Olhos d'Água

The beautiful quiet small fishing village

The coastline west of Vilamoura is specially striking because impressive orange and cream-coloured cliffs back the long and often relatively deserted stretch of sand known as Praia da Falésia. It stretches almost as far as the village of Olhos d'Água on the eastern side of Albufeira. Olhos d'Água means "eyes of water". It is so called because in the sand among an outcrop of rocks at the end of the beach, where the local fishermen keep their boats, there are springs of fresh water that at low tide do indeed look to the poetically-minded like "eyes".

Topping the Falésia beach on the Vilamoura side of the village are a sprinkling of luxury hotels, including the Sheraton with its famous nine-hole golf course, "Pine Cliffs".

Continuing west from Olhos d'Água there is a choice of inviting beaches - Maria Luísa, Balaia and Santa Eulália. Olhos d'Água itself has grown over the years but the beachfront, with its scattering of restaurants, still retains its original fishing village character and is a quiet and pleasent place to visit.