Marina de Albufeira — Attraction in Albufeira

Intriguing architecture ensemble, in post-modernist style by portuguese architect Tomás Taveira, Master Plan by Sidónio Pardal. The Marina has the particularity of having been dug in a valley and feels landlocked within hills. The open sea cannot be seen from the public places, and most probably not even from the top floor of the houses that surround it, which is uncommon for marinas worldwide. Activity happens along the main Alameda, with everyday commerce ducked in the arcade; and along the northern edge of the harbour, with restaurants, cafes, bars, outdoor sitting, entertainment, amusement park type of activities and boat tour booths. The whole set tries to bring in the Albufeira downtown party feeling to the marina, and aims at the same British partying crowd (more pubs and bars than elegant french cuisine restaurants). Sometimes, the old fashion quaint interior design feels at odds with the festive and abstract architecture. One may hire boat services here to see the shore caves along the Algarve coast. The whole project feels cut off and isolated from the city and large empty plots surround the marina, apparently waiting for future investment that seems to be taking longer than expected. Pedestrian stairs up the hill link back to the town center, but consider the distance and the inclination before doing it. Besides a small church crowning the Alameda, it is, for now, a suburban theme park hidden in a valley on the western edge of the town...

Very professional nice safe marina, for boats, for marine oriented people. Fortunately, the marina atmosphere is not spoiled by fancy jewelers and designer clothes and other kitsch or superfluous shops that ruin the marine atmosphere. Cars of owners are parked away in a safe underground garage of the marina, which is really good and does not spoil the marina ambiance. However, the car park deserves max one star rating: it is designed for micro cars only. You should not have a large car. And the lighting of the garage is a catastrophe too. The architect of this underground parking should be punished by requesting him to park his car every day here ☹. But this is not a review of the car parking, but of the marina, which deserves five stars. The marina offers safe storage of boats, away from tourists. It is clean, and offers good local basic services, cheap technical maintenance of boats. For major works you need to navigate to the...

Well appointed Marina and the place to go if you are looking to do anything on or around the water whilst you are in Albufeira.

The Marina is square shaped and you can walk around 3 sides of it, I saw quite a few runners and joggers whilst here so it's flat accessible terrain seemed to make it a perfect location for anyone trying to clock up some miles.

All along the side of the Marina are shops (Spar) numerous restaurants and cafes and an indoor arcade play area offering bowling.

What I was there for was fishing, there seemed to be an endless amount of boat trips on offer from fishing to sightseeing to yachts and catamarans, to jetskis and power boats. There seemed to be something for everyone.

Id suggest in the summer opting for an early morning trip when the sun isn't as powerful

Highly recommend dropping down here whilst...