Relocating to Algarve - several questions?

Hi there! 
you may refer to this link regarding moving with your pet!

Hope it helps! 

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Hi Sarah

i wonder how you are getting on with your search, have you been over yet?

Tavira is an interesting area and there are rural properties dotted around outside of there. Living without a car is difficult though if you want to be outside of a town. Some places are on bus routes, but you can’t assume those routes will always exist. Then there is the train that runs along the coast, you could consider properties near the train stations I guess.

I have a friend who lives in the countryside about 5 miles from a train station and has no transport. She does live near a town with plenty of taxis and uses them and also she uses a bicycle to get into the town. The town then has buses to other areas. So it is doable but indeed if you just wanted to go out to a little rural restaurant in the evening you might struggle without a car. Also with the buses and trains you really need to check the frequency. Sometimes they are very infrequent or just in market day.

only problem with Tavira ...nice as it is ..is that its on the outer edge of what I might call the centre of the Algarve which in my view is lagoa /silves/ portimao.

in lagoa - its the "fleet steet" of all the foreign press, and I think Portimao is a better capital than Faro.

There are taxis for sure but unless you decide to live on a mountain, there are so many restaurants around you will not be far from one. 

One thing I would say is buy a new car, and get rid of it every 2 years. I know from bitter experience is that if you live in the country and do not have a car that you can rely on - you will be completely cut off. One villa in a country area I lived had one bus on a Monday but it only came  back on a Thursday.

I have had to walk in 100 f heat 5 km to get a bus or train while the car went into the garage for a week or more and they have not heard of courtesy cars in portugal, if you have shopping its completely hopeless.