Reviews Boutique Hotel Guesthouse-Moncarapacho East Algarve, Portugal

We had a wonderful holiday at Guesthouse Moncarapacho in eastern Algarve, Portugal. The studio where we stayed was beautifully decorated and equipped with all amenities. The pool was lovely and we enjoyed the surroundings. The coast and islands off the coast are fun to explore, as are the towns and villages in East Algarve.

The weather was very pleasant at the end of September, between 25 and 30 degrees. In short, we had a great time! Maarten and Celine are extremely hospitable, everything was tip-top.

I hope all is well with you.

Kind regards, Saskia and Frank

Dear Maarten and Celine,

Everything is going well with us. After returning home, we're back to work, and before you know it, you're right back in the daily routine.

We had a wonderful stay at Guesthouse Moncarapacho. The village is beautifully located centrally, and the guesthouse itself is spacious, making it a great base for exploring the area. The apartment is comfortable and fully furnished.

There's plenty to do in the surroundings. We really enjoyed the beaches in the Ria Formosa - such as Santa Luzia and Cacela Velha. The Seven Hanging Valleys Trail is also a beautiful walk, and the viewpoint at Cerro da Cabeça is definitely worth it. The olive oil tour at Monte Rosa was a surprisingly fun activity.

There's a wide choice of restaurants: from luxurious dinners at Bosso in Tavira to simple but delicious piri piri chicken at Frango da Ria towards Olhão. The welcome at the guesthouse was particularly friendly and hospitable, and the welcome package in the apartment was a nice surprise that made us feel immediately at home.

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our time at Guesthouse Moncarapacho - a beautiful place with a welcoming atmosphere and plenty of opportunities in the area. Highly recommended.

"We had an amazing stay at your guesthouse. The welcome was fantastic, and you are very warm and friendly hosts. We enjoyed our nice conversations. The accommodation was spotless, almost new, and everything worked as it should. The only thing that might be missing were some hooks for towels.

The personal touch you prepared for our little boy was very attentive, and he was thrilled. Also, the breakfast was delicious and incredibly extensive!

The surroundings are beautiful. The beaches are easily and quickly accessible, and the ferry to the nearby islands is also very accessible and highly recommended.

The pool was great, nice and big, and the saltwater made it much nicer than chlorinated water. The garden was still under construction in this new phase, but it's sure to be beautiful! We would definitely come back to stay here.

Kind regards, Lai Jin and Max

Hi Celina and Maarten,

We would like to leave a review. We had an amazing time at Guesthouse Moncarapacho. The location is perfect; you can easily visit lovely coastal towns like Tavira, Fuseta, or Olhão. You can also venture more inland, hike in the Fonte Férrea park, and visiting the Ria Formosa is highly recommended.

The cottage itself and the service are excellent. Spacious, cozy, clean, and a beautiful terrace with a sea view; we could get used to it!

We were surprised with some tapas on our first evening, and the breakfast the next morning was truly luxurious! Celina and Maarten had great tips for the area and were very friendly. Thank you so much for the lovely time!

Greetings, Lienke & Wouter P.S. The rice table was also fantastic (thanks again for all the cooking, Maarten)

We enjoyed our stay at your beautiful boutique hotel. The decor is really lovely, and everything has been thought of. With the distant view, nice villages, and pleasant beaches, it's a wonderful vacation spot!

A peaceful place in nature with nice villages and the ocean nearby. A beautiful cottage with all comforts and plenty of privacy. And a friendly host nearby if anything should come up. The pool and garden are lovely places to relax with a view of the ocean!

Dear Maarten and Celina,

As already confirmed verbally, we thoroughly enjoyed the comfortable accommodation and exceptional hospitality. Both at check-in and check-out, we appreciated the wine and other gifts. And respect for your special personal project and adventure in building this accommodation from scratch.

And, like in the well-known B&B TV show, there are some tips. Indeed. The absence of barking dogs was a positive point worth mentioning; no barking dogs that we often hear in Portugal.

In the coming weeks, we will consider our plans for next year and will ask you about availability.

Kind regards, Peter and Liedeweijde

In June 2025, we had the honor of being the first guests in the new studio Casa Florine.

Maarten and Celina bought a beautiful piece of land in Moncarapacho, where they built a lovely white house with three rentable cottages.

The finishing touches were still being made, but it will certainly turn out well.

We explored the eastern Algarve from Faro to Tavira. In the area, we went for beautiful walks among fruit and olive trees and climbed over rocks.

The Ria Formosa nature reserve, which stretches 60 km along the coast, is breathtaking. When you walk through this area from Fuseta, a nearby coastal village just 6 km away, you'll see thousands of tiny crabs.

Fuseta has a pleasant beach. You can enjoy fresh fish on the boulevard, and the center has lovely restaurants with terraces. We had delicious vegetarian meals at Green Spirit twice and once at the Tapas restaurant do Nik.

We rented bikes in Moncarapacho from a nice, friendly man who already knew Celina.

One day we cycled to Tavira on the EVO 1 bike route, mainly through the Ria Formosa. Right at the beginning, we encountered beautiful flamingos and birds. Tavira is a charming town with shops, restaurants, and a castle with a beautiful garden that you can freely explore.

On another day, we cycled to Faro through the Ria Formosa on the bike route, but it ends abruptly, so we had to find an alternative route.

What I found particularly remarkable are the islands off the coast, part of the Ria Formosa, which you can reach by ferry at a reasonable price or take a boat tour.

We took the ferry from Olhão to Ohla da Culatra. We walked through the charming fishing village with restaurants to the beach, through beautiful nature. From the beach, we walked for 45 minutes to Ohla do Farol, where we had something to eat and spent a few hours on the beach before taking the ferry back to Olhão.

Olhão is also a lovely town with narrow Portuguese streets and an impressive indoor fish, vegetable, and fruit market on the boulevard.

We also took the ferry from Fuseta to Ohla da Fuseta and walked along the beach to Ohla da Armona, a long village where we had lunch and relaxed on the beach before walking back - a total of about 16 km.

You can walk to the Praia do Barril beach, about 9 km from the guesthouse, or take a little train to the Atlantic coast beach. Afterward, we ate cuttlefish in Santa Luzia.

The islands Ohla da Tavira and Ohla de Faro, which you also reach by ferry, are supposed to be beautiful as well.

On Saturdays, Loulé has a large indoor and outdoor fish, vegetable, and fruit market. It's a lovely town in the countryside.

On our way back, we drove through small Portuguese villages and ate at a restaurant mainly frequented by locals. In Moncarapacho, there are nice restaurants and squares.

We took a tour of the Quinta da Tor winery, where we had a wonderful wine tasting with delicious snacks and enjoyed their lovely pool.

Since Celina and Maarten's pool was not quite finished in June 2025, and it was very hot, we went to a restaurant with a pool in Fuseta three times, Ria Panoramiqua, which was very tasty and had a beautiful view of the Ria Formosa and the Atlantic Ocean.

From the Casa Florine studio's terrace, you can also see the Atlantic Ocean - incredible! The studio is cozy and decorated with care, and the essentials were provided for us, including a bottle of wine 🥂. Our bed was changed regularly 😀.

It is handy to have a car; hopefully, we can come back once the pool and garden are fully completed.

Love, Remco & Gertrude

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