OLHÃO - dive deep into this town that is TRANSFORMING itself

[@algarvelove]

Thanks Nick, we really enjoyed this video, we have had the privilege to live here for the last 14 years and wow have we watched it change in that time. Lots of great information,👌 you have taught us a ton of great things about the history of this magical town. Love Pizza Na Pedra, Indian Hut 1&2, Via e Volta and many more, we haven’t tried Wine Time yet but will do. Thanks for sharing.👌❤️❤️🇵🇹🇵🇹

[@miguelo.]

Currently in Olhao and I agree, its rough, its transforming and you can see the beginning of a makeover Porto-2013-style. Excellent video quality for 2025. You two are hititng your stride and going to bring tons of attention to Algarve. Great show

[@billchivers8925]

We spent about a week in Olhao in March of 2024 and really enjoyed our time there. It's a little quiet but we don't like too much hustle and bustle.

[@susanhighfield3370]

It's one place you can travel to on the train and arrive in the town, rather than miles out of town. I had the best Dorada ever in Olhao and the old area is beautiful.

[@AlgarveAddicts]

Hey Susan. I'm just amazed how quickly it's changing. Maybe it's just me.

[@RobertJones-jv5cc]

I was there in 86' and I loved it! A little rough but my kind of thing. Restaurants on the waterfront cooking chicken in half 55 gallon barrels. A day on Farol where I had a magnificent beach to myself and burned myself to a crisp.

[@AlgarveAddicts]

Hehehe, sounds wonderful! 🤣👍🏼

[@stephengale1692]

Thank you Nick a most enjoyable informative video . The town has a lovely rustic earthy feel about it and am not surprised its popular with ex pats too . The weather , even in December is no big issue either , especially when I look out of my window now and see the snow and rain on the north East coast of England , bleak , and just a 3 hour hop to the Algarve . Look forward to the series

[@AlgarveAddicts]

Yes, we're a lucky lot down here. ☀️

[@beekeeper63]

Great video. I have just added this town to my list when I visit this year. The food scene looks wonderful, and the people seem lovely.

[@jjoel609]

The new series sounds great! I know I will learn so much about my favorite part of the great country of Portugal!

[@AlgarveAddicts]

Me too!

[@DarkAtFour]

Great first episode in the series- have always wondered a) how to pronounce it and b) what it was like- will visit this year. Look forward to learning more in 2025 with the rest of the series. Thanks

[@AlgarveAddicts]

Looking forward to making the rest of the series. It's going to be a blast!

[@arjentdm]

Hi Nick, just returned from the second time to Tavira and Olhao in September and November 2024. Really nice to see your view on this interesting place. And makes me wonder why we are still enduring the horrendous weather in the Netherlands..

[@AlgarveAddicts]

Heheh, if it helps it's raining today in the Algarve!

[@eqyogi]

Enjoyed this one! Thanks 🙏

[@AlgarveAddicts]

You're welcome!

[@aniaw220]

"It only really got going in the ... 17th century" 😂 lol! I wasn't expecting to hear that long ago, but I guess that's Europe for you!

[@AlgarveAddicts]

Yup, a lot of the other places like Loulé, Silves, Lagos and Faro were humming along in the 13th century.

próspero ano novo! very nice, sunrise and all! stay strong. 🤠😎

[@AlgarveAddicts]

Obrigado, egualmente.

[@yikes7607]

The intro was so Miami Vice 😁

[@joaoanjinho8135]

Thanks Nick, great info as usual. Olhão is the best town in Algarve.

[@AlgarveAddicts]

Do you live there, João?

[@joaoanjinho8135]

Not yet! I am still in SA but most of my family live there and its my base when in Portugal. Planning to relocate to Olhão & retire by the end of this year.

[@yuzi8693]

Great video.

[@AlgarveAddicts]

@yuzi8693 thanks Yuzi!

[@yuzi8693]

@@AlgarveAddicts I’ve been watching your channel over one year. It is fantastic ✨we appreciate your efforts ☀️

[@xmaniac99]

Used to live in Olhao, serious drug and alcoholism problem which is visible everywhere and if there is problems the various responsible entities turned out to be utterly useless.

[@AlgarveAddicts]

Yup, that's how it used to be. It's cleaned up a lot! Apparently the road we walked down at night wasn't safe ten years back...

[@michaelthatcher3825]

Great stuff Nick, as usual. The one and only thing that ever put me off about Olhao was the EN125 having to go right through, awful traffic. However, can you imagine how much even better the town will be after the (recently started) bypass is finished?!

[@AlgarveAddicts]

Absolutely, that'll be great! I wonder how long it'll take them, I've been watching Loulé's circular take an awfully long time. However, it's good to see progress!

[@module79l28]

Well, if your problem was the traffic in the EN125, now you can use the A22 (Via do Infante) for free. As of the 1st of January, the e-tolls were abolished in all the ex-SCUT motorways (SCUT = Sem Custos para o UTilizador i.e with no costs to the user). This includes the A4 (from Matosinhos to the spanish border in Quintanilha, Trás-os-Montes), the A13 (from Barquinha to Coimbra), the A13-1 (from the A13 to Condeixa), the A22, the A23 (from Torres Novas to Guarda), the A24 (from Viseu to the galician border in Chaves), the A25 (from Aveiro to the spanish border in Vilar Formoso) and the A28 between Esposende and Porto.

[@michaelthatcher3825]

@@module79l28 Thanks for that but of course I am fully aware of that good news. However, if you want to drive from Faro to Olhao or from Tavira to Olhao you would not go way out to the A22 and back. Some traffic in Olhao will reduce but not much IMO until the bypass is completed. Obrigado.

[@gjmarc]

Nick I agree with your first impression of Olhao... sort of I don't know . We spent 6 nights there in late October, early November and I think that was enough. Our accommodation was in the old part near the Indian Hut 1, beautiful building walking around the narrow streets was nice. The fish market as you mentioned was good and we bought and grilled some fish. The waterfront is nice, but there was just something that put us off about Olhao, can't put my finger on it. For those who enjoy it I am happy you found something.

[@travelinaway2707]

My husband and I spent 2 weeks there last march. We loved many things about olhao but felt the same way. In some areas, the locals don't like tourists and aren't afraid to show it. People let their dogs poop in the streets and having to dodge dog doo on every walk is not nice. One day, when we opened our front door, there was a pile of dog poo directly on the matt. The things we liked outweighed the not nice things. The train is almost in the centre of town so it was easy to escape for the day. The house we stayed in had a beautiful rooftop terrace that we were able to enjoy. The architecture in olhao has a wonderful interesting history.

[@gjmarc]

@@travelinaway2707 I totally agree, one thing that really bothered us was that the locals openly show there dislike of non locals and we are quiet, not obnoxous tourists. The most friendly people were the women in the fish market. Unfortunately when we were there the train strike happened, so maybe they ran or did not.

[@AlgarveAddicts]

Cool, thanks for sharing. How would the locals display their dislike of foreigners?

[@gjmarc]

@@AlgarveAddicts it is just that they look through you as if you are a non entity, even when you try to speak in Portuguese and never smile. We have been to Portugal twice and noticed this so unfortunately it is off our travel list.

[@johnsousa2558]

Portugal communities, like many in different parts of the world, appreciate people who want to integrate into their country. I think Olhao ,maybe, is not like Albufeira and as touristy. Some people require more time to warm up to them, especially in smaller communities, when welcoming outsiders. I experienced the same feelings moving to Canada 🇨🇦 from Portugal 🇵🇹 most of my life.

[@johnsousa2558]

Very interesting video Nick. I enjoyed learning about the history and culture of Olhao. Some smaller towns take more time to warm up to outsiders but if you become their neighbors they will welcome you for real.

[@AlgarveAddicts]

So true!

[@kinslowrainer3982]

I want clam cornmeal! 😋 This new series looks very interesting, and I'm looking forward to it. Do you by any chance remember how cold it was?

[@AlgarveAddicts]

Yup, it was chilly for me, about 10C at night. I'm not much if a foodie, I need to get into it though!

[@kinslowrainer3982]

@@AlgarveAddicts Yeah, 10°C is chilly for me, too. I don't think you have to be a foodie, per se, to make informative videos. A quick shot of a restaurant and the food and a quick description would be interesting, especially for culturally important dishes. But the focus should be on the town/city and the people you are interviewing. For what it's worth, I'm into coffee in a big way. We cook at home a lot, but we're also interested in healthy (and delicious!) restaurant meals. I think you're onto something here with this series.

[@vraymond108]

Indian Hut is great but we have great Indian food in both Tavira and Faro. The trouble for us in Olhão are the nautical facilities. The one marina is extremely expensive for what it is and limited space. Faro is worse and Santo Antonio absurd. We prefer Ayamonte in Spain and to visit the Algarve via ferry and train.

[@AlgarveAddicts]

Ok, what's the difference in pricing for moorings?

[@krisgrotowski2216]

I was in Algarve last October. The weather was awful as it rained almost every day. But that's beside the point. I took Uber from Vilamoura to Tavira and the driver told me that there was one town in the Algarve he hated and that was ... Olhao. I did not ask why as we jumped from one subject to another and now it is bugging me. Any thoughts?

[@AlgarveAddicts]

Probably because of it's rough past, there used to be a lot of drug use and petty theft etc over ten years ago. It feels a whole lot cleaner now, especially down near the river (as I tried to get across in the video).

[@jose_s_bam7938]

There's a saying that goes "Olhão, porta sim, porta não" (literal translation is: Olhão, door yes, door no) that refers to a time where there would be girls with the oldest profession every other door... lol

[@krisgrotowski2216]

@@jose_s_bam7938 Hmm interesting. I had no idea.

[@krisgrotowski2216]

@@AlgarveAddicts Thank you Nick. From your videos Olhao looks like a nice town and the next time I am in Algarve I should see it for myself.

[@higgy1726]

I need help Nick 😂 I want to move in 2027 from the UK I'm just struggling with the very first step to take 😵‍💫 I have emailed through the website and had a brief response I just dont want to keep hitting a brick wall, I need to something to go away and think about and actively start pursuing, love your videos 👍🏼

[@AlgarveAddicts]

Hi there Higgy. What's blocking you? I imagine it would be the visa process? Aaah, I found your enquiry, maybe work in Portugal is the blocker? It's tough to find well paid work down here, you're probably better off thinking about how to create your own business or turn it into a digital (remote) business.

[@higgy1726]

@@AlgarveAddicts yes just a lack of understanding I suppose, maybe I am making harder work of it than necessary, maybe I am too far in advance. For me the stumbling block is what to do first, when to do it and how? Do I need the visa first and to take the risk and just move over and then find work or have the job lined up and then get the visa?

[@higgy1726]

@@AlgarveAddicts I am currently self employed in the UK, very niche business that I would be unsure on how to transfer. I am a narrow boat painter and sign writer, I would love to stay working with boats but I wouldn't know how to go about this,

[@higgy1726]

@@AlgarveAddicts If I were to send you my CV would you be able to offer any support, advice, relevant contacts to help?

[@AlgarveAddicts]

My advice is to come and visit Portugal and to do a scouting trip to fully understand what kind of work you could do here and what the potential revenue you could earn from it. We don't have any narrow boats here so you may need to be rather creative.

[@snertli]

👍

[@teddydavis2339]

I understood her, but the subtitles were in correct. She said the streets are like a labyrinth.

[@AlgarveAddicts]

Aaah, is that what it was. AI did most of it, but I had to correct some of it. Missed that one 👍🏼

[@maxfella]

I visited all the cities in Algarve and Olhao was the most depressing!!!😅

[@AlgarveAddicts]

Hehehe, I love the radical response. Some people love it, others hate it.

[@maxfella]

@AlgarveAddicts it is an honest observation. I did all towns and villages from Lagos to Vila Real De San Antonio and concluded this must be the "bad neighbourhood " of the Algarve! lol No offence to people that live there.