What's it like to live in Albufeira, Portugal during the off-season?

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Have plans to travel to Albufeira soon? You might want to book a wine tasting or tour at one of the 3 wineries on our post chrisplusmelissa.com/portugal-wine-tour-3-vineyards-to-visit-in-the-algarve-region/ or make reservations for one of these romantic restaurants: chrisplusmelissa.com/where-to-eat-in-albufeira/ .

[@lynetterodgers2000]

A Lagosteira in Olhos D'a Agua is amazing for seafood. I used to rep for a British holiday company and held welcome meetings there. Portuguese food is fabulous. Can't wait to be back in 6 weeks....

[@StrongDinamitexX]

albufeira>>>

[@tacianapessoa3890]

My boyfriend and I are moving to Albufeira and this video was wonderful for understanding what we want. A quiet city, with things to do, but without the stress of a capital city. Thanks a lot!! We loved your energy :)

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Glad it was helpful!

[@LuisaPlantierMartins]

If I may, I am Portuguese and your lovely town of Albufeira is pronounced.... Al boo fay rra (roll the r on the tongue)... ENJOY! 😉🏖

[@michaelw3090]

Apolonia has a lot of good stuff... but is about the most expensive supermarket in Portugal. You have a tremendous choice of other places, try them out and compare. Don't forget the local markets for the best and freshest vegetabels, fruit and fish. Have fun !

[@Atimatimukti]

I totally agree. I was shocked last time I went to Algarve and saw those prices. Just for foreigners.and rich ones. And the quality is not even better. Local fresh markets are the best

[@stephanie7679]

I am enjoying your videos! You have talked more about grocery stores (in the differences video too) than other videos I have watched - this is such an untapped topic. You should do a grocery store deep dive! We are heading to Porto for a month very soon, are vegan, and I have been spending time on the store websites that are near our rental. 😊

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Hi! Thank you for watching. I have a feeling we may do more grocery store stuff as Melissa adapts to her new requirements.

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Hi Stephanie -- Melissa here. I'll have more vegan restaurant recommendations for Porto soon, but one I can for sure share is Zenith Cafe. They have a fantastic brunch!. Feel free to PM us on our IG or FB in case we don't have any posts or videos out about it before your trip. Happy Travels!

[@pamelalambe1356]

Nice video. Headed over there in November.

[@chrisplusmelissa]

How lovely! If you happen to dine at Paper Moon and see Miguel, please tell him hi from us. We sure do miss him and his fabulous wine recommendations.

[@DLFH]

Such a great POV of a so far our experiences collection.

[@Team__King]

What a likeable couple ❤️

[@helderguerreiro]

Great video! I took note of the restaurants that you mentioned in Albufeira. I go the Algarve and even to the municipality of Albufeira quite often, but I avoid the center and Oura, mainly in the high season. In 3 months time you will start finding why 😚

[@MrGman2804]

As a Brit aged 60 about to retire to the Algarve, and having visited the place many times since childhood, I will be interested in your channel. I am surprised the humidity creates an issue, but I usually go between March and October when it is hotter and drier. I am sure you are correct, I just had never noticed it, but as the climate is influenced by the atlantic, that makes sense.... Since you made this video, you have now been through a 'high season'. As with all nationalities, you get all different types. All I will say is the sort of person that goes on a package holiday and wants to go to 'The strip' or even the more lively parts of Albufeira Old Town... just avoid them. They are often noisy, poorly educated and drink too much. Just avoid this. There are still many areas you can go even in high season to avoid this crowd. You have probably found these places by now, but if you have not yet been to Loule, I would highly recommend it. It is a lovely town slightly inland. Very pretty and very civilised.

[@chrisplusmelissa]

We are now up in Porto experiencing life up here. We did make it to Loule for the big carnival. We made a video on it in fact. Thank you for watching.

[@hapoise1965]

You must try "nosso franguinho" best frango da Guia near Albufeira.

[@Jon_FM]

Having lived in the UK I believe that there are issues. Friends of mine used to tell me that the mentality they see a lot is that once people are away from their home it is like hey this is not our place go wild. Which is especially typical in places where they are seen as party places (like Fort Lauderdale)

[@melissalopes6492]

Thank you for the great info

[@basementstudio7574]

My wife and I will be there in July. We'll keep an eye out for you and say Ola if we see you.

[@kateevansnomadicwriter]

Glad to found your channel. Did I miss this: What months are the off season? Also, I clicked on the link for Nice Rent, but sadly it doesn't include rentals out of Lisbon or Sintra, which is what I need and then we are going to drive through the Algarve from there. If you have a link for another, I'd love it. Obrigada!

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Off season would be the winter months. Oct - March. Unfortunately, we have no other recommendations for car rentals.

[@artificialartist2]

Great video!

[@kathleenmathews6096]

Laughed about you showing up early at a restaurant and staff was eating. That happened to us in Madrid and we were shooed out. We did go back later and had a fabulous meal.

[@danielfernandes532]

I remember a friend (who used to tout with the restaurant menu in Albufeira) telling me that the restaurant owner would always have the staff have food/drinks before the customers would be welcomed in and I thought that was very interesting & thoughtful of the owner. Happy staff, happy customers

[@tozecunha2026]

albufeira é um lago criado !... Temos algumas e grandes em Portugal A maior é o grande lago de Alqueva, Castelo de Bode...

[@indigohoss9014]

Chris & Melissa, amazing content ! Canadian here, planning to move to Portugal for few at least 1 year to experience a new culture + self-discovery. Still on the research process and figuring out what city/lifestyle would work best for me, and Albufeira is in my top 3 cities. Thank you for your practical/valuable information, I had to pull out my my notebook ! I had a question, how convenient would you say it is to navigate Albufeira without a car ? If you are centrally located can you get by without one ? Granted I will need to use taxi every now and then but overall would you recommend not having a car, especially for longer term stay ? Thank you again & Keep up the great work. 🙏

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Thank you for the kind words and sorry about the delay... we're trekking across the USA at the moment. As for transportation in Albufiera without a car... I do think it depends on where you live. I would say it's more common to have a car. There is certainly Uber and Bolt available. I know there are busses, but we never used them. Also, we were actually in Sesmarias, so a car was necessary for us.

[@MrGman2804]

As a frequent visitor to Albufeira, I would say the public transport is not that good. There is no train station in Albufeira, but there are some buses. If you find somewhere to live within 1km of 'Albufeira Shopping', and you are fit, you could probably get by most of the time with a cycle, but be aware, the drivers are a bit haphazard.... I am planning to love there and live without a car and use and electric scooter, cycle, and periodically hire a car. Buying a car in Portugal is extremely expensive. That is why they have so many old cars.

[@joseoliveira3691]

Looks beautiful

[@rebecahenderson6926]

Awesome video! From what company did you guys rent your house with? Tks🤩

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Here's the place we rented from: www.algarprime.com/

[@JPVNG67]

if you want to go to Portugal and not know what is Portugal, go to Albufeira lol :)

[@kswaiz]

Can you share prices for the house and car rental?

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Hi. Thank you for watching and for your questions. We've recently begun to add some pricing info in our video descriptions.

[@taniapalmeiro9607]

Learn this: In Portugal for every meeting, every prescription, every everything is necessary an appointment.

[@tonyclemens4213]

My wife and I are planning on being here February 2024.

[@jose36839]

Go to Golfinho restaurant, they have the best clams👌

[@taniapalmeiro9607]

Portuguese culture is known for being one of the most delicious gastronomies in the world. Food plus beverages.

[@shepgreenberg7659]

That's a spectacular home.....room for visitors from New Jersey??......lol

[@donnacosta5633]

May I ask you a question? Have you noticed many hotels closed during the winter in Albufeira or in other areas of the Algarve?

[@chrisplusmelissa]

We actually did not look. Not sure if they do or not. The only hotel we spent time around was the W because of the Paper Moon and the health club.

[@erickarnell]

Do you plan to carry the dehumidifier and filter with you to your future locations?

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Yes.

[@estranhokonsta]

@@chrisplusmelissa A tip if you want to avoid humidity. Go to the interior of Portugal. Avoid coastal or "river towns". The alternative, which is possibly better, is to bring the dehumidifier with you. The truth is that avoiding locations instead of managing them does not give oneself the best life experience.

[@WendyParker-lf8tq]

So what are you allergic to, humidity?

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Melissa reacts to mold it seems. But she's been doing better since figuring out there were a bunch of foods she was consuming that she was allergic to.

[@davidduca8421]

Can't just all be party techno music

[@judyandmikemalone5336]

Great video

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Hey! We know you guys! :D Thank you for watching.

[@Frankygoestohull1]

Hey guys nice vids .. here are some tips in Portuguese pronunciation. “Ei” as in albufeira is always pronounced as “ay” . U is pronounced “oooh” so albufeira would phonetically sound like AL- BOO- FAY- RUH.

[@Frankygoestohull1]

The R is pronounced like a Scottish R and not an American retroflex

[@rogerhardy6306]

Thanks for these videos, I enjoy the low-key and straight-forward presentation...so different from the usual hyper-histrionics on KZbin! I suspect you'll hate the high season in Albufeira; it attracts the 'wrong' kind of tourist (sorry to be snobby) because of the preponderance of package-tourist hotels etc. You'll probably want to stay away from 'the strip' in summer...it's party town and there are drunks and drug dealers everywhere. Really not nice....can be somewhat violent as well. The police go around in pairs. The old town is still nice. While you're there, get in your car and drive west to the area around Carvoeiro and Ferragudo. Carvoeiro gets very busy in summer but is a family-friendly place. Ferragudo is less busy and, like Carvoeiro, has no high-rise hotels and is still a proper Portuguese fishing village...it still functions in the winter! Ferragudo and Tavira are probably the nicest towns in the Algarve. Re dehumidifiers; they are expensive to run and electricity in Portugal is costly. When looking for a house for winter, maybe chose one with German underfloor heating. Most houses don't have central heating, of course. Mould is a common problem but you can treat it with 'anti-bolores' spray but the best way is to ensure good ventilation...try to open the windows every day even in winter.

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Thank you for the nice words. We've heard the warnings about high season... and we won't be spending time there during that time. (We're already on the move.) However, we do intend to check out a day or two just to see what it's like in high season.

[@SpacedOdyssey]

So we have just spent 10 days over Christmas 2023 in Albufeira. We were here 20 years ago and decided to come back to see what it's Like. The Old Town is a Real Dump. Just full of crappy Sports bars with more TV screens than Currys all showing FOOTBALL and Belting Out loud music, and full of Fat Old Brits, probably seeking a change from Benidorm. The STRIP at the far end of Town is half mile of the same crap. Albufeira is just a modern sprawling mass of apartments and Hotels. It's so bland that you could be anywhere in Europe, why anyone would come here is beyond me, as there are many other parts of the Algarve and Portugal that are much nicer But when Spain has so much culture and Food and History we will probably give this a miss

[@anibalvalente3017]

Chris n Melissa, i love your videos, but once again, you 2 now are living in Albufeira, please learn how to pronounce it correctly, it's AL_BOO_PHEI_RA*. Its so disrectful when foreignours go to Portugal and can't even pronounce ''POOR_TU_GAL'', not Porchugul. I'm impressed you both pronounced Algarve correctly.....I STILL LOVE YOUR VIDEOS n i'm so jealous in Newark NJ.....LOL

[@chrisplusmelissa]

We'll keep working at it. Pronouncing English words properly is hard enough for me. Portuguese is on another level. :D

[@pedroramalho121]

It's very confusing the way they say Albufeira, but the one that kill me was the way Mellissa says O Marinheiro, it was very funny. but i love the videos, and they're really fun, and don't worry, there are English people who live in the Algarve for decades and only know how to say good morning, and even then badly.

[@estranhokonsta]

@@chrisplusmelissa Hey don't mind those guys and their pedantry. It is not disrespectful in any way. It is great if you try (and it will only be an advantage for you in the long run) but you are not portuguese so keep it natural and take it slow. A new language is not learned in one sitting as if one was consuming a fast food meal. The fact is that we have that habit of nitpicking about "correct language" between ourselves (you probably also have something similar in your country) but it is only usually reserved to us tugas. Those guys are pushing the boundaries but i think they come from an essentially good place.

[@joaorosado7106]

they are just a couple who have been in Portugal for a very short time, without friends or Portuguese references to help them pronounce words better. I don't think it's disrespectful. when i speak English, for them, must sound the same way

[@anibalvalente3017]

@@joaorosado7106 I agree w/ you, but they're many American couples living in ''PORCHUGUL'' and making money on YT videos. Stay Classy Vlog are the best example. Amelie n Joen have been living in ''PORCHUGUL'' for 10 years n have the most YT followers, out of these American couples trying to make a dime from PORTUGAL.