River Island: luxury waterfront villa; heated pool; kayaks; river bar with food

ESCAPE THE MADNESS! PORTUGAL IS ONE OF THE LEAST VIRUS-AFFECTED COUNTRIES. THERE HAVE BEEN VERY FEW CASES IN THIS AREA AND OUR POSITION ON AN ISLAND AT THE END OF A LONG APPROACH ROAD ALSO AFFORDS GREAT SECURITY. IMPORTANT: WE HAVE TWO VILLAS ON THIS SITE. TO VIEW THE OTHER VISIT PROP. REF. 10577348 OR CONTACT OWNER. AVISO ESPECIAL: LOTAÇÃO DE SEIS PESSOAS NO MÁXIMO. É FAVOR NÃO PEDIR OU MARCAR PARA SEIS PESSOAS, E DEPOIS ANUNCIAR QUE NA VERDADE SÃO MAIS! SE COMPARACEREM MAIS DE SEIS PESSOAS, RECUSAMOS ENTRADA, SEM REIMBOLSO. This is an area for individualists. If you cannot bear to be more than two metres from another tourist, if you enjoy lager louts, noisy bars, tacky shops, rip-off restaurants, burger gases, traffic jams and impossible parking, then this is not for you. But why be stampeded into an overcrowded, overpriced tourist ghetto? Instead, treat yourself to a dreamy slice of a watery Eden, Europe's 'forgotten' paradise. Look around you and you might find it hard to believe you are in Europe, never mind just a two-hour flight from grey skies and rain-soaked streets. Try wild swimming in the tree-lined river. We have a 600-mtr stretch of calm water, about 1.3 mtrs deep, not as warm as the pool but still very pleasant, and full of little fish. If you stay still they will come and nibble at your skin – a recognised spa therapy! You might spot a kingfisher or even an otter while swimming downstream to the river bar (open May – Oct), The villa has been stylishly restored without cutting corners, to make a roomy home of uncommon charm and elegance. Hot water from solar panels. Oil-fired or wood-stove central heating and double glazing throughout. On the ground floor are a walk-in shower room; utility room with washing machine; big sitting room with wood-burning stove (linked to the central heating), 43" SMART TV, and a glazed door with characteristic small veranda and railings, overlooking the kitchen garden and river; a large, modern fitted kitchen and dining area, with door to garden and river A wooden staircase leads up to the first floor, where there are three double bedrooms. Two share a shower room (with two-person walk-in shower), the other is the master bedroom with en-suite bathroom and private veranda. Take a lazy breakfast in the room or on its veranda, or just lounge with a good book and barely a sound, except, perhaps, for the sighing trees and the children’s shrieks of laughter from the river below. (Note that during the course of a normal summer, on maybe three occasions groups gather in the daytime only for a picnic on the other side of the river. This will inevitably break the usual peace, perhaps for a few hours.) In the private riverside garden is an exceptionally pretty swimming pool (c 7 x 3 mtrs water area) with lounge shelf and sun deck. The riverside kitchen garden has lounge seating and barbecue. Steps lead down to the river and boats. from where you can swim in the normally clear and warm waters, or take a kayak downstream to the river bar or upstream to the cascades and rock pools. Guests can also help themselves to lemons and oranges, when in fruit. PLEASE NOTE: The villas have all their own separate facilities, including pool and kayaks. They are screened off for mutual privacy, but we politely ask guests not to play loud music in the pool/garden areas, especially at unsocial hours. OTHER THINGS TO DO *Kayaks on the river; *Lovely walks and drives through the hills and the 'lost' mountain villages; *'Portugal Pequinitos' - a fantasy model village with Portugal's great buildings in miniature, but still large enough to walk through, plus humbler houses accessible only to children; *Conimbriga - the ancient Roman capital with some of the best mosaics in Europe; * World Heritage Tomar, a lovely old town with Knights Templar castle and convent; *The vast golden beaches at Figueira da Foz, the west coast's largest seaside resort. *Horse-riding; *Open-air zoo plus farm zoo; *Gondola rides on the canals of Aveiro; *The Holy Shrine at Fatima and nearby beautifully lit caves; *The medieval university city of Coimbra with its big shopping malls and quaint streets and squares in the old town; *Tree adventure park; *Strange limestone caves at Casmilo; *Nazaré seaside resort with celebrated seafood restaurant and cable car to 'hidden' town above. The infrastructure is excellent, English widely spoken and restaurants amazingly cheap. This is the real Portugal, not a tourist ghetto rip-off. NOTE THAT DESPITE THE WATERY LOCATION, MOSQUITOS ARE NOT A SPECIAL PROBLEM (though of course we do get them). IN FACT THE ISLAND SEEMS TO BE LESS TROUBLED BY FLYING INSECTS THAN PROPERTIES WELL AWAY FROM WATER. Tourism licence nº 63970/AL