the honest writer and rater is back after a long absence!!!!
the honest writer and rater is back after a long absence!!!!
Member since:16.01.2001
Reviews:69
Members who trust:80
I visited Ponte De Lima, in the North of Portugal last month; what a delight.
The area is untouched by tourism, there are no hotels. I stayed in a rented mansion house which was obviously once used by a vinyard and land owner.
Luckily for me, the week i was there, there was a heatwave and the weather was over 100 degrees every day!! I was fortunate that the house in which i was staying had a swimming pool!!
The surrounding area is agricultural, with plenty of vinyards and farms.
The local delicacy is Boiled Rice cooked in Chickens Blood, however the weird thing was that you couldnt find anywhere to eat that served chicken itself.
Food and Wine is extremely cheap compared to England; a meal for 11 people including 4 bottles of wine and desserts cost about £50!
The main town itself is beautiful;it is situated on a river, which has a beautiful beach and plenty of quaint little village type shops which sell everything from designer clothes to cattle food and guns!! There are no big shops nearby though, so to do a big food shop entails a trip to the nearest 'big' town - Vianna.
There is not much in terms of nightlife, you would have to go into Vianna De Castella which is about 1/2 hours drive away, or go into Porto, which is about 1 1/2 hours away!!
To visit this area also requires a hire car!! Public transport is very limited, but it is very cheap!! If you decide to hire a car or moped beware - Portuguese roads are hazardous compared to England!!!! It is normal for drivers to do 70 on tiny little winding roads, overtake on blind spots and bends and leave very little space between yourself and whoever is behind you - they define the term tailgating!!!!
Go to Ponte De Lima, you'll have a wonderful holiday!! I travelled with Air Portugal (TAP) who have nice airy modern little planes (747's) The mansion house was hired from a company called Something Special. They provided excellent customer service and quality of accommodation. They also proved to be extremely good value for money; with an amazing house, two cars hired and flights working out to around £350 per person (11 of us went altogether)
You're comment is very good, but I must correct some points (sorry...).
The nearest big city is called Viana do Castelo and it is only 20 minutes away drive, there are plenty of buses that go from Ponte de Lima to Viana and these costs somtjing like 50p. Otherwise, taxis run all night, and are laso very cheap compared to England.
Night life in Viana is very good, there are lots of nightclubs which are open all night and bars which close at 2pm. This is if you go during the summer. The beach's are all extremely clean and regulated. Most have a life-guard. Also, if you go in the week around the 20th of August there is a huge festival that lasts a week. There are parades, street netertainement, etc. Combined with 5 minutes away rural settings and plenty of good cheap wine.
You can stay at top hotels for as litle as 80 per night with all included.
Overall, a wonderful place to visit.
Pumpkin 03.07.2001 20:00
Very interesting. I've only ever been to the Algarve, but would like to see some more of Portugal. Think I'd steer clear of the local dish though! Hannah :o)
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