The Trip

Day1- The Arrival

Arrived at Birmingham International Airport at 3:50AM yes that’s 3:50 in the morning. After meeting up with the group we all went down to check in which was surprisingly quick and smooth. With a two-hour wait ahead of us we ventured through security and through to the duty free area. And you know when you think going through security long queues, waiting 4 ages and just generally lots of hassle. But we were presently surprised to see hardly any queue, and it didn’t take long at all. Ok some people still made the machines go off. But there are always at least one. When we got to the departure lounge and duty free area we were met with most places closed (we were quite shocked) however there was a Costa coffee, a Yates and a WHSimts open so it wasn’t a complete loss.
Boarding was at bit bumpy compared to the rest of the morning so far. When we got to the gate no one was actually saw if we were in the right queue. It was not clearly set out. The flight itself was ok no problems and the staff were friendly helpful and had a smile on there face. Although I cant really say much as I was asleep for most of the journey there.
2 and a half hours later we had landed at Faro airport after getting on a bus and up a couple of flights of stairs we finally got into the building. The place was well signed.
Immigration, when we first saw it we thought there was quite a queue however they were quick and efficient and it went down quickly. However I did notice that they didn’t rely look at the passports. After this straight round a corner and there you were luggage collection. And what a mess it was. There were a lot of free belts and yet we had three flights baggage on the 1 belt. And that was if you could find the right belt know one actually knew which belt we actually needed. It was one of those lets follow everyone else. Also if you needed the toilet whilst you were in this airport well you had better hope you weren’t desperate. One toilet in that whole section which had two toilets in it. The queues were huge. Even the men’s had a queue. After all that I have to say if you were desperate for a good drink or a fag then you were ok. There was a stand near the luggage collection selling them.
Oh and did I forget to mention it was pouring down with rain. Which also meant the luggage was nice and wet and some of them dirty which cant be helped I no. but what a nice start to the holiday.
Finding the transfer another very interesting event. I think clearer directions are needed at this point. As we finally found a door and got outside, we started walking to some coaches. Once we got near them we saw the poor reps soaking wet (bless them you got to feel sorry for them). There was some confusion with the coaches no one knew which coach was theirs or where they were. Once everyone was on board it was time to get going to our hotels. (Of course ours was the last hotel)
The poor rep she sounded so ill and cold and well that she didn’t really want to be there. And she didn’t know a whole lot about the area and didn’t give us much information about Portugal or our resort.
Right so first impressions of the hotel nice but really really steep ramps up to the hotel and as we found out later up to the rooms aswell.
I have to say that they were very good with handling such a large group of us. There was a slight mistake with the rooms but was sorted out quickly and easily. No problem. Over all the hotel reception was very helpful. Once we were settled into the hotel we had a chance to look round the hotel and to explore the surrounding area. Hotel was very nice; on the other hand the surrounding area was not much to speak of. There was hardly anything around a few little shops one or 2 little restaurants. And we did manage to find the beach but it was a bit awful and unsafe with a lot of building work going on and one little old café and one old bar. In definite need of a bit of a face lift. If you wanted a bit of peace and quite you were defiantly in the right place not much around anywhere.

The hotel facilities include 1 Adult Swimming Pool, Poolside Bar, Sun Terraces, a Restaurant, 3 Bars, 1 Children’s Outdoor Pool, Football Pitch, Table Tennis, Children’s Play Area, and Kids Club. There are 193 apartments and 3 floors in each block. Within the apartments thee is: air conditioning, telephone, local satellite TV, safety deposit box (payable) and kitchenette with fridge, sink area, kettle and 2 electric cooking rings. The apartments are 1 Bed Apartments (which can accommodate 4 people) that have a separate living area with sofa. Within the reception area there is internet access which is 1 euro for 10 minutes, toilets, a shop, this is where one of the bars is located aswell as it being the location of where the other inside bar and restaurant is located. In this area there is also comfy chairs and coffee table. The hotel put on different activates during the day which kids and even adults can get involved in, a time table is located in the reception telling you of the different activities what time they are on and on what days. These range from water aerobics, bowls, table tennis to something as simple as guess how many straws are in the jug (where you can win a free cocktail alcoholic for the adults and non alcoholic for the kids.) every night the hotel puts on entertainment for the guests this usual consists of 2 shows one for the kinds and then another one such as dancers and the reptile man to try and cater for all the quests (well at least as many as they can).


Day 2- Acclimatising, Welcome Meeting & Manager Talk

This was the day of relaxation as well as having the welcome meeting and a talk from the manager of the hotel. The welcome meeting a chance for the rep to sell the excursions as well as tell us information about the resort. We didn’t get that much information about the resort however we did get a lot of information about the excursions. (Which we late found out that what she was saying wasn’t necessarily true. She did seem very nice though. She even said that she would get in touch with the people at one of the excursions (zoomarine) and get them to give us a talk about the park. Swell as discounted price due to there being such a large number of us. After hearing all the choices of the excursion we decided which we wanted to do and got excited about going on them especially zoo marine and the jeep safari.(and we cant forget about the reps pub crawl either.)

After the welcome meeting we had a few hours to ourselves to relax by the pool before the talk with the manager. It was quite a nice day weather wise so we got a bit of sunbathing in. (well you can’t go away and come back with out a tan)

So after a quick change of cloths it was off to see the manager. He was very nice and helpful man who also offered to give us a tour of the kitchens on the Tuesday. (Very rare to find a manager do this). We managed to get a lot of information about the hotel form this talk such as it can hold 750 – 800 guests at a time, 1 complaint can mean a loss of about 15-20 customers, and from a good service they only gain about 2-3 new customers. Harsh. The hotel opened in 2005 and does offer all boards depending on the season. All-inclusive is usually between 1st April and the 31st October. There are 145 members of staff and 75% of those are locals. We also found out about what nationalities are most popular at the hotel. In first place it is the Portuguese (a slight surprise apparently it very popular domestic holiday destination), in second place would be the British, in third is the Spanish (mainly for weekend breaks) and in joint fourth are the Dutch and German. Another very interesting fact is that this hotel was one of the first hotels to offer an all-inclusive board basis in Portugal.
Now I wont bore you with all the information we got from the manager at this talk however if you would like the full extent of the talk drop me a comment and I’ll gladly send it to you in a word document).
After the talk back to the pool. Also in the afternoon we meet up to rearrange the itinerary and talk about the talk.



Day3 – Zoomarine

9:55 in the morning we are up and ready to go. Well let’s just say an interesting start to the day. We got to the bus stop on time well just before, and the bus was late which ok wasn’t to bad I mean look at the buses here they are never on time. When we were on the bus we thought something was a bit odd it was taking awhile and then we realised we went the complete opposite way to drop the rep off and then headed for Zoomarine, which took less time getting there than going to drop the rep off. Hmmm interesting. Well we finally arrived and it was still quite quiet which was good, we went through the entrance and had a picture took which was nice, however it was very close the actually entrance itself if it was busy that would cause a lot of congestion troubles. Once in we got about 30 minutes to have a look around before meeting up to have the talk we were promised. First impressions of the park smaller than expected and very much a family park. Thought there would be more animals and more water rides. When we meet up so we could have our talk we ran into a slight problem no one actually knew anything about us coming or any type of talk (so much for that, I think there may have been some miss communication or our rep has just forgot which is always good.) after half an hour of waiting and negotiating, we finally managed to get someone to give us a talk about the park. (Bless him he didn’t speak much English but he was very good). During the talk we found out some very interesting information about the park. It was opened in 1991 and has 4 main objectives, which are: education, entertainment, science and conservation. We found out that the reason why the advertise dolphins so much and base the park around them is because the customer expect it and because they are not an endangered species. They train their animals by rewards and positive reinforcements and don’t make the animals do anything they don’t want to. In terms of the impact on the community the park does provide a lot of jobs for the locals, there are 200-259 staff working in the winter months and in summer there are 500 members of staffing working within the park.
(Quite a lot considering it’s only a small park.) There is a big percentage of locals that work in the park aswell as a few English and American, (speciality staff are usually not locals.)
The park has about 400-500,000 visitors a year and has its major income come in within 10 weeks (in the summer), which works out to be 80% of the income made within 10 weeks! (Omg!)
The member of staff which was giving the talk did kindly admit that the park if privately owned and does aim to make a profit aswell as ensuring that the animals are kept safe happy and healthy.
The park does not receive any funding from the government in fact it actually has 3 shareholders who funded the park.
Aswell as everything the park offers to the visitors the park also takes in animals that have been injured in the wild into there rehab centre, once the rehab program has been completed the animals are put back into the wild
The park never keep any animals that enter the rehab program. The park is just starting to develop solar power to power the park, aswell as offering training programs for staff on how the park is impacting the environment and on way to prevent any negative impacts. Some other good things the park does are by having recycling bins all over the park to help encourage visitors and staff to recycle instead of just chuck things away.
We also found out about the negative impacts that the park have. Within the park there are 2 natural salt water pools within the park the rest are all artificially salted due to the fact that it isn’t easy getting water from the sea/ ground into the park and its pools, also the locals refused to let the park have pipes running from the sea to the park.
Portugal/ the Algarve haven’t got a good water distribution policy, in water years they are 20 years older than they should be. This may be due to their systems and the fact that all the pipes leak.
The Algarve is the driest region in Portugal and water is one of its biggest issues. (So i guess that park and tourism demanding gallons on water may not help the situation.)
Even though Portugal is renowned for its fresh fish dishes the food for the animals is imported, however they do use locally sourced food for any other catering where they can.
Some other interesting facts are that this park is home to the oldest dolphin in the world who is 48 years old and is called Sam. (The average life expectancy for dolphins is about 32 years soo he is doing quite well id say.)
Also Alfa the 1-year-old female dolphin was the first dolphin in the world to be born through artificial insemination.
Zoomarine is open all year round, however in winter they do close one day a week, and do offer to open the park up after hours for major company/business events.
During the talk we got to go sit in the dolphin stadium after the show had finished so he could talk to us in there. It was very funny seeing the dolphins playing on there we were all very amused. (You’ve got to love dolphins amazing creatures.)
After the talk we didn’t have that much time until we had to go so we decided to go walk around the park and have a little bit of a sunbath by the pool before going to see the dolphin show just before leaving. We also got to see the seal show just after lunch.
Both show were very good and love to see the animals.
The journey home was quite quick and comfortable after a day at the park we had the rest of the evening to ourselves where
We had time to get ready for dinner and the night ahead.



Day4- Albufeira-the old town/ the pub-crawl.


We left the hotel about 10ish to go and get the bus to Albufeira (the new town) once there we were able to cross the road to wait for the wolly trolly. The wolly trolly ran every 3 minutes all day, and took you from the new town to the old town. It takes about 40 minutes to go from the new town to the old town and back agen, so takes about 20 minutes to get to the old town. A on way ticket on the wolly trolly costs about 1 Euro 50 and a return trip costs about 2 Euros. (So if your not sure what you are doing throughout the rest of the day it may be best to get the return ticket just in case you fancy hopping back on.) When we arrived in the old town the beautiful scenery of the beach and blue skies surrounded us. We started to make our way down towards where the beach was, interesting I have to say; there were escalators down to the beach (very interesting we weren’t expecting that). Also whilst going down the escalators I noticed that the huge concrete wall on my left had a lot of big metal pole things sticking out (surely that’s not safe and is defiantly not very attractive). Once we were all down and got a drink we made our way to the main square where we were found lots of bars and restaurants aswell as a live band playing well busking. This is where we got the task of finding four different groups of people and talking to them to find out what they make of Portugal and whether they would actually come back. A daunting task for most of us. ……………

After a few hours finding some people to talk to, looking around, finding the church, we headed for t he beautiful sandy beach for a bit of a sunbath. (This was one of the nicest days whilst we were there it was absolutely gorgeous!) A couple of hours and an ice cream later it was time to head to the taxi rank to get back to the hotel so we could eat and get ready for the night ahead.
That night we had organised to go on the Reps pub-crawl where we had to meet them at linicors bar at 8pm. We had all previously arranged that at 12 ish we would leave for the hotel, as we had to be up in the morning to go on the jeep safari we were all looking forward to. The night was pack full of drinks bars and well games. The games included drinking games, dancing games and jus generally mad but funny games. We went to 4 or 5 different bars at everyone we got a free shot and if you did the drinking games you got a drink and if you won any games you also got a free drink. The night was a really good night and I would defiantly recommend it to others, just watch out for the pegs. (If your pegged you have to down your next drink). This pub crawl is a great laugh and would be perfect for any teenagers or groups of young people to do.

Day 5 – The Jeep Safari

The morning after the night before. As I have done a jeep safari before (in a different country) I know what to expect from this trip and was just as excited as the rest.
As there was such a large group of us we ended up in 2 separate jeeps. Me Lizzie and Paul was in the separate jeep with George the drive and another family. As I expected George told us that it was his first day at work and didn’t know where he was going, he made our whole journey, as well as telling us plenty of information about trees and plants and local life he was also extremely funny and made jokes and funny comments every few seconds. Without this driver the trip could have been a bit boring. This trip is more the type of people that enjoy going outside of the tourist resorts and finding out about the locals life, and about the native plants and tree. If you’re more of a beach, pool and shopping kind of person this is defiantly not the trip for you. It was a very informative trip, which also enabled you to try local firewater, honey and nuts at one of the local farms.
The stops: first we went to this café where we were meet by all the driver’s and had a welcome talk about who each of the drivers are and what we will be doing through out the day, there was about 8 or 9 jeeps altogether.
Next stop was at a small waterfall and small is defiantly the word from what the rep was saying it was a big beautiful waterfall yes it was nice and pretty but not something I would class as a waterfall. After the ‘waterfall’ we ventured to a small café where we saw an old local women hand making baskets, which you could buy. Lovely view from this place. After the baskets we travelled down to a local mans farm where we got to try the native firewater aswell as the honey firewater both was very nice (if you like something with a kick anyway), we also got to try the local handmade honey aswell as the home grown nuts. We also got to have a look around his house and farm, there was no electricity (apart from a T.V.) there was some beautiful flowers a parrot and some really cute puppies.
After the quick drink and the puppies it was time to head to a local restaurant for lunch. Lunch was soup for starters with fresh bread, then for main was pork chops, salad and chips, and then for pudding was fresh orange wedges. Very nice I have to say. After lunch it was off up the cork trees we found out a lot of information about the trees and the products that are made from them yes its not just the corks in the wine bottles after a talk about the trees and someone passing an acorn around (random) we headed off to a lagoon well seemed more like a manmade canal to me bt hey I guess to them it could be a lagoon. Even though the lagoon was a bit of a let down it gave us chance to grab an ice cream. After about 30 minutes we got back into the jeeps and went up the mountain to a clearing where the drivers basically said goodbye it was quite a nice way to end the trip. It only took about 5 minutes and then it was back off to the hotels. The jeep safari is very much for either families with older children or for people who enjoy the outdoors and a bit of an adventure outide of the touristy areas. That night we had one last proper night out up the strip so we made it a good one, however did end up back early. All in all ok day and good night.


Day 6 – relaxation and managers tour of the kitchens.


We didn’t have a lot to do today just the managers tour of the kitchens at 3:30, therefore we took this chance to catch the rest of the rays, relax and think about the trip so far. After about 4 or 5 hours in the sun it was time to meet for the tour. We didn’t quite know what to expect with this tour most hotels would never let anyone into the kitchens. We found out quite a lot about the kitchens and preparation of the food (well at least now we know what we are eating is safe) in the tour we got to see where everything was prepared all the different preparation rooms and fridges, where all the different things are stored and where they clean everything. All of which was spotless and the staff were all smiling which is always good to see. the rest of the evening we stayed in the hotel and relaxed and also had a few games of cards.


Day 7- The Last Day

So here it is the last day. After breakfast we ordered three taxis to take us to the gypsy market.
We got there early and a lot of the stalls were just setting up, this gave us chance to see what was being sold
Before it got busy. As it was one of the members of the trips birthday today we decided to put our money together to buy her something nice
We came across a stall that sold vases and trinict boxes, which the man would inscribe. So we decided to get a nice vase and get it inscribed.
After a few hours of walking round the market and spending the rest of our money, we headed over the road towards the
Beach. We got to have a few hours around the beach, which gave us chance to finish the rest of our observations.
Once we had all meet back up we headed towards the taxi rank so we could get ready for our traditional Portuguese meal out.
The restaurant was about 10-20 minutes away from the hotel in a taxi (it was called Pinhal).
The meal was very nice and the staff were great. Very happy to serve us and dealt really well with such a large group of people.
The staff spoke quite good English, which is very good from the English-speaking tourists point of view. There was also a T.V. (with sports on), bar, toilets (there was only two toilets in the restaurant one male and one female, which were quite small, however it was only a small restaurant so maybe just enough) and the puddings were on display so you could see them.
It was a good night out and was a very good way to end the trip all happy and all together.

Day 8 – Home Time

Another early morning with just enough time to finish packing and check the room about 10 times to make sure we hadn’t left anything behind. As it was early in the morning the restaurant was closed therefore we had no breakfast at the hotel so it was jus a matter of waiting for the coach and checking out. After the coach ride back to the airport we headed towards check-in, which was surprisingly quick. The check-in staff were very friendly and happy. The airport was well signposted everything was well labelled so you knew where to go. One thing I would have to say about the airport is that there are not enough toilets in the building to cope with the amount of people that go in and out of it on a daily basis. Also when we went through security some of us made the machine beep they got told to wait and no one came to check them over (considering its an airport you would think security would be a big issue.) once through security we got to where all the shops cafes and duty free was (most of us at this point had well no money so just sat in a café) the queuing system in the café we went to was not clear at all there was people waiting all over the place and had to be told they were in the wrong queue (which was hard since the people who were serving didn’t speak much English) . I don’t actually recall hearing an announcement telling us our flight was ready to board bt off we went towards the gate (I wasn’t very happy at this point finally found a toilet in the departure lounge n didn’t have time to go as the bus turned up to take us the plane. As in foreign countries they don’t have the covered ramps that we have in England to get on the plane (or off if you on your return to the UK) you have to walk a way to get to the plane and then up the steps however faro airport does provide a bus which takes you to and from the plane which is good and a lot safer aswell. Once on the plane we were glad to find that the staff were just as nice and cheerful as on the way out to Portugal. The flight was smooth, however I did think much of the plane food (then again I never do) however I did think it was good that on the way and way back the used cardboard boxes instead of plastic that can be recycled (it was nice to see that they are trying to do something for the environment). 2 and half hours later we were back in Birmingham (the weather well cold and cloudy bit of a difference) while waiting for our baggage it was time to say goodbye to everyone and head off home.
And there you go the end of a very fun, rewarding, enjoyable and informative trip in one way I was sad to leave but happy to be home. (Just wish we could have brought the weather with us).

The observations/ conversations.

During the visit we had to talk to four different types of people who had come to visit Portugal and ask the about the trip. We were split up into groups of 2 or 3. Me and Sarah managed to get a young family, an older couple, a group of girls on a long hen weekend, and a group of 4 friends.
The young family- the family was made up of 2 parents and 2 children aged 4 and 2, we bumped into them at the phone box they were just ringin home to check how everyone was doing. They were English speaking (from Cornwall) and were on their way to the beach. They are not staying in Albufeira but have come here for the day, they decided to come at this time of year as the weather is not to hot for the children and it is not to busy out and about (there are also not as many big groups of young people, which is also good with the kids). We found out that they were planning on going to Zoomarine for the day (which the children seemed very excited about going to see the animals) but do not know if they would come back again as this is their first time to Portugal and haven’t been here long. (They arrived on the Friday and were staying for a week). They hadn’t been here before.

The older couple- (we meet these in our hotel) I would have to say that they were 50 + who had brought their grandkids along with them for a short break away. They had come away for along weekend. They had already visited Zoomarine and the kids really enjoyed it. They said that they would like to come back to this area again alone as they like the quite relaxing area, which doesn’t have the hustle and bustle of the major towns. They said they would probably like to come back at this time of year as they don’t think they could handle the heat in the summer and because they think it is most likely quieter at this time of year. These were also English speaking and were planning on going to the beach in the old town in albuferia as they have heard it is nice and has a safer beach for the kids. (They hadn’t been to this area before)

The group of girls- these we meet on the strip during a night out, they were on a long hen weekend and enjoying every minute of it. They came away for the nightlife and beach which they are very much enjoying and defiantly would come back to this area. The group’s ages ranged between 18 & 25 and there were 5 of them altogether from Manchester. We didn’t actually find out much more information other than this other than they weren’t planning on going anywhere else other than shopping and the beach in the day. (They hadn’t been here before)

The group of 4 friends (meet in a café on the beach by the gypsy market)- these were all about 50 (from Gloucester) and had come out to Portugal to celebrate one of there 50th birthdays. One of the couples had been to Portugal before however the other couple hadn’t and they had come here on the other couples recommendation. They have been here for a week and are going home tomorrow (the same day as us however a later flight) they have really enjoyed there time in Portugal and all would defiantly come back, there first impressions of Portugal was that it was cold as they arrived on the same day as us which happened to be cold and raining. They are staying in a B&B and have been going to all the little market and little villages in the car they rented. They are staying in Albufeira and love the locals how polite they are even when you reject going into their restaurant and how they give such a brilliant service. They also love how unspoilt Portugal is aswell as being relaxing and having friendly locals. They also love the food scenery and sun and have really enjoyed themselves. They were very interested in what we were doing and were very happy to answer our questions and could of stayed talking for ages but unfortunately we had to regroup so had to leave them in peace.

(Personally I found this a very hard task going up to strangers and bothering them whilst they are on their holidays, it a very nerve racking experience.)

Customer’s expectations are very important to businesses and organisation and can influence how they run the business and what they offer. For example Zoomarine their main attraction and advertisement is all about the dolphins which we were told was just because the visitors expect it, as a lot of us are fascinated by dolphins of course you would expect to see them at a park that has a lot of marine life. I wonder that if we didn’t love dolphins so much, what would the parks main advertisement be about and what would they focus the park on?? Would there be another species in there place or would it jus be your everyday park?? If you were planning on going to a place you will always expect a certain type of standard or a certain type of entertainment or attraction to be there. Even the little things such as a toilet and a food stall. Everyone does it and if these places do not meet your standards and at least live up to what you expect you wont enjoy your day and therefore tell people about it. Therefore businesses go out of their way to make sure that all customers’ expectations and need are met.

The appeal of Zoomarine, the strip, the jeep safari for golfers, families and teenagers.

Each of these attractions are very different and each appeal to a different type of people.
If you are on a golfing holiday and you family is with you, you may want to take a day off and go to Zoomarine, which is the perfect attraction for little kids as they get to see and learn about all the different types of animals aswell as go on some little rides such as the pirate ship, water slide, caracals and buffalo ride. However if teenagers were to go to Zoomarine they would most likely find it boring as it is mainly aimed at families. And the golfers well there is no golf there so they might not be having the best of times either. Something’s Zoomarine could do it expand on the amount of rides they have at the park maybe a few more water rides or thrill seeker rides for the teenagers, and you could even go as far as a miniature/ crazy golf part for the golfers who could try and get their kids into golf to (of course it could have to be themed to fit in with the park.
The strip during the day may be ok for families as there are many restaurants and shops around that area and as its only a wolly trolly away from the old town where the lovely beach is it could appeal to them. Even the golfers could venture here, as there is a golfing shop on the strip (well there you go one way to get them off the golfing course) however at night it all changes as the bars and clubs start to open this is no longer a place for families seeing young people party and get drunk is not the sort of place that parents would want to take their children. At night the strip most appeals to the teenagers as there is bar after bar after bar and with many of them offering free shots to get you in them im sure they’ll be having a good time.
The jeep safari- well this is a very different trip altogether, it could appeal to any number of different people and different age groups. As long as you enjoy a bit of information about the locals life a few trees and a nice meal it’s great. From a families point of view I think it would appeal to families with slightly older children as small children could find it tiring and maybe a bit boring. Something’s I think it could do to improve the appeal for the teenagers and maybe the families is make it a bit more adventurous and off road so that they feel that they are actually doing something different and feel as if they are actually exploring rather than listening to a lot of information. However I have to say the drivers are great and really do make the trip, they are hilarious.

Evaluation

I think that this was a very successful trip. Ok so we were a bit disappointed that we weren’t going to New York or Hong Kong or turkey however the trip turned out very well. The climate was nice and warm and sunny (even though the first day or two was a bit dodgy we still managed to get a tan or burn) it was just right for us not cold so we were freezing and not so hot that we just couldn’t be bothered to do work, so it was a good time to go work wise. Portugal is not far away jus a 2 and half hour flight (which you can fly from any major airport most places fly to Portugal) a lot of the people over there do speak English and there was no time difference which can sometimes confuse people. As it wasn’t far away there was no one suffering from jet lag meaning we could all get on with our work with no problem. The currency was easy enough to understand even though the exchange rate is not very good on the euro. The budget for the trip was £600 per person to include everything, we got an all-inclusive hotel for a week and the total cost was £495 per person therefore we was in budget. The location- there are both good and bad points to where we were located, it was a very quiet area basically in the middle of know where with hardly any shops bars or restaurants around and the beach was well unsafe. So on our relaxing days there wasn’t much to do. However it was also good that we weren’t in the centre of it all as it would have been very noisy been next to all the bars and clubs. Where we were was only a short taxi ride away and we got peace and quiet, so I guess it was to bad when you think about it logically. The itinerary was good it had a nice balance of free time and work time it was also good as we got to choose the trips we did which made us feel more involved in what we were actually going to be doing, which made the trip more enjoyable. When we went to Portugal we didn’t know anything about it I think we needed to have done some research before we went to know exact what was where and things we could do however this would have been hard due to the late notice of the trips destination.
As a group I think that this trip made us closer and maybe even stronger as a group as we were constantly with everyone everyday with nowhere really to escape from everyone I think we coped well the was one incident were things went a bit pear shaped but was jus forgotten about by morning and we carried on as normal (which for our group is very good). Personally I don’t think that I have developed a whole lot as a result of this trip i found out that if I really have to I can start randomly talking to strangers, however I have been away with people with any adults before the only difference was that there were more people here.
The excursions we picked were ok I think that a lot of us were expecting the trips to be very different than they actually were due to the information given to us by our rep which was very misleading, I think if we were ever to do this trip or a trip similar to this next time we would defiantly research a lot more into the country and what trips are on offer and what they are actually like rather than depending on what the rep tells you because as we found out they don’t always tell the truth. I think that a week was just about the right amount of time for this trip it gave us chance to experience part of a holiday aswell as complete our college work with everything being a bit of a rush.
The trip did enable us to for fill all of our aims and objectives I certainly enjoyed the trip and have the pictures to prove it, we got to experience the Portuguese culture through the traditional meal and through the jeep safari. We managed to get a lot of information for this assignment and hopefully will at least get some grades for it. The only thing I would do differently next time is better preparation and research so we don’t get conned into trips and so we are more aware of what is around us instead of going in blind.



i hope you enjoyed reading my blog and that it was helpful in one way or another and here are some pictures i took during the trip aswell as the 4 i choose for the brochure.

Sam.