Portugal Stag do/Golf Break HELP

[And29]

Has anyone got some inside knowledge of Resorts and courses in Portugal?

ideally we want to stay at a resort or villa

Pro and cons?
Club hire?or travel with them?

any advice or tip would be great

all pretty decent players from 6-12 hcp

small group no bigger than 8

 

[Fyldewhite]

Can't see beyond Vilamoura for a trip like that. Plenty of courses on the doorstep. No driving as all just a few euro in taxis. Plenty of bars/clubs/restaurants around the marina and Albufeira just down the road if you want lively nightlife. Courses....I'd say Villa Sol, Victoria and the Old course are the best but there are other decent tracks not too far away. Always took my own bats but I believe club hire is very good these days and would certainly consider that.

 

[anotherdouble]

No need for taxis. You get courtesy busses to clubs from hotels

 

[Bobirdie]

I've not been to Portugal golfing but I go to the same resort in Spain every year.
I'd recommend taking your own clubs. £25 each way with jet 2.
I was the only one who took my clubs this year out of 16 of us
The rest hired.
And the shafts were like spaghetti on most of the clubs lol

 

[Break90]

Vilamoura is good, with plenty of choices for golf and nightlife. Went there on a 4 day trip in 2013,2014 and 2015. If you go there I'd recommend the Old Course and the Victoria, didn't enjoy the Faldo course, honourable mention to the Vale de Lobos courses as well.

However I'd also throw Cascais into the mix, fly into Lisbon, about a 40 minute transfer from there. (went there this year)

Big difference between the two IMO is that Vilamoura is 90% groups of British blokes on golf trips.

Cascais completely different, seemed more like a town in a foreign country, whereas Vilamoura could have been a town in the UK when it comes to the nightlife.

Casino 10 mins down the road in Estoril, plenty of restaurants and bars, decent atmosphere everywhere we went.

Having said that, from some of the stories from the youngsters on our trip, there is everything you may be looking for in terms of after hours activities..........

Between the two I'd say Cascais just shades it for me

 

[Mike07]

I'm off to Vilamoura on Thursday with a group of 16 lads. None of us have been before but guessing its the perfect setup for good golf and beers in the evening.

We are playing Vale de lobo Royal, Quinta South and the old course.

 

[Hobbit]

I'm off to Vilamoura on Thursday with a group of 16 lads. None of us have been before but guessing its the perfect setup for good golf and beers in the evening.

We are playing Vale de lobo Royal, Quinta South and the old course.

cracking choice sir! Best book a couple of weeks to dry out too.

 

[Mike07]

cracking choice sir! Best book a couple of weeks to dry out too.

Hmmm... yeah, not looking best at the moment

 

[And29]

Hmmm... yeah, not looking best at the moment

Let me know how you get on

 

[Tashyboy]

Just got back from Vilamoura last Thursday and just loved it. Stayed at
Albuferia last year and much preferred Vilamoura. The marina is an ideal evenings
" bladder session".
we stayed at Four seasons Vilamoura and to be quite frank, although we loved it I would be bogged off if eight stag do lads turned up. However base at the hotel is a couple called Peter and Claire Lester, they specialise in group golf bookings and more importantly accommodation. For the golf courses they were cheaper than anyone in the Marina area, plus if you booked one round with them they could beat any accommodation prices.
Try them on www.lesters-golf.com or lestersgolf@gmail.com

Re courses, Pinhal is a nice steady opener but a lot really does depend on whether you want the wow factor with your courses. If you lot end up on a proper bladder session, then twilight booking may be your answer. Tee off after 2.00pm, it's cheaper, you get a lie in so no early starts, better courses that are cheaper. Back for an evenings entertainment.

good luck me man.

 

[RustyTom]

We go to amendoeira golf resort every year. The courses are beautiful, albiet long and tough and hundreds of bunkers. Cheap as chips, fantastic accomodation on site, unlimited golf, buggies included in price and cheap travel to vilamoura and albufiera.

I also went on a stag do to portugal last year, we stayed in albufiera as thats mainly the party side and then we travelled to vilamoura for a day on the beer then back to albufiera for the evening sesh.

Either way, portugal is a cracking destination for golf and beer.

 

[Senseicads]

Seconded for Amendoeira, really reasonable prices in bar, unlimited golf although buggies in the afternoon were scarce. Buggies not needed on the O'Connor though but definitely needed on the Faldo. Not sure why the Faldo gets so much scorn around these parts but we loved it!! lots of massive tee shots to fairways 50ft below you. Makes even the crappiest shot feel awesome! Facilities were brilliant also. Really was a top notch resort.

 

[The Autumn Wind]

I've played most of the Algarve courses but my favourites are San Lorenzo and Quinta do Lago North which are both stunning. Closely followed by Vilamoura Old, Palmares, QdL South and Vale do Lobo Royal which are all 5 stars too !

And to echo everyone else, Vilamoura is a great resort. So much to do in the evenings, including clubs and a casino.

 

[stevek1969]

went to Vilamoura 2 years ago and was a cracking place ,great bars and the Marina is very nice. Stayed in the Vila Gale Marina which is 2 minutes walk to the pubs, played Pinhal, Laguna and Millennium courses nowt special but great for playing after drinking non stop and a visit to Cats is a must :thup:

 

[The Autumn Wind]

We usually get a villa but this year stayed at The Crowne Plaza hotel in Vilamoura, right on the beach and a 5 minute stroll to the Marina. Only problem was the casino was right next door and was just too tempting on the walk back each night.

 

[Mike07]

Let me know how you get on

We had a great 4 nights although vilamoura is a lot more down market than I first thought!! Hundreds of Irish pubs and not one decent restaurant.

The golf was fantastic. Quinta South was our favourite. Very disappointed with the condition of the old course, needs serious investment.

We were a big group of lads so perfect location.

 

[Tashyboy]

Re resturaunts in Vilamoura, wherever I go I always look on tripadvisor and My Thai which was on the marina front was one of them. Went twice and it was gorgeous.

 

[Mike07]

Re resturaunts in Vilamoura, wherever I go I always look on tripadvisor and My Thai which was on the marina front was one of them. Went twice and it was gorgeous.

thats what we did, but the best rated steakhouse and fish restaurant were terrible! I think the standard at Vilamoura is seriously low, which suprises me given the amount of money in those boats in the marina. I suppose the boat owners go to their villas far away from the Irish pubs, brits abraod and hookers.

 

[CallawayKid]

Another vote for Cascais, I work in the area and there are some splendid courses around there as well as some reasonably priced hotels that cater for chaps that wish to golf and exercise their livers. Downtown Cascais is always good fun, plenty of watering holes and of course steak!

If you do choose it, let me know and I'll point you in the direction of where to go for golf, hotel, food and drink!

CK

 

[woody69]

thats what we did, but the best rated steakhouse and fish restaurant were terrible! I think the standard at Vilamoura is seriously low, which suprises me given the amount of money in those boats in the marina. I suppose the boat owners go to their villas far away from the Irish pubs, brits abraod and hookers.

Portuguese ain't exactly well known for their food. Piri Piri chicken or sardines is about the limit of their specialty. Always disappointed in the food when I go to portugal.