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.

Get in

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 (FAO ^IATA) 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.

• 1 Loulé railway station (Estação Ferroviária de Loulé). (updated Dec 2022)

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

A view of Vilamoura, its marina and luxury hotels

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

1 Vilamoura (on the west side of the town). One of the largest single tourist complexes in Europe and with about 2,000 hectares of land. Vilamoura has the largest marina in Portugal with 845 berths, two beaches, a lawn bowling club with two grass greens, a tennis centre, a sports club, a shooting club, 5-star and 4-star hotels, tourist apartments, self-catering villas, night clubs, an international casino, and an excellent riding school.  

• 2 Roman ruins of Cerro da Vila (Ruínas Romanas do Cerro da Vila) (1500 m west of Quarteira). These are the ruins of Roman villa constituted by two residences (the principal along the harbour), baths, necropolis, dams and fish salting stations. Of the two residences and baths, the only remnants are compartmentalized walls, including the impluvium, atrium and tablinum. There are friezes of marble and fragments of painted stucco that decorated the walls, as well as the remains of poly-chromatic mosaic pavements. Two rectangular tanks serve the fish salting "buildings". The necropole includes the remains of mausoleums and burial tombs. The interpretive centre of these ruins allows their visitors to discover the everyday life of the ancient Algarve inhabitants, as well as to explore the silos from the Islamic period, the foundations of a funeral tower and the docks from the Roman Period.  
• 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 271 hectares (670 acres) 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.
• Aquashow, Quarteira. One of the best water parks in the Algarve, has something for every member of the family, including the highest freefall slide in Europe! There is an area dedicated to children with small slides, fountains, and shallow waters ideal for young visitors, there are also many tubes and slides to satisfy those who are looking for adrenaline. The water park is located near Quarteira a short drive from the resorts of Albufeira, Loulé, Vilamoura, Vale do Lobo and Quinta do Lago. On your visit make time to experience the water roller coaster - unpredictable for anyone looking for adrenaline and be sure to visit non-water activities including the theme park for all ages and can even swim with the sea lions!. (updated May 2019)

• 1 7Seven Spa. 

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.

• 1 Kiosk Fortuna Vilamoura, Avenida Tivoli, Edificio Via Marina, Vilamoura (just before McDonald's), ☏ +351 289 314 056, kiosk.vilamoura@invilamoura.com. M W Th 10:00–18:00, Tu F 10:00–19:00, Sa 10:00–13:00, closed Su. Souvenir shop with Vilamoura t-shirts, fridge magnets and other typical Portuguese crafts. (updated May 2021)

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.

• 1 Restaurante Diplomático, Rua 25 de Abril, ☏ +351 916 293 149, restaurantediplomatico@gmail.com. Tu–Sa 12:00–15:00 & 18:30–23:00. French cuisine made with Algarve-sourced ingredients. Mid-range. (updated Jun 2021)

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.

• 1 Hole in One, Marina de Vilamoura, info@holeinonepub.com. Sports bar with a golf theme and live music. 

Sleep

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

• 1 As Cascatas Golf Resort & Spa, Rua do Brasil, Lote 4.11.1, Vilamoura, ☏ +351 912 176 934, reservas@ascascatasvilamoura.com. Check-in: 16:00, check-out: 10:00. Five-star, 69-room full service, self-catering suites. €98-362. 
• 2 Dom Jose Beach Hotel, Avenida Infante Sagres 143, ☏ +351 289 310 210, reservas@hoteldomjose.com. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Three-star, 154-room beachfront hotel with swimming pool, restaurant, bar, fitness centre, and meeting rooms. €45-159. (updated Jun 2021)
• 3 Pestana Vila Sol, Morgadinhos, Vilamoura, ☏ +351 289 320 320, reservas.portugal@pestana.com. Check-in: 16:00, check-out: 11:00. Five-star, 189-room hotel with two swimming pools, fitness centre, jacuzzi, and bar. €74-182.