We spent 3 days in the Algarve with the kids at the end of July and the chosen destinations were the water park Zoomarine and the paradisiacal beach of Odeceixe, located in the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park. The first was new to us, and the second we already knew from our first trip to Portugal in 2016. (If you want to know more about our first trip, see https://mochiloesemochilinhas.com/4-dias-na-regiao-de-algarve/). It was a short, uncomplicated and delightful trip!

Map of the trip

Hosting

We booked our accommodation at the last minute, and since everything was quite expensive, we opted for one of the cheapest options on Booking.com, since we knew we'd be spending all of Saturday and Sunday at Zoomarine. The place was... Quinta Das Figueirinhas & Quintinha Village (grade 8.5 at the time), which is a large group of small, simple apartment buildings and a little outdated It was a one-bedroom apartment with pools and a playground, but I confess we didn't even have time to enjoy it. We paid 474 euros for three nights without breakfast, as we thought it best to arrive on Friday night and leave on Monday morning so we could fully enjoy the water park on both days of admission. We had breakfast at the apartment on Saturday and Sunday, as I had brought some things from home, and on Monday we opted to pay for breakfast on Thursday, but I didn't think it was worth it. Overall, I found the apartment ill-equipped for guests—few utensils in the kitchen, rough towels, and uncomfortable pillows in small quantities—and I thought the condominium could have better-maintained gardens to give it a better feel, so for these reasons, I wouldn't stay there again. Here are some photos:

Zoomarine Park

What a park, my people! What a park!

I'd heard this park was a MUST SEE in Portugal, but we were waiting for Juju to get a little older to enjoy it more. At 104cm (41.5in), she managed to ride many of the attractions, and Paddy, at 134cm (54.5in), went on them all. It was a huge success!

We bought tickets for 2 days at the park on their official website – https://www.zoomarine.pt/pt/ – and we paid 37.50 for each child and 46.50 for each adult, a total of 168 euros for the two days. It's expensive, but worth every penny. The park is extremely well-maintained, with impeccable gardens and cleanliness, complete and well-designed infrastructure, several attractions with exotic animals, a well-trained and friendly staff, and many animal-free attractions that delight both adults and children. There's room for everyone, and we went in the height of summer! I was worried about going on the weekend and it being too crowded, but I read somewhere that the busiest days are usually Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, because that's when Algarve tourists tire of the beaches during their weekly vacations. Was the park crowded? Of course, but not unreasonably so. We managed to go on all the attractions we wanted to see multiple times, saw the dolphin, seal, pirate, macaw, and bird of prey shows, saw the 4D movie, and managed to have lunch without waiting in long lines. In other words, we had two VERY enjoyable days with our family. I left wanting to recommend the tour to everyone!

Oh, very important tips:

1. Download the Zoomarine app on our phones to get an idea of show times, the minimum height allowed on rides, and the location of attractions. We were a little lost at first, but after a few hours, we were familiar with the place.
2. Arrive half an hour before the scheduled time. They say the park opens, because I have the impression that you'll be able to get in and get organized inside. I think the rides only open at 10 a.m., but if you already know the size of the place, the distances, and what you want to see, you'll have a certain advantage and encounter shorter lines in the morning.
3. Rent a locker right next to the restaurants to leave your valuables and walk around with just a bag containing snacks, towels, and sunscreen. This way, you'll have more peace of mind when going on attractions and leaving your bags somewhere near the attraction you're on.
4. Bring snacks and drinks if you want to save money. Many people do picnic in the park's gardens, and they even bring beach chairs, umbrellas, coolers, and other things to make them more comfortable on the grass. The lounge chairs near the pools need to be rented and aren't cheap.
5. Don't forget sunscreen, a hat, towels and beach sandals. Take the same precautions you would if you were spending a whole day at the beach. Don't let the excitement of the attractions make you forget to protect your skin.
6. Understand the location of the bathrooms well so you can be safe and not panic when your children say they need to go urgently.

Here are some lunch prices there:

Our impressions of the attractions

1. Macaw show – simply amazing!!!
2. Dolphin show – I, the mother, even cried.
3. Seal and sea lion show – really cool until the moment the sea lion bit the trainer's hand and everyone got tense
4. Pirate Show – my 7 year old son loved it!
5. Birds of Prey Show – I was impressed from start to finish
6. 4D movie – absolute success!
7. Butterfly House – Juju loved it, but Paddy found the environment too hot and stuffy – and it really is.
8. Wave pool – I think this is where we spent the most time with the kids
9. Lap pool (Rio dos Cocos) – cool, but you can't get out of the float. We used their life jacket for Juju.
10. Treasure and Fantasy Island – an area for younger children that we really enjoyed, especially when the bucket was turned over
11. Quetzal and Iguaçu – They are the most radical and Celo and Paddy really enjoyed it
12. Aquasplash – we didn’t think it was worth it, as we waited in line for a while and some of the boats and guns were broken
13. Buffalo – a roller coaster without a loop but very fast, enough for the 4 of us to go
14. Lighthouse – elevator that Juju also went on and to my surprise she loved it
15. Manta – a flying toy that Juju couldn’t go on because it was 1cm high, but that Paddy enjoyed with Celo
16. Jurassic River – the 4 of us went and we came out soaked, but Ju was a little scared

Now some photos of the park:

Restaurants near Zoomarine

During our two days at the park, we ate burgers and hot dogs at the restaurants inside, and we left needing real food. On Saturday, we went to Almareado's Corner and on Sunday we went to Riverside, both with delicious food and a pleasant atmosphere. At the first, the service took a little longer and we had seafood, and at the second, we had the famous Franguinho a Guia, which was delicious! It's a traditional restaurant and there was a huge line when we left. Good thing we went at the right time! 🙂

Photos of Cantinho do Almareado:

Photos of Ribeirinho:

Odeceixe

On Monday, we checked out and drove an hour to Odeceixe, remembering it was a very pleasant beach where the river meets the sea. We were surprised by the number of cars already parked on the road, and we stopped there as soon as we found a good spot. We stopped at a cafe for snacks and drinks and then went down with the kids and our gear to spend a few hours at the beach. We chose to stay closer to the sea rather than the river because there were several pools, and our time there was delightful.

Restaurant in Odeceixe

When we got hungry, we packed our things and went upstairs to look for a restaurant for lunch. We got a table at the first one we saw, Sea Esplanade, which had a good rating on Google but not on TripAdvisor, and we stayed there enjoying the river view. We ordered cod and shrimp dishes and refreshing drinks, and left very happy with these hours well spent in my beloved Odeceixe. We considered spending a little time enjoying the river water after our late lunch, but since Celo had to work when he got home, we thought it best to hit the road straight to Cascais. The kids obviously slept the entire trip home, and we had some quiet time to ourselves (or listening to songs from our favorite bands).

Just one detail I think is worth mentioning: when we arrived in Odeceixe and parked the car on the road, I took a photo of the view with the river still not full. Then, when we got back in the car to leave, I took another photo of the view now with the river full. Look at the difference:

Another beautiful trip with my family 🙂 Thank you, heavenly Father!