Just off the Algarve coast, a mere 10 minute ferry ride from Olhão, lies the picturesque little island of Armona, one of a small group of islands that form part of the Ria Formosa National Park.

You can get to Armona easily by ferry or Rio Taxi. The ferry costs Euro 1.45 each way and takes around 10 minutes. It can get quite cool and breezy during the crossing at this time of year so it’s best to carry a thin jacket or to sit below deck.

The protocol for ticket buying is a little confusing. At first we purchased them on the ferry itself. The ticket seller, usually a cheery, rather plumpish lady, would take our money then rip the ticket before handing it over.
On one occasion though it was a young girl collecting the money. She just handed us the ticket without the usual tear. As her attention seemed to be on the people sitting behind us we presumed she had forgotten so jokingly Kelvin, my partner, ripped it for her. Big mistake! A minute or two later a rather sour faced man came checking the tickets, ripping them as he went. He feigned not to speak English and just growled at us in Portuguese. We tried to explain that the tickets we we’re offering to him had just been purchased expecting to get some back up from the girl ticket seller but she just stood there staring at us blankly. After a few heated words and a sulk from Kelvin we paid again.

Another time the tickets were being collected as you boarded the ferry and we were sent back up the pier to buy one from the small booth that had always been shut before. It was a bank holiday and the ferry was quite busy so I think the rule of thumb is that if the ticket booth is open that is a good indication to buy your tickets from there as you will not get on the ferry without one.

The much more costly alternative are the Rio taxi’s – Speed boats that can carry up to 8 people but will set you back around Euro 20 each way.

The island itself is made up of one large and one small village at each end of a long stretch of beach and scrub. The larger of the two is Armona village, where you disembark from Olhao. Fuseta, at the other end is little more than a shanty town of a few huts and dwellings.

Armona village consists of one main main walkway with a rabbit warren of very narrow lanes on either side, two – three villas deep. The main path takes you past a long line of detached villas of all shapes, sizes and colors with pretty little gardens. About half way along is “Orbital”, a featureless camp site of neat little huts and a small childrens play ground. It is surrounded by a tall mesh fence giving it the air of an open prison. It is not somewhere that I would want to spend my holidays but it seems very popular with the Portuguese.

The walk along the beach from one village to the other takes around 2 hours, a little longer if, like me, you spend your time collecting shells (or cockles) along the way. We started our walk around 9.30 am when the weather was quite pleasant. We passed very few people and Kelvin even went “au natural” for part of the way. There is no shade on the walk and even at this time of the year it got very hot by the time we headed back.

We were quite sweaty and thirsty when we arrived in Fuseta but there were no shops. There was however, a cafe/restaurant but it was closed and as it was around lunch time I can only presume it is only open in season.

If you fancy making a day of it you can walk to Fuseta, take a ferry across to mainland Fuseta (the island villages are named after the areas on the mainland) and a train back to Alhao. I can’t say how long this takes but I have been told you can get back to Alhao in plenty of time for the ferry back.

Out of season the island is practically deserted but in July and August it is flooded with Portuguese families seeking the cooler temperatures away from the mainland.

We arrived in the last week of April for 3 weeks and for the first few days it was quite cold but the weather soon changed to glorious sunshine. May seems a good time for a visit, beautiful weather and sandy, deserted beaches although May day is a national holiday so the island does see quite a few locals arriving on the ferry. In fact I have been told that in the main holiday months there are wall to wall bodies on the beaches and the waters are full of jet skiing teenagers.

We have found 4 cafes/bars that are open at this time of year and there are possibly more in the season. Two of them are at the ferry terminal, another, halfway along the main walkway to the sand dunes (this one has a good little shop next door) and the last is at the end of the main walk way.
There are no internet facilities on the island although we did get a connection through Algarvedigital briefly when the weather was bad.

There isn’t a lot to do on the island out of season apart from relax and soak up the rays. Although it is actually illegal, being a nature reserve, most of the Portuguese spend their time cockle picking, mainly I think for their own suppers, although there does seem to be several professional pickers out there every day. Not that there appears to be a shortage of shell fish as you will notice if you walk along the beach as the tide is going out.

During our time on Armona we were introduced to a Michele, a lovely lady from England who has been living on the Island for 20 years. Michele rents out villas for the owners and is very accommodating and helpful. The villas are affordably priced in and out of season and her son, Henry, is hoping to be able to offer boat trips in the near future.

If you are interested in contacting Michele with regards to renting out a villa please tel:
(00351) 963241483 – Michele
(00351) 963429437 – Henry
e-mail: hennas_18@yahoo.com.br
Write: Michele and Henry Edwards, P.O.Box Apartado 415, Olhao 8700-913, Portugal