Vila Galé Albacora - Tavira

The Vila Galé Albacora Hotel grew out of the renovation od a typical, old tuna fish market.

Thanks to its origins, the Albacora hotel has unique architectural and cultural features set right in the middle of the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, in the Algar The hotel Vila Galé Albacora is the result of the restoration of the former tuna fishing camp Arraial Ferreira Neto, where the “people of the sea” linked to tuna fishing lived from March to September.

This hotel in Tavira, set in broad Natural Park of Ria Formosa, is thus an architectural witness to the way of life of fishermen and their families, when the typical Almadrava - the frame to capture the tuna - was still used.

The old fishermen houses, workshops and warehouses gave place to 162 rooms with beautiful views of the Ria Formosa. The existing chapel was preserved and is now adapted for hosting weddings and christenings, as well as the old school, converted into a kids’ club.

And the former bakery became a free small museum that is open to the public. This is where you can observe a model illustrating the great engineering work that the almadrava was and century-old documents of the Algarve Fisheries Company (Companhia de Pescarias do Algarve).