Portugal is known for it's famous beaches in the Algarve and hills in Lisbon and Porto so it may not be the number one choice as a holiday destination for wheelchair users. However we like a challenge and decided to explore Portugal by train starting in Faro, then heading up to Lisbon and finishing in Porto.
Journey
Our flight to Faro was from East Midlands Airport which we travelled to by train and then we caught the Skylink Bus from Derby Train Station. We have found this is the cheapest option to get us to the airport and costs around £10 each.
When we arrived in Faro we travelled by bus to a stop that was close to our hotel which took 30 minutes. We found the bus stop we needed to travel from outside the airport using Google Maps, we use this a lot when abroad to find stops and times.
Transport
As Faro is a small city we didn't need to take any public transport to get around. The pavements are made of small Portuguese tiles so are mostly smooth to use.
Stay
We stayed at the Best Western Hotel Dom Bernardo, bed and breakfast. The hotel is a bit dated but it was a budget hotel and we were only staying for 2 nights. The wheelchair accessible entrance is at the back of the hotel and the pavement to get to it isn't very smooth, there is also a steep incline up to get to the back entrance which would be impossible to navigate independently.
I had requested an 'accessible room' but didn't stipulate I needed an accessible shower as well so unfortunately our room wasn't ideal for us. I have a small manual wheelchair so I was just about able to move around the room.
The breakfast area is in the basement and there is a very short and steep ramp to get down to it which I don't think would be suitable for those in powered wheelchairs. The food choice at breakfast was also a little disappointing, especially as we have stayed at a Best Western Hotel in Rome before and had an amazing breakfast!
Visit
There isn't a lot to see and do in Faro so we decided to have a relaxing start to the holiday.
Capela dos Ossos
Not too far from the hotel is the Igreja da Nossa Senhora do Carmo which is renowned for Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones). The chapel has over 1000 skeletons which decorate a small outdoor chapel. It is a little grim and Adrian said it was a bit smelly but it was an experience! There were a couple of wide steps to get down into the chapel so you would need assistance to help you get in.
We also visited Faro old town however there wasn't much to see here and there are lots of cobbles so wasn't the most accessible! We also visited the port which was nice and there were plenty of places to stop and see the sea.
Eat
The highlight of our stay in Faro was definitely the food! I think it was the best food we had whilst in Portugal!
On our first night we went to 2 Irmaos which was a large and traditional Portugese restaurant. It was spacious, had a disabled toilet, great decor and a nice atmosphere. Adrian had the locally sourced sardines which were huge compared to the tinned ones we get at home! I had the piri piri chicken which was very spicy but tasty! We finished off our meal with a local dessert called Tres Delicias do Algarve which tasted so good!
The next day we went to a local market hall which was recommended to us by a friend to try a local cuisine called Bifana at Snack Bar da Xica. A Bifana is a sandwich made with thinly sliced pork that's been marinated in a sauce. This bar was so so cheap and I would recommend it to try the Bifana.
Our last meal in Faro was at Petisqueira 3 em Pipa which we found on TripAdvisor. The restaurant was a bit small but there was space to get round with my wheelchair. This meal was by far my favourite of the trip! I decided to try something different and chose the pigs cheek with sweet potato mash which sounds gross but tasted amazing. It was similar to beef brisket and just broke apart. YUM!
Faro is a nice small city with a good choice of restaurants. If we had stayed longer we probably would have taken the train to one of the Algarve beach locations and chosen a hotel closer to the sea.
The next day we took a train up to Lisbon which we'll talk about in our next post!
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