Balaia Golf Village: a guest's guide to the resort

Balaia Golf Village is a low-rise resort on the clifftop stretch of coast east of Albufeira, in the parish of Olhos de Água. It is set back from the road behind its own gates, with apartments and villas spread among pines, cork oaks and gardens rather than stacked in blocks. Two beaches, Maria Luísa and Santa Eulália, are a walk away through the grounds, and the rest of the Algarve is a short drive: the old town and marina of Albufeira in one direction, the fishing village of Olhos de Água and the red cliffs of Falésia in the other.

Families with small children get the most out of it: no through traffic, a pool a short walk from the door, a playground under the cork oaks and beaches you can reach on foot. Golfers have nine holes and a driving range on site and more than thirty Algarve courses within an hour. From October to April the resort turns quiet and the coast path comes into its own, which is when walkers and longer stays make the most sense. Couples find the gardens and the balcony evenings; what nobody gets is nightlife, because there is none inside the resort, and that is exactly the point.

This page tells you what does not change. What does change, and what makes a week here good rather than fine, we put in a private guide that opens the day before check-in: a plan for each day built from the forecast, the wind and the tides; our own picks for eating out along the coast; the resort's current opening times and prices; and the small things we have learned from staying here ourselves. It is part of what you get when you book with us, and it is not published anywhere else.