Ria Formosa, Portugal
Looking for advice from anyone who has stayed at this site regarding the use of barbecues on the pitches. The CC says in it's info on the site that they are not allowed on the pitches but this is not mentioned on the site's website. These days barbecue can mean anything from a charcoal device to an electric or gas grill and I just wondered what interpretation is used by the site. We tend to use our gas Weber a lot on holiday and because it uses the caravan's gas it is not feasible to use it in a separate area. Any info much appreciated.
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I think that if you book through the Club you get a double pitch anyway.
Nora
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It's 5 years since we visited and back then there were spare pitches so you could 'spread' a bit into an adjacent vacant pitch - some campers staying longer would pay for two pitches.
Pity about the salt flats route to Tavira. The road to Tavira ( 125) is infamous for accidents! However, the train will take you to all stops up and down the line from Santa Antonia to Faro. The express bus is expensive and is meant for local commuters. The train passes the camp site.
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I’d just like to put my two-penn’orth.
We’re on this site at the moment. Booked and paid for two weeks, through the Club, as the reviews are so good. We got here yesterday and are leaving over the weekend. We’ve got a double pitch so have gone on sideways. Loads of vans are hanging over the walkway because the pitches are so short. The toilets and showers are awful and the restaurant is mediocre to say the least.
Nora
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It's a pity that you've had to cut your stay short by the current conditions. Five years ago when things were a lot quieter, the size of pitches didn't matter ( See my last photo: our 6 metre van just fits on the pitch). We used to go to the Postworkers Union site at Olhao ( pronounced 'all yawn') but it got too crowded and everyone moved to the then new site. Maybe the whole Spain and Portugal in Winter thing has had its day!
We also liked the municipal site at Monte Gordo although it was a bit sandy.
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Chasncath, I think we’re going to have to agree to differ. Monte Gordo sounds similar to Albufeira but the reviews are terrible.
The weather is nothing to do with our opinion of Ria Formosa. Our van is 7 metres and we’re parked sideways, only a few feet from the next one. Facilities are horrendous.
Nora
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"The weather is nothing to do with our opinion of Ria Formosa" - by 'conditions' I was referring to the site, not the weather.
Ria Formosa was only a third full when we used to go in February and that meant the toilets could cope and there was space to spread out. The only downside was a German on a corner plot whose parrot wouldn't stop talking or singing! He seemed to be there every time we visited.
The wifi was awful, I must admit, but free
ps Here's a photo of the EHU at Monte Gordo. The site was run down a bit, but cheap, and just across the road from the beach.
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Nora,
Please would you be more specific about "horrendous"?. It doesnt say much. We are heading for this site later this year, away from high season though. Reviews we have read seem all good, the last one only weeks ago, what has happened recently to change all this?
What did they say at camp reception when you complained and left early?
Would appreciate your detailed reply, as we may wish to cancel if the site has gone downhill in the last few months. We were aware of the small pitches.
Thanks.
Peter C.
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The toilets and showers were clean and the toilets had seats but no paper. The showers were so small you had to get into the shower area to open the doors (inwards) and the showers themselves had hot water on a hit and miss basis. A couple of hooks but hard to keep clothes and towels dry. One morning the person next door’s shower water was not only flowing into my cubicle but was flowing out under my door. The floors got soaked and you had to mop up before you went in. There was loads of space outside the cubicles so why they built such tiny showers beats me. The whole facilities block could do with a complete overhaul.
The site was full, so not sure what it would be like in high season. The units were very close together, in some instances only a couple of feet and there were vans and towing hitches across the walkways, which was why we decided to park sideways. We were still only about 4 feet from the van in the next row.. I do have photos but can’t work out how to change the size on my iPad to uploads them.
The site is very impersonal and people walked around with their heads down and avoided eye contact.The restaurant is nice inside but the food wasn’t cheap and wasn’t very good.
We walked down to Cabanas, which is about 20 minutes along a main road or through a very tatty estate, and it was deserted and scruffy. The station is close to the site and trains run about every hour or two in each direction along the coast. We just missed one and the next one wasn’t for a hour and a half.
The reviews and photos of the site were why we went so we were very disappointed.
Nobody was the slightest bit interested in why we were leaving.
Nora
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Apparently they don’t get the money until you’ve been. They told us we should contact the C&CC, who we’d booked with and had paid, as our contract is with them, not the site. I’m guessing the site will get 3 nights fees and the C&CC will get the other 11. We just learn a lesson. I’ve emailed the C&CC and they’re looking into it 🤔.
Nora
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We’d actually paid for the fortnight in full, not a deposit. We’ve heard that some sites will refund you so we’re just hoping.
They still hVent finished the spa at Turiscampo!
Nora
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