Portugal

Marcos Neto

Dear Maria and Marcos
We had a lvely stay in your house. The garden ande roofterras is fantastic. We had also great weather.

Thank you
xxx Elisabeth van Zantvliet



Casa da Mãe

Netherlands

Couple from Sint Michielsgestel, Netherlands

We stayed there for a week at the end of May 2017. For us it was a little paradise! An enclosed garden where our toddlers can roam free, orange trees that supplied us with endless amount of orange juice. The garden in in two parts, half is beautifully landscape and half is an orchard with all sorts of trees to provide some fruits all year round. The house itself has well equipped kitchen, a large bathroom,good size lounge and bedrooms. The terrace is large, part undercover. We ate and spent the evening there listening to crickets, peacocks, cats and dogs and enjoying our wine
The area is very peaceful countryside. There is a small but well stocked village shop just up the road where you can get all necessities. the nearest restaurant is right by Ria Farmosa pretty much straight down towards the sea. It is walking distance but not nearby.We had bikes and cycled to Tavira, Moncarapacho, Santo Elvadao, Fuzeta. At times we had to push them up the steeper hills but it was part of the fun. 
Marco, the owner has a restaurant in Tavira which is very good. We didn't need to contact them but his mum popped in a few times to tidy the orchard.We can't wait to go back!

Casa Campo Velha

United Kingdom

Family from Hadleigh, United Kingdom

great place to stay looking forward to returning next year if available

Flat Ria Formosa

Couple from Bognor Regis, United Kingdom

Perfect location to commute to local beaches and shops. Short travel time to airport. Marcos and his mother are very helpful. Roof terrace is large with views of the sea. You'll need a car to get about. There's no air con,so you'll need the fan on at nights. Marcos provided some chlorine for the Pool,but it really needs a total refill after first week of use. But,the beaches are great,so we ended up going to them instead. 6 min drive and your there. The BBQ is perfect as the fish and meat market in Tavira is fantastic. My wife and I had a great holiday. 

Couple from Wimborne Minster, United Kingdom

Good clean villa and the owner was accommodating of our 5 month old by letting us check in Early and providing us with a cot which was great!! However the property is in the middle of nowhere which was lovely and peaceful but made it a nightmare to find, the directions online are not great and also couldn't walk to anything not even a shop for water or a restaurant. The villa advertised a converted pool from an irrigation tank online, do not be misled by this. As we arrived it was being filled via a hose from untreated water. There is no filter so within hours the pool is filthy and has a layer of slime on the top-no safe place for anyone really let alone a 5 month old!! be aware if you don't like animals, we did but lots of cats and dogs from the farm are in the back garden and the villa often! On a positive note Maria who looks after the property is lovely although no English and checked in on us frequently. The property also boasts a great roof terrace where you can watch the sun go down at night which was lovely.

Family from Reading , United Kingdom

This is an ideal villa to get away from it all, which was what we intended. A car is an absolute necessity. About 5 miles from the nearest beach and town of any size. The plus side is the quiet privacy of this villa. Not a downside as such, but I think the owners should consider wi-fi, or some sort of internet connection for this day and age. A very enjoyable break, and would have no hesitation to repeat it. Our thanks to Maria for her hospitality, fresh eggs and fruit from the garden.

Couple from Tiverton, United Kingdom

We stayed at the Casa de Mae for 10 days in August 2014. A family of 6 (including a 6-month old baby) we found it a wonderful base from which to explore the eastern Algarve. It is set in a very rural location but this only adds to the appeal if youre a nature lover like myself looking to get away from the madding crowds.

The house has 2 good-sized double bedrooms equipped with wardrobes and double beds. My three children slept in one of the rooms with the eldest occupying a foldaway bed that had kindly been provided. The owners also supplied a cot on request. 

The house is spacious enough with a huge lounge/dining area and a decent sized kitchen. The satellite tv only worked for one of the nights that we were there but that was a positive as it encouraged my kids to find more constructive ways of filling their spare time. The kitchen is equipped with most things youd require on a self-catering holiday including a very large fridge freezer and a big new washing machine. However two essentials were missing, a kettle and a toaster. Theres also a big seating area in the garden and a purpose-built barbeque, as well as a couple of sun beds. There are stairs from the landing leading to the flat rook on which you can dry your clothes or lounge on the other two sun beds there. The views from here are panoramic and in the early evening the breeze is a welcome reprieve from the blistering sun.

The bathroom was clean and spacious enough (plenty of towels and linen provided). However we found the wc and the shower cubicle to be rather on the small side. I cant imagine why this is the case as the bathroom is plenty big enough to accommodate a larger version of each. 

Other than these drawbacks the property is fantastic. If youre looking for authentic Portugal you wont get better than this. The house is located in a small village called Amaro Goncalves, on the road to Moncarapacho. Theres a handful of houses in the village which is slap bang in the middle of an agricultural area producing fruit. The garden of the Casa de Mae (and the land opposite owned by the same family) has trees bearing olives, figs, citrus, bananas and pomegranates. The owner, Maria, lives next door and among her livestock and pets are a brood of hens that lay delicious free range eggs which she let us have free of charge. She will also allow you to pick fresh oranges to squeeze your own juice if you ask her. She is a delightful lady and always ready to help whenever she can, and remarkably patient with my kids who must have annoyed her by endlessly chasing her chickens around the huge garden.

Unfortunately she doesnt speak a word of English (fluent in German though) and the house is managed by her son Marcos, who we did not see but is always accessible over the phone and speaks fluent English.

Casa de Mae is about 15 mins drive from Tavira to the east and this is where we did most of our shopping, mostly for fresh fish and produce in the big local indoor market. There is also the little fishing town of Fuseta which is about 10 mins drive from the house although this has a much smaller outdoor market. The main beaches in the area are all within a half hour drive of the house. And the Spanish border is a 45-minute drive to the east.

I enjoyed the rustic setting of the Casa de Mae and the peace and tranquillity it offers, although the kids and wife said they prefer somewhere a bit busier in the evenings. The only major issue we had with it was the presence of mice dro ppings in some of the lower level kitchen cabinets. Being a bit of country boy it did not faze me (cleaned it up straight away) and we didnt spot a single rodent during our stay. We did point it out to Maria but she didnt seem to grasp the fact that it posed a health risk, especially to children. Marcos, if you are reading this, please get this problem sorted asap. And while youre at it, dont forget to updat e the directions that you give to visitors as theyre very outdated. Some of the landmarks you mention such as the school and bar no longer exist.

I would have absolutely no hesitation in returning to the Casa de Mae or recommending it for families, groups or couples.

Family from Preston, United Kingdom

The property was a lovely, typical Portuguese home with fruit trees overhanging the garden and a little stream running down the side (not accessible from property). Most things were there that you would need on a daily basis although we didnt find a kettle and the toaster tripped the main fuses so we didnt use that again. Having said that it would not put us off staying again at all. We loved the location in a quaint village and felt very welcome by the locals and would defiantly go there again it felt like a home from home.

Susan - Essex

Casa Museu do Fundo

Family from Clacton-on-sea, United Kingdom

Ideal place to stay, very relaxing and quiet, but car is essential, with safe parking off road opposite.
Marcos and his mother Maria made us very welcome and throughout our stay provided help, and answered any question we had.

Couple from Peterborough, United Kingdom

This County house was absolutely perfect. It is in a very quiet location but only a 5 minute drive to the local beach which is absolutely stunning. From the moment we got there both Marcos and his mother Maria were very accomodating and made us feel very welcome. There are free range chickens and turkeys at the back of the property and Marie gave us free range eggs as often as we needed them which were lovely. Also there are fresh oranges if you like to squeeze for fresh juice daily. Tavira town is only a 10-15 minute drive away or in the other direction you can get to Olhao in 15 minutes. The pool is bigger than it looks in the pictures and we used this daily. Also there is a roof top terrace a real sun trap and a lovely place to eat breakfast with some amazing views to the beach. All in all i would definately book again.

Marcos Neto

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