Hotels in the Algarve are expecting a busy weekend as holidaymakers travel to the region to enjoy a short carnival break.
And as the government has allowed public sector employees to take Tuesday off, many will also be taking Monday and making their trip down south a four-day jamboree.
Some hotels in areas like Loulé and Quarteira are almost “completely booked” for this period, reports Diário de Notícias.
The three-star Loulé Jardim Hotel has “85% to 90%” of its rooms taken, while the Pestana Vila Sol in Vilamoura has “80%”.
“This is one of those moments in which there is a tendency to visit the Algarve,” regional tourism boss Desidério Silva told DN, though he said bookings levels won’t go as high as they usually do in Easter.
As the Resident has reported, there are many reasons to visit the Algarve for carnival as a wealth of parties and parades are planned throughout the region. (click here)
“These will be days in which the Algarve will be lively, with more people around and fewer hotels and restaurants closed,” said Silva.
But the Algarve is not the only destination sought by Portuguese.
Many will be travelling to other locations in Portugal, “mainly Madeira and the Azores”.
Popular destinations abroad include Andorra, Spain and France, said Paulo Brehm from the Portuguese association of travel and tourism agencies (APAVT).
