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How much for a week in the Algarve?

How much for a week in the Algarve?

Where: The seaside town of Alvor
When: September 4th-11th

With the tour operator
Panorama is offering a week in a very plush hotel in the Algarve, in Portugal, at the beginning of September for just over €1,800 for a couple. The package has us staying at the five-star Pestana Alvor, which is perched on a cliff top overlooking what the tour operator promises is a stretch of sandy beach, accessible by a private lift. The package includes bed and breakfast for seven days and has us leaving Dublin airport on a Monarch Airlines flight bound for Faro at 5.15pm on Thursday evening and departing Faro at 9pm a week later. The basic price is €1,880, but as we book online we qualify for a web discount of €78.
How much?€1,802.

On your own
We visit the hotel website,  www.pestana.com, and opt for a double room with a garden view, which has a special rate of €190 per night - a total of €1,330. Ryanair has flights from Dublin to Faro leaving on Thursday afternoon at 12.20pm and returning home the following week at 3.25pm. The outward leg has an initial price of €68.99 per person; the return leg costs €39.99. Once all the charges are added, including handling charges of €16 and €40 for one checked-in bag per person per flight, the total price of the tickets is €378.90. Transfers to and from the hotel will cost about €40.
How much?€1,748.90.

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Independent savings€53.10.

Conor Pope

Conor Pope

Conor Pope is Consumer Affairs Correspondent, Pricewatch Editor