When I started working, I discovered I could combine some holidays using vacation days, so I immediately went to the calendar to see what the possibilities were. Nothing like taking one day off and having four days of travel, right? One of those times would be Corpus Christi, and since it was in June, I immediately thought of the Algarve. I started looking for affordable options on Booking.com and, to my surprise, I came across Orla Ecoglamping Tavira Island, which had beautiful photos, an excellent location, and an acceptable price for a holiday booked just a few weeks in advance. The only downside was that it was an option on Booking.com with no reviews, so we had to go in blind. I spoke to Celo and he agreed right away, so here I am to talk about this experience—I'll tell you right away, it was delightful—we had.
How to get there
To get to the glamping, we drove since Cascais until Grândola, where we had lunch at the nice restaurant 3L's, and then we went straight to Tavira.
We parked the car in a parking lot next to the Quay of the Four Waters, as I had exchanged messages via Booking with glamping and they said that boats left more frequently from there and the crossing took less than 10 minutes. We paid 9 euros a day to leave the car there under the sun without much supervision, but everything went well in the end. We took the boat with our luggage on our backs and hands and when we arrived at the island, we walked less than 5 minutes to the entrance of the glamping, which is right on the way to the beach. The boat cost less than 2 euros per person, so I thought it was totally worth it, because we all love a different kind of trip. 🙂
If you want to know more details about schedules, prices, etc., see the official website of the company that runs the route from the city to the island – https://www.silnido.com/copia-tavira
Our experience at Orla Ecoglamping
We chose this place because we wanted to camp with the kids in a place close to the beach and Tavira Island was in my bucket list for quite some time. I found the beautiful photos on Booking.com, the price was fair, and I saw that they had an air-conditioned tent that could fit all four mattresses, so it seemed perfect. See more details at official website or else in Booking,
We didn't have a tent yet and wanted to test out whether camping with the kids would be fun – after all, we only did it before they were born – so off we went to our long-awaited campsite. When we arrived at the reception glamping, we were informed that we would receive an UPGRADE and would stay in a bungalow 2-bedroom house with air conditioning, bathroom, kitchen, living room, and balcony. Luxury and richness, right? Of course, Celo and I loved the news, but the kids were clearly disappointed that we couldn't camp in a cramped tent. I had to promise we'd try again soon. 🙂
This is the tent we rented:
This was our upgrade:
They gave us 2 cards to enter the glamping through the turnstile—meaning it's extremely safe—and when we walked through, we were enchanted at first sight. The space is very cool, with wooden walkways with decorative lights everywhere, a restaurant, tables, and bar games, a mini market right at the entrance, a kiosk offering adventure activities and equipment rentals, a very pleasant playground for children, plenty of open space for tents, several trees for shade, brand-new restrooms, and a separate area for bungalows and another dedicated area for tents, which also has air conditioning. Since it was newly built, everything was simply impeccable, and we left wanting to recommend it to everyone!
We had breakfast and dinner at the restaurant every day, which wasn't the cheapest option because the prices aren't very reasonable, but I have to say that absolutely everything we ate was delicious. I recommend it if you, like me, don't want to worry about cooking, washing dishes, or managing ingredient inventory. If you'd like to learn more about the restaurant's menu, prices, and structure, check out their official website: https://comenagaveta.pt/en/ilha-de-tavira/
The kids did the treetop adventure on the last day of our trip and absolutely loved it! We paid 15 euros each, and to our surprise, Juju managed to complete absolutely EVERYTHING on the entire route, which is recommended for 8-year-olds, four years older than her. Surreal, right? We—and the guy from the tour company—were shocked and obviously terrified she'd get hurt, but in the end, everything worked out, and it was fun for the little ones after three wonderful days at the beach.
The only thing I need to mention here that I didn't like so much were the mosquitoes at the end of the day. From 7:30 or 8 p.m. onward, the mosquitoes started to really get quite swarming, and ideally, you'd want to be inside your bungalow with the air conditioning on and all the windows and doors closed. We didn't realize this on the first day and made the mistake of making the most of the beach. Then we got ready for dinner and sat at the restaurant around 8 p.m. In other words, we were surprised by tons of mosquitoes even with all the repellents I'd bought and applied to everyone (bracelets, creams, sprays, etc.). The bugs didn't bite us, but they lingered around us and our food and juices the entire time, so it was quite frustrating. The restaurant even placed citronella candles on every table, but to be honest, it didn't help. We ate quickly and returned to our bungalow, and obviously, we had an earlier dinner the following days, and everything was fine. Here's a tip: go take shelter before 8pm!
Our 4 days there
Thursday (19/06/2025)
We left Cascais in the morning and stopped for lunch in Grândola at 3L's, a restaurant that fortunately had good reviews on TripAdvisor and had a table available for us. The place isn't anything special, but the food and service were excellent, and it was worth the stop to stretch our legs.
We continued on to Tavira, where we parked near Cais das Quatro Águas in the only parking lot there, which lacked much infrastructure or supervision. We bought our tickets for the ferry crossing to the island (super cheap) and were on board in less than 5 minutes. The crossing took no more than 10 minutes, and when we arrived on the island, we walked for about 5 minutes to the entrance of the glamping site.
They told us about the upgrade and we already arrived at Orla with good vibes. We left our things in our adorable bungalow 2 bedrooms and we got ready to go to the beach.
The walk to the beach is very peaceful, and thankfully it was a beautiful, warm day, so we were able to enjoy the sea, with water warmer than Cascais—hallelujah!!!!—and the pleasant breeze, perfect for flying the kite we'd brought. We played ball, built castles, and spent hours in the water, and to my delight, no one complained about the cold once. We ate some snacks I'd packed, and as the beach began to empty, we decided to head back to get ready for dinner.
It was at this point that we realized the mosquitoes were active and rushed to apply all the repellent I'd bought. In addition to the sprays, I also bought several bracelets and creams, and thanks to them, we weren't bitten. The problem was that we sat at a restaurant table, and when our burgers arrived, we had to eat with the bugs circling us. A pain. At some point, they gave us a citronella candle, but it didn't help. We ate hurriedly and as soon as we finished, we returned to the bungalow, which remained with the windows and doors closed and the air conditioning on until the next day.
We slept really well and in the middle of the night we could hear owls!!! We thought it was awesome. 🙂
Friday (20/06/2025)
We woke up happy, went to the restaurant for breakfast, and to our surprise, everything we ordered was delicious. We ate incredibly well—and paid for it, of course.
Our friends who live in Tavira met us at the glamping entrance, and we spent the entire day with them on the beach. The tide grew rougher throughout the day, and we played a lot in the waves. I confess I was even scared for a moment, but everything turned out fine in the end. We left our things on the sand to save our spot and went to lunch at a restaurant our friend already knew, and we really enjoyed the fish and seafood dishes. The restaurant's name is a bit confusing; it says Dino, but there's no sign or name on the menu. Anyway, the important thing is that we were well served, the food was good, and the price was very fair. We returned to the beach energized and spent a few more hours there before deciding to head back to the glamping for dinner earlier than the day before. This time we got it right and had a delicious meal, with the kids playing on the playground while they waited for their dishes and us having some quiet time alone.
Saturday (21/06/2025)
A day to go to the beach again! We woke up, had the same breakfast as the day before, packed our things, and off we went to the beach again, but this time we went to the left side of the beach, which doesn't have much infrastructure.
We stood near the rocks, and the water was simply perfect: warm and completely waveless. I lost count of how many dips we took with the kids. We spent hours and hours there, playing ball, paddleboarding, playing castle, flying kites, eating, etc. What a privilege to be able to take such a wonderful trip with our children. All healthy, peaceful, loving, and united… I'm certain my children are the best and most perfect for us. So much love!!!
We met an American woman at the beach who had family in my current company's city and who lived in my brother's city, and I was really taken aback by life's coincidences. You know how everything seems like a big simulation? I get this feeling that someone is manipulating everything… What a small world!
When hunger struck, we decided to go for lunch and repeated the previous day's restaurant. Since the island was busier than the other days and the other restaurants seemed to have less serious food, we thought it would be best to go back for more. From there, we went straight to our room, where we rested, played a bit more, took our showers, and went for a snack at the restaurant, since we weren't even very hungry. We had another peaceful night, but as we were falling asleep, we were awakened by the sound of people talking and laughing in the bungalow behind us. I quickly grabbed my phone and, since it was after 11 p.m., sent a message to the WhatsApp number they'd given me at reception, and they sent a security guard to ask for silence—after all, it was one of the glamping rules. Sure enough, everyone stopped talking and went to sleep, as did I. Maximum efficiency!
Sunday (22/06/2025)
We woke up leisurely, went to breakfast at the restaurant, and when we returned, we packed our things to check out. The kids went on to do the second ropes course and after about 30 minutes, they finished super happy. I had to step away a few times to avoid getting sick with my super brave 4-year-old daughter doing everything 4 meters above the ground, but in the end, the unique experience was worth it for everyone.
We checked out super quickly without any hassle and caught our boat back to Tavira without having to wait too long either.
It was an easy, quick and certainly surprising trip. glamping, for the beauty of the island and the fact that we didn't have to use the car for a few days. It was really worth it to relax. I highly recommend it and I think we'll be happy to return. 🙂
On the way to Cascais, we stopped in Castro Verde for lunch at the restaurant Bird Cellar and we ended the trip with a flourish.
Thank you, heavenly father, for so much and everything!!
