Algarve news and information portal - AlgarveMais

There are a number of criteria for assessing the quality of beaches. The quality of the water and the sand, the surrounding areas and safety are some of the things that can be taken into account. In the Algarve, there are 36 beaches classified as “Accessible Beaches, Beaches for All”, 48 blue flag beaches and 67 designated as “gold quality”.

THE European Union has announced two programmes which will bring millions of euros to the Algarve. The first, dubbed the ‘Algarve Regional Operational Programme’ sets out Community support for Portugal within the convergence objective framework. Community funding for this programme, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), amounts to some 175 million euros, which represents approximately 0.8 per cent of the total EU investment in Portugal under the 2007-13 Cohesion Policy.

Holidaymakers heading to Portugal this month may want to consider taking a detour to the Algarve coast for one of the nation's biggest celebrations. Between June 25th and 29th, the Algarve region will host its annual celebration of music, dance, and art, giving holidaymakers the chance to experience the best the Mediterranean has to offer in this arena.

Oceanico Golf, the owners of the renowned Vilamoura ‘famous five’ championship courses, have announced a new ‘2008 Portugal Masters’ sponsorship deal with the European Tour. The host venue will once again be the Victoria golf course, where Steven Webster claimed victory in last year’s inaugural event. "The Portugal Masters was a huge success last year and we are very pleased to be developing an even closer relationship with the event and The European Tour in general.