Silves and Monchique Full Day Bus Tour
Description
Embark on a scenic journey through the Algarve’s inland landscapes on this guided bus tour to the charming towns of Silves and Monchique. Discover the region's Moorish history and enjoy stunning views of the countryside and river. Your first stop is Silves, a town steeped in history, once the capital of the Algarve during the Islamic rule in the 11th century. Dominated by the impressive Silves Castle, a Moorish fortress, the town offers panoramic views of the surrounding countryside and river. Enjoy some free time to wander the quaint streets and savor a coffee or local treat at a charming café. Next, head to Monchique, a peaceful mountain town nestled at the foot of the Algarve’s highest peak, Fóia. Known for its lush greenery, traditional whitewashed houses, and breathtaking views, Monchique offers a serene escape from the coastal crowds. Please note: - Monuments entrance fees not included. - French and German language options are subject to confirmation.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Start your excursion with a hotel pickup, and then travel north to the ancient town of Silves, your first stop of the day. Home to a magnificent Moorish castle surrounded by terracotta-roofed houses, the town has history and pretty scenery in equal measures. With its lofty hill-top location, the town was a strategically important stronghold for the Moors after their invasion in the 8th century. Wealth flowed into Silves during its Moorish Middle Age heyday only to be wiped out after a century of power struggles and a devastating earthquake. Much of today’s stately architecture originates from the 19th century when Silves came back into prominence.
Admire the architecture and sights such as Silves Cathedral as you wander through the streets that lead to Silves Castle. Pay your entrance fee direct, and then head inside the impressive fortress to explore. Restored in the 1940s, the castle is thought to date as far back as the 11th century and features such as its central vaults have been beautifully preserved. Admire views over the town and the Algarve from the castle walls, and then return to your coach with your guide.
In Monchique mountains we will go till Fóia, the highest point in the Algarve, with free time to take pictures, visit a local shop with handcrafted articles and an opportunity to taste one of the typical liqueurs of the region. Admire the views from Fóia, the 2,959-foot (902-meter) mountain that towers over the whole Algarve. Soak up the views from the highest point in Algarve, and then return to your coach for the journey back to your hotel.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Centrally located hotels in Faro, Quarteira, Vilamoura, Albufeira, Armação de Pera, Carvoeiro, Lagos, Portimão, Vau and Alvor. Pick up details will be sent to you by email within 24 hours after receiving the booking. Kindly make sure you have inserted the hotel name or accommodation address on your booking. Not all accommodations are available for pickup at the door. If pickup at your hotel is not available, a nearby location will be provided. The pick up time will depend on guest's hotel location in Algarve.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(32)
Silver & Monchique were both neat places to walk around. The tour was supposed to include the castle in silvers, but it was closed May 1 for Labour Day, which no one told us about. Our tour guide said, oh but you can have a nice coffee!
Thank you for your feedback. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience regarding Silves Castle. As May 1st (Labour Day) is a national holiday in Portugal, some monuments may have altered schedules or may be closed. Unfortunately, this is beyond our control. We understand that this may have been disappointing and regret any impact it had on your experience. Your feedback is very important to us, as it helps us continuously improve our service.
There’s a lot of history on this tour that we learned, we d joyed watching the mommy stork bird watching the baby in the nests there’s many nests along the way. Ana was very knowledgeable about the places Silves and Monchique, about the spa, cork industry, eucalyptus and the 9.5 alkaline water, very highly recommended tour.
We sincerely appreciate your feedback and the time you took to share your experience. We hope to have the pleasure of welcoming you back in the future.
Very nice travel and experience . Nice guide and transport. Good explanation but we needed more time to explore
Not much time at the view point mountain Monchique only half an hour given yet spent there bet 2 hours at the village which had very limited things to do and see
Dear Michael, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re sorry to hear that the time spent at the Monchique viewpoint felt too short compared to the duration at the village. Our aim is always to provide a balanced and enjoyable experience for all our guests. In some cases, the time allocated in certain locations may include breaks such as lunch, which can affect how much time is available for sightseeing. We appreciate your comments and will take them into consideration as we continue to review and improve our itineraries.
The ticket was booked three days prior to the trip. On the day of the trip we were early at the place and time indicated on the ticket. No one came so we called 5 minutes after the pickup time to find out if someone was coming. The operator said the trip had left and we were to be at another location. 1/2 hr earlier. An email had been sent. I looked for it and found one in my trash that had 1/2 a page of lines of numbers etc-to a link. It looked like spam so had not opened the email. No sympathy from operator, said it was Viator’s responsibility. When I chatted with Viator they said it was operator that should deal with this. No offer of another tour or refund. They seem to have a poor sense of customer service. Would not recommend booking with Viator or the operator.
Hi Evelyn, we're sorry to hear about the problems with the pick-up location and that the confirmation email ended up in the spam folder. In the product description we state that the pick-up location will be confirmed within 24 hours of booking. If we are contacted in time and the driver is still in the area, we ask him to go back, but unfortunately this was not the case. We will review our procedures and see if there is a way to make the email confirmation clearer. We thank you for your feedback.
I booked this tour for my parents as a gift in May. The bus never turned up to their hotel at the time promised. No effort was made to contact my parents and no refund was offered by this "tour" company. Avoid this tour and company at all costs.
I enjoyed the tour. It was not too rushed and very relaxing. Our guide knows a lot of information about the place and the local food. And I love the fact that I was picked and dropped to the hotel, very convenient.
Loved Silves and the history! No idea why we stopped in Monchique for lunch. There were only a couple of restaurants and they had challenges accommodating us. Skip Monchique and spend longer in Silves with more restaurants.
The castle was very interesting and the views were great. The mountain village was lovely and the views down the mountain were fabulous. The tour guide was great, lots of interesting things to say and so helpful. The bus driver was very good
Absolutely worthless, the tour operator lady was very terse, unfriendly and at all three sites, just leaves you at bus door and that was it. I understand she was obese and not wanting to walk but lot of very old and frail people were able to walk to the old sites and tourist spots. She did not care to walk or be helpful at all. Secondly the pickup locations were misleading, the location with Faro address is almost 30 miles away from Faro city; for tourists being new to area this should be clarified better. I had to get an expensive taxi to reach the nearest pickup location.
