Make sure that you bring GOOD walking shoes. The streets are cobbled and rolling/steep sections in parts. I recall one street being known as Cardiac street as it went down to the beach area.

The Old town of Albufeira is really the interesting and historical part of the city whereas The Strip area is loaded with hotels, restaurants & shopping.

There are many side trips offered through the hotels - I enjoyed the Coach Tour to Seville, Spain plus three other day bus tours to various areas of the Algarve. It really depends on your interests, I would suggest that you review these tours early in your holiday and book ahead. Some people think that they save money by taking the small mini-bus tours but I had heard that some of these were not up to snuff whereas the coach tours had a tour guide accompany you throughout the tours...Bottom line, you get what you pay for.

Portugal was one of our top holidays and we are considering returning in the near future..

Enjoy, Dave