Portugal attractions 

Sunny all year Portugal is a country of many facets and the Costa Verde, Costa de Prata, Lisbon and the Algarve are among the finest regions on the coast. Check out our outstanding selection of coastal Portugal villas and to see what's on in Portugal this year see our holiday events in Portugal 2012. To see what to visit whilst staying in your Portugal villa have a look at our suggested Portugal attractions.

Portugal travel
Travelling to Portugal is relatively easy by air as there are direct flights to Faro (FAO), Lisbon (LIS) and Porto (OPO) airports. The road network is constantly improving.

Flying times to our Portuguese villas.
Portugal is serviced by low cost airlines including Easyjet, Jet2, Ryanair, bmibaby as well as Aer Lingus and TAP.

Flying times to our Portuguese villas in Algarve. Flights from London to Faro (FAO 2 hours and 50 minutes).

Flying time to our Portuguese villas in Lisbon area. Flights from London to Lisbon (LIS 2 hours and 45 minutes).

Flying time to our Portuguese villas in Silver coast and Costa Verde areas. Flights from London to Porto (OPO 2 hours and 20 minutes).

Portugal weather
The climate in the south of Portugal is warm and sunny nearly all year round, with little rainfall. Temperatures get hot during the main school summer holiday months of July and August. On the west coast of Portugal the climate is lovely and warm from May to September with more rainfall than the south.

Portugal time
Portugal time is the same as Greenwich Mean Time as it is in the Western European Time Zone (WET).

Portugal food and drink
Perhaps less well known for its culinary prowess than other prominent European countries Portugal is none the less a real gastronomic centre with Lisbon at the heart of it.

Eating out in Portugal
When on holiday in Portugal the chances are you will eat out in a restaurant overlooking the sea and that is one of the great charms of the country. Portugal is a great seafaring nation and the Portuguese know how to make the best of the fruit of the sea. Restaurants in Portugal are often charming and the prices reasonable too.

Portugal holiday books to read
Night train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercer is an intriguing recent best selling novel which gives a fascinating insight into the old dictatorship regime. Other interesting novels are The Anarchist Banker which Eugenio Lisboa edited and The sin of father Amaro (Carcanet). For an insight into the culture and geography of Portugal Marion Kaplan - The Portuguese: The land and its people is a good place to start.

Films to see before a holiday in Portugal
Perhaps the best known of the films set in Portugal is an old classic; The Boys from Brazil starring Laurence Olivier and Gregory Peck. More recent is the Belle Epoque with Penelope Cruz. The Lisbon story by Wim Wenders is hard to get hold of but much admired by lovers of Lisbon.

Rent a villa in Portugal, what to expect

On the whole linen and towels are provided, included in the price for our rental houses in Portugal. A security deposit is invariably required, this is paid on arrival and returned when you depart. Usually final cleaning is also included and some even have additional cleaning service provided during your stay. Each Portugal villa description details what is and is not included along with the optional extras which can be requested. 

Villa and country house accommodation for school holidays in Portugal
Portuguese school holidays do not always coincide with those in Britain so it is a good idea to take this into account when booking. You can take advantage of very keen prices and good weather to take a stay in Portugal at Easter or Spring bank at the start of the year. Towards the end October half term is also a popular option. If you are free to choose then June and September are just perfect.

Villas, country houses, holiday homes, farm houses, manors and luxury gites in Portugal

Our range in Portugal is nice and varied. The Algarve has mainly recent build villa style accommodation and our usually have beautiful big gardens. On the Atlantic coast there are some nice beach villa and cottage style properties whilst the Lisbon area has some beautiful luxury houses reflecting the areas wealth. Further north around Porto and up the Douro valley the country houses and manors invariably belonged to producers of Porto wine, they are well built and have plenty of character, some being surprisingly modern. Villas Worldwide is one of the leading holiday specialists of villas in Portugal.