Day: May 9, 2011

Medieval Days and Knights in Portugal

Medieval Days and Knights in Portugal

During August Bank Holiday weekend, the castle at Castro Marim on the Algarve, Portugal, returns to the medieval ages, recreating all the pomp and circumstance of that era in a spectacular four-day festival.

Although it’s only 40 miles from Faro airport, Castro Marim is considered off the beaten tourist track. Overlooked by the impressive historic Castle, the town of Castro Marim was originally founded by the Romans as a seaport. However, it is now some three miles from the coast and the land in between now largely features a salt marsh nature reserve. The historic castle, where most of the festival takes place, stands above the tranquil, whitewashed town and is a memorable place to visit – either to watch the festival or as part of a longer break in Portugal.

The Feira Medieval de Castro Marim starts with a fanciful parade through the streets led by the king and queen, who are accompanied by their colourful Court consisting of noblemen, ladies, musicians, stilt-walkers, jesters and a handful of knights in shining armour. Once the noisy procession is complete the fun starts, featuring jousting tournaments and street theatre performances based loosely on the medieval ages. You have to hand it to the locals: dressing up in full armour at the height of summer takes some resilience and pluck! The show that they put on is truly memorable and they like to include visitors in the proceedings; so if you attend watch out, you may well become part of the show!

As with most of the Algarve, there are plenty of quality fish restaurants in Castro Marim and many friendly bars, making it a great place to visit if you wish to chill out. The residents are very friendly and welcoming and you will revel in their hospitality. But, if you fancy combining your festival experience with a few days lazing on the beach, you’d be better off travelling to one of the Algarve’s better-known resorts, such as Albufeira or Villanova further west. You may even wish to drive farther afield and take in the historic capital of Lisbon, further up the northern coast of Portugal.

Thankfully, cheap car hire in Portugal is plentiful and easy to organise; many car rental companies will let you pick up your car at Faro airport when you arrive, from where the Algarve is your oyster. Indeed, car rental in Portugal is even more essential if you are organising your own holiday break, as you won’t want to rely on public transport. It can be hit or miss on the Algarve and the freedom to travel wherever you want if very important in a country that has so much to offer.

Group Tour Travel Options

Group Tour Travel Options

Are tour groups for you? You’re moving ahead with your trip planning. You’ve decided where you want to go. Now you need to come to grips with how you’re going to get your hotels, get around, see the sights. So I guess the next decision in your trip planning is… do you want to join a tour group or be an independent traveler.

Both options have pros and cons. If you choose to take a group tour, your hotels will be taken care of, as will your transportation during the tour. Depending on the package, most meals will probably be taken care of too, so you won’t be looking for a restaurant. Air fare to and from your destination may or may not be included.

All of this can make it easy on you for trip planning; you don’t need to worry about making reservations or finding hotels and restaurants on the road. You don’t need to worry about that foreign language, though that is truthfully not usually a problem.

You will be traveling with a group of people. If group size is important to you, be sure to check on that. Again depending on the operator and package it can range from 10 or 12 people all the way up to a bus full of about 45 to 50 people. That can make it fun, or it can slow things down as you’re waiting for everyone to get up in the morning and get on the bus. You’ll probably see all the highlights, but you won’t be able to get into small venues that can’t accommodate big groups.

You won’t be lonely… you’ll have your group to interact with. That can insulate you some from interacting with locals, but some group tours introduce you to locals or even get you into ceremonies or places that independent travelers don’t have access to. And hopefully you’ll have knowledgeable tour guides who can teach you about the area… something that independent travelers might miss.

Tours can be an economical way to travel. Tour operators get good prices on hotels and transportation. But if you want to sleep in and the tour is moving on… you’ll just have to get up and get going. You might learn things you wouldn’t have learned otherwise…. and if you’re a first time traveler, one of the things you might learn is that you don’t need a group tour.

Sometimes that first tour group experience is more than worth it… it can give you the confidence to travel independently. And if you learn that you like the company you’re traveling with, and you like group travel… you’ve come up with a great shortcut for your trip planning in the future…. just find more of their tours that you like and you’ll soon be traveling the world.