Private 3 bedroom villa for rent in Chão das Donas, near Alvor and Portimão in the Western Algarve, Portugal

 After years of speculation, Formula One returned to Portugal in 2020 with the Algarve International Circuit selected to host the race.

Portugal was selected due to the number of races that had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 virus, and the venue was selected again in 2021.

Both races were won by Lewis Hamilton.

With the upcoming referendum on whether the UK wants to leave or stay in the EU, people who reguarly travel to Portugal  may wonder how it will affect them ?

The bottom line is that no one knows! However, we do have some idea of some things that will be affected, e.g.

• Airlines from countries outside of the EU can be charged higher airport fees, so companies such as Easyjet and British Airways prices could increase
• Passengers who have flights delayed over a certain number of hours are entitled to compensation and many thousands of british travellers have made claims in recent times, the regulations that allow this would not apply to UK citizens any more
• The EU have recently brought about a cap on mobile roaming charges, this would not apply for UK citizens and the London government would not be able to bring about a replacement law that forces companies from other countries
• The EU is currently working on a new law that will allow holidaymakers to cancel their trips for a reasonable fee or transfer the holiday to someone else, if passed this new ruling is very unlikely to apply to UK citizens in the event of the brexit. This can be seen as both a positive and negative for staying in the EU, as travel companies are going have to put up their prices because people would be able to cancel their holiday at the last minute and receive a refund, so while it sounds like a great idea for holidaymakers, not everyone is going to appreciate the hike in prices to cover the extra costs.
• Duty free would apply for cigarettes and alcohol purchases in airports, but you may be charged an import duty when arriving in Portugal. However, the UK is responsible for a large percentage of the tourist income in places like Portugal so it would make sense for Portugal and the UK to come to an agreement to ensure that british holidaymakers don't start looking elsewhere for hot climates that are more attractive to the booze and fags brigade.
• EHIC cards, which help british citizens claim free health care abroad may become invalid and you would need to purchase travel insurance to ensure you are covered. Again, countries can elect to setup a reciprocal health care, so after the exit, the UK and Portugal could resurrect the deal.

Have you found that ideal dream villa in portugal to hire for a perfect holiday ? New portugese tax laws came into force early in 2015 that could make your dream holiday a nightmare. Every property in portugal that is available for short term holiday hire, now has to be licensed and approved by the local council, and every advert should display its license number (e.g. 13536/AL), if the villa you're going to hire does not have a license, then the owners are now acting illegally.

This might not sound like it should affect a holidaymaker, however, if you are unlucky enough to have an accident on holiday, there is a very good chance that your travel insurer will refuse to payout as you have hired a villa unlawfully.

As well as new tax laws recently introduced covering the rental of property on a short term let, e.g. villa holidays, the portugese border agency, SEF, have also re-iterated the demand that every non portugese resident who hires a property, such as our villa, has to provide passport details to the owner who in turn has to pass these details onto SEF.

This puts villa owners in a dilemma as it seems a bit draconian and a bit strange to be asking customers for this information, however SEF's opinion is that the villa owner has the same responsibilities as a hotel, and when a non portugese person checks in at a hotel, the hotel will ask for passport details which are submitted to SEF.

The passport details required are as follows - Passport number, Expiry Date, Issued By.

This information only needs to be completed by the head of the family travelling to the villa. If there are 2 families staying at the villa, the heads of each family will need to complete them

Having travelled around europe, I honestly cant think of any better beaches than those on the algarve, even in my local area of detailed knowledge, the beaches of Praia da Rocha, Praia do vau and Praia da Luz will take some beating.

Rocha beach in particular is set at the bottom of some stunning cliffs and the facilities are amazing, there are numerous restaurants each with showering facilities, and they even some send the staff down to the sun bathers on the sands to take orders !

There are also beach sports available, e.g. volleyball and beach football pitches and the usual sort of water sports such as banana rides, pedelo's and jet ski's. If there is a better beach in europe, it must be amazing !

July 2014 sees Portimão host the latest round of the world superbike championship with englishman Tom Sykes leading the championship from Sylvain Guintoli after winning the last race in Misano. The Portimão race track is located just off the IC4 motorway, one exit after the Alvor / Oasis Parque exit.

Kawasaki will be hoping to extend their lead at the top of the manufacturers table with only 6 events left of the season

Anyone visiting Portimão cant help but notice the transformation taking place over recent years. Since 2012 there has been a huge new shopping mall open up, the Aqua, which contains the only Primark shop in the area, a H&M and a large food court with a huge open air TV to display live events such as football matches. Then there is the Autodromo do Algarve which is a must see place for any fans of motor sport, indeed it is a venue on the world superbike championship, in addition to a high standard of go karting.

The transformation probably started over 20 years ago with the building of  the new bridge over the rio arade, and ever since the facilities around Portimão have improved, possibly helped with the extension of the toll road from Faro meaning visitors can now get to the town in approximately 30 minutes.

With the Penina and Alto golf courses on its doorstep, and the lagoa based waterparks (slide 'n' splash etc) just 10 minutes drive, Portimão is fast becoming the place to base yourself on a sunny holiday in the algarve.