Quarteira

Quarteira is a coastal city in the Algarve region of Portugal.

Understand
Quarteira (/kwɐɾˈtejɾɐ/, kwahr-TAY-ruh), a civil parish of Loulé, has almost 22,000 people (2011). The civil parish includes the resort area of Vilamoura.

By bus
For buses from and to local nearby towns and cities, checkout the timetables of the local transport company Eva Bus.

By plane

 * Faro Airport near Faro. From there, interchange at the Faro bus station.

By taxi
Get in at Faro Airport and its very easy to get a taxi for around €23-€27 to Quarteira and the journey takes around 20 minutes. You can book a taxi before you travel as well. All you have to do is look on the Faro Airport webpage and book from several recommended companies. You can pay when you book or when you arrive at the airport. The driver will have a sign with your name on it in arrivals. There are also some car hire companies at the airport.

By train
While there are no trains to Quarteira itself, both regional and long-distance trains call at a station just a few kilometers inland, halfway between Quarteira and the town of Loulé. There are connecting buses from the station to the city centre.



Get around
Quarteira is pretty easy to get around. A few hotels are close to all amenities and there is a bus and taxi stop in the centre of town if you want to visit other places. A taxi to neighbouring Vilamoura, a very popular upmarket resort, costs around €4-5. There are also car hire companies in Quarteira if you want to hire a car and drive around the Algarve.

See


There is a wide, clean beach in Quarteira with clean water. There is also a nice promenade, and an aqua show for families nearby.

Vilamoura

 * The museum of Cerro da Vila in the centre of Vilamoura
 * Marina – The Vilamoura's Marina is one of the most prestigious centres of leisure in the Algarve. Restaurants, cafés, and leisure and sporting structures.
 * An area with in the western part of Vilamoura is listed by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area, as it is an important site for Porphyrio porphyrio, and 20 other bird species during reproductive season, as well as an important number of transaharian passerines.
 * An area with in the western part of Vilamoura is listed by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area, as it is an important site for Porphyrio porphyrio, and 20 other bird species during reproductive season, as well as an important number of transaharian passerines.

Do

 * You can book a cruise for a few hours a day for as little as €15 a person. A travel agent is located near Quarteira Sol Hotel. You can also book them in Vilamoura.
 * Play golf at the town's five golf courses.



Buy
There are a lot of shops in Quarteira selling touristy stuff and a lot of traditional Portuguese embroidered stuff. Quarteira is also the place to go for fish as the local fishermen bring in fresh produce everyday. Quarteira is pretty cheap but if you have more exclusive tastes go to Vilamoura for all the designer shops. Quarteira has a weekly gypsy market on Wednesday that is superb. There is also a great local produce market (also on Wednesday) selling fish, fruit, vegetables, etc.

Eat
There are a lot of restaurants and snack bars in Quarteira for all budgets. There are many places selling traditional Portuguese food and a lot of English food can be found in the restaurants along the promenade.

In Vilamoura, most restaurants are in the Marina area. There is a wide variety of foods available, from traditional Portuguese to Thai.



Drink
Lots of English and Portuguese bars around. Several bars and clubs in the Vilamoura Marina area. Sete Cafe attracts footballers. The Irish bar has a live band most nights and gets busy after 11PM. Close by is the Atlantic Bar with a show every night except Sundays.



Sleep
There are lots of hotels in Quarteira all very near amenities and very close to the beach. They are pretty affordable too.