Why bed and breakfast holidays have become so popular in the Algarve

Although traditionally famed for its hotels and holiday resorts, the Algarve has seen a large rise in the popularity of bed and breakfast accommodation over the past decade. With such a large number of hotels to choose from, why are so many tourists deciding to ditch the high rises in favour of a traditional bed and breakfast in the Algarve?

When the boom in Algarve tourism began in the middle of the last century, the majority of overseas visitors came through package holidays. The all inclusive holidays focussed primarily on hotel and holiday resort accommodation in the Algarve, with little attention paid to any means of alternative lodging.

While package holidays grew in popularity, travel guides such as the Lonely Planet and Rough Guides were promoting a new kind of travel. These travel guides focussed on the 'road not travelled', moving guests away from noisy tourist resorts and onto the undiscovered roads of the Algarve, with a major inters in the rural Algarve and its hidden charms.

As this new kind of dynamic, escapist travel grew in popularity, the new breed of traveller began to discover alternative options for accommodation in the Algarve. The popular guidebooks promoted the traditional bed and breakfast in the Algarve, as well as the smaller travel companies who offered caravan and camping holidays across Portugal. All in all, visitors to the Algarve were slowly being offered a wider range of options for accommodation in the Algarve.

It's hardly surprising that more and more people are choosing an Algarve bed and breakfast as opposed to a hotel. While a hotel may be renowned for convenience and in-house amenities, it generally lacks character and isolates the traveller from a genuine experience of the Algarve. A bed and breakfast on the other hand means you are staying in a traditional Algarve setting, often with a Portuguese family and are given a better opportunity to appreciate what life on the Algarve is really like.

No doubt the options for travellers visiting the Algarve will continue to grow, and although Algarve bed and breakfasts may grow in popularity many will continue to favour the all-inclusive holiday package. The most important thing is that travellers have a wider range of accommodation options when visiting the Algarve, be it hotel or bed and breakfast.

Article Source: http://www.mycontentbuilder.com

Carolyn is a freelance writer based in London, UK.

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