if there were sufficient trains, although electric trains I believe can accelerate and slow down more quickly, which might improve speeds a little.
The train is still way better than taking the bus - I had to travel from Tavira to Rio Seco a while back, which is a long way from the nearest station, so took the bus - a direct route on the Faro bus, but around 42 intermediate stops which took well over an hour. Even the express 'Alsa' coach from Tavira to Lagos takes longer than the train (which itself admittedly seems to take forever...).

 

[jogresh]

Just in case this info is useful to anyone: on the return trip (back to Faro airport), I booked on an airport shuttle minibus - from Sagres! Service was brilliant. I booked it from the Hotel Baleiera which was the swankiest hotel within a few hundred metres of my doss house shared apartment. I just wandered over and loitered outside, everyones so chilled i didnt get shooed away. This was well out of season too, mid Nov. 🙂👍🐦