Half-Day Tour Silves & Monchique Finest

We absolutely loved our excursion to Silves and Monchique and it was a perfect way to experience a more authentic Algarve.

Our tour guide Al was very knowledgeable and drove us through the scenic routes to get to our destination, which was very appreciated. We passed through plenty of farms - oranges, avocado, and sugar snap were a few of the things we saw growing - Al even broke us off a sugar snap each.

We spent less time in Silves than we were expecting but it was still enough time to explore the local castle with some beautiful panoramic views.

The highlight of the tour for us was on the drive from Silves to Mount Foia, in which we stopped off for a freshly picked orange (the best orange we’ve ever tasted!), saw cork trees, and had a little taster session in a local firewater distillery.

These little detours added a touch of sincerity to the trip, and made the view from the top all the more worth it. We also had a very cheap lunch in Monchique with our fellow tour-goers which was a lovely end to the tour.

I would highly recommend this tour to anyone seeking a day trip during their time in Albufeira!

This was a really enjoyable tour. We were a small group of 5 passengers and the driver/guide. We set off first from Albufeira to Silves in a small minibus where our guide stopped on route to see the town from a nice viewing spot. We had a 30 minute stop to see the castle and cathedral from the outside, though this was not enough time if you wished to take a look inside. We then headed up in the mountains towards Monchique. Our local guide spoke good English and explained about the forest fires in recent years and the various lemon, orange, almond, avocado and cork trees we passed on route. Some amazing views as we headed up in the mountains. We then stopped to try local oranges which were delicious, and then another stop where we sampled some local Medronho (fruit brandy) and honey. Final stop was top of Mount Foia. As we were lucky with the weather we could see the Algarve coast up to Portimao / Lagos. Views were truly stunning though quite windy here as expected. We visited a few local craft and souvenir shops at Mount Foia then headed back to Albulfeira early afternoon. On route we stopped again to see the stork nests and our guide shared some great knowledge of the places we passed through. In hindsight a full day tour to the same locations would be better though a half day tour still good value and worth doing if restricted for time. Was nice to see the 'real' Portugal away from mains towns and beaches and a nice way to end our holiday.

The Tour was all that I had expected and more. I was originally signed up for the half day tour but was upgraded to the full day tour because of not enough people. I really was very happy to see these additional sites. Absolutely beautiful!!! Benny was a great tour guide and made the tour very enjoyable.