ELTIPS AV R T
There comes an age when every baby discovers their legs, takes off like Usain Bolt and ignores cries to “sit down” – even if Peppa Pig is being used as a plea-bargaining tool.
Welcome to our quandary – how to have a relaxing holiday for mum and dad while entertaining a twoyear-old. Long-haul flights are out of the question. We’re lucky to venture beyond the M25 these days.
But the Algarve, Portugal’s southernmost region, has the huge advantage of being less than a three-hour flight away.
We opted for the family-friendly Martinhal Quinta hotel, in the hope it would provide us with that respite we so desperately sought.
The Martinhal Sagres is the group’s flagship five-star hotel and it’s a 90-minute drive from Faro International airport, on the coast. It has great reviews.
But we chose the smaller four-star Martinhal resort in the picturesque golf resort of Quinta do Lago, mainly because of its proximity to the airport – it’s only 20 minutes away.
We’re not really golf lovers but the plus point of Quinta is that it sits within 2,000 acres of Ria Formosa Natural Park – an area of outstanding natural beauty revered
There’s also Raposinhos kids’ club for children aged six months to eight. When we went, it was so deserted, I didn’t have the heart to leave Ollie by himself with the carers while we were only metres away enjoying the pool.
After two days, cabin fever kicked in and we headed out. The hotel runs a regular shuttle bus and five minutes away is a beautiful, wild sandy stretch called Praia Beach.
You walk across a bridge to reach it and get a good view of Formosa Riv River. We were so impressed and ask asked the hotel to arrange bike hire so we could explore further afield. Th The cycle company, Bikers, delivered SAVE your pennies and don’t bother with hiring a car to get around. The hotel operates a perfectly good shuttle service and there are cheap cabs. MIX in a few nights at Martinhal Sagres if you have longer than five days to spare and your budget can stretch the extra mile. ENJOY a spot of mini-golf with your family as I did one afternoon – golf is what the area is known for, after all. to our door and checked Ollie was safely strapped in. The bike rides were a real highlight for us.
For the next two days we took them out at dawn and dusk and weaved around the wetlands.
Ollie loved pointing out all the incredible birds. It cost around £50 to hire two bikes and the baby seat for two days. Well worth it.
Even though there’s a snazzy Quinta shopping centre ten minutes away with a decent supermarket, the complex has its own mini-mart.
We had a few dinners in the villa, and went to the Martinhal’s own poolside restaurant, M Bar, once or twice. But we also discovered a great restaurant called KoKo Lane just a ten-minute walk away. This place is a gem. It’s very casual. And the real draw is that it has a playground.
By the time we’d polished off a main course, uninterrupted by a toddler for once, Ollie was ready for a big sleep. If you are after more action, hotel recommendations include private boat charters, diving and day trips to a waterpark called Zoomarine.
We definitely plumped for the right destination. I’ve been proved wrong – you can have a relaxing break with a toddler. FACTFILE: A two-bed townhouse at Martinhal Quinta costs from £129 a night and can easily fit a family of four. Monarch, easyJet and BA all run direct flights from the UK to Faro, with prices for Monarch from £29.