GENEALOGY
IN THE SUNSHINE 2015
HIGHLIGHTS
* Stay at the Rocha Brava Village
Resort near Carvoiero, on the Algarve (the southern
coast of Portugal); it's a beautifully tranquil cliff-top setting - my wife and
I bought a quarter-share in a one-bedroom apartment 6 years ago and we love the
place.
* Self-catering accommodation around
£99 per person for 7 nights (based on two people sharing a 1-bedroom apartment
with full bathroom and kitchen, lounge/diner and terrace or patio).
* If you are travelling on your own
I'll do my best to match you up with another attendee; the cost will be about
£122 per person in a 2-bedroom apartment (shared bathroom). Or bring a friend
or relative along for a holiday.
* Return flights from the UK as little
as £100 per person including taxes.
* Course dates Saturday 14th -
Saturday 21st March 2015, but there will be no formal sessions on either
Saturday; you are welcome to arrive early or stay later for a small additional
charge - this year the average stay was 10 nights.
* Excellent line-up
of speakers including Else Churchill from the Society of Genealogists (pictured,
left), an 
incredibly
experienced speaker, writer and key representative of the genealogical
community; Chris Paton (pictured, right), an Irish-born but Scottish-based
professional family historian, author and tutor; John Hanson, who writes
extensively on family history and has lectured all over England (including at
WDYTYA Live) and is currently Research Director of the Halsted Trust, an
educational charity that promotes family history research through One-Name
Studies; DNA expert Debbie Kennett, author and Honorary Research Associate
in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at University College
London; and Professor Rebecca Probert from the University of Warwick, who is
an expert on marriage law and practice over the centuries.
* We'll also be hearing from Donald
Davis, the Canadian researcher who discovered that some 
of the original
1841 Census forms for Shropshire had survived; also from Canada is John D Reid (photo,
right), author of the influential blog Canada's
Anglo-Celtic Connections. More speakers will be announced shortly!
* There will be an exclusive area on
the LostCousins Forum to enable attendees and speakers to introduce themselves
ahead of the course, keep in touch during the course, and exchange information
and tips. Look out especially for tips from those who were on the inaugural
course in March 2014!
* Typical late March weather on the
Algarve: daytime high of 66 degrees, night-time low of 49 degrees with between
7 and 8 hours of sunshine per day (in fact, it's rather like June in England).
CAN I BRING FRIENDS/RELATIVES WHO
AREN'T ON THE COURSE?
Non-participating friends and
relatives are welcome - the price of the apartments doesn't depend on the
number of occupants.
WILL WE BE ABLE TO TRAVEL INDEPENDENTLY?
Yes - indeed that's the only way it
will work. I can't offer a complete package because then I'd have to become a
travel agent (or get a travel agent involved, which would push the price up
considerably), so you will need to make your own travel arrangements. The
nearest airport is Faro, which has flights from/to
many destinations (for example, there are direct flights from about 20 UK
airports).
Of course, I'll do my best to help and
advise you - as usual my advice is free.
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST TO GET THERE?
When I last checked Ryanair were
quoting £57.99 for a flight from London Stansted to Faro on Friday 13th March;
a return flight on Sunday 22nd March was £42.99
Ryanair also fly to Faro from
Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, East Midlands, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool,
Londonderry, and Manchester.
Easyjet fly to Faro from
Belfast, Bristol, Gatwick, Luton, Glasgow, Newcastle, and Southend.
Faro is about an hour's drive from
Rocha Brava - there are transfers available but I've never personally used them
because car hire is so cheap (but my wife has). In the past I have flown to
Seville or Jerez in Spain and driven from there – if you have time to spare and
an adventurous nature there are all sorts of options!
Tip:
when booking on Ryanair you can usually save money by booking the return
journey separately (because if you pay for the return journey in Euros it
usually works out cheaper - for example the return flight to Stansted on Sunday
22nd March is 48.99 Euros, which is less than £40).
IS A CAR ESSENTIAL?
No, but thoroughly recommended - it
not only saves the cost of transfers to and from the airport, it also saves on
the cost of food and drink (which is much cheaper in the supermarkets than in
the local mini-markets).
Car hire for 1 week currently costs
from as little as £29 per week for advance bookings (including unlimited
mileage and Collision Damage Waiver). After trying many other car rental
companies I've discovered that Enjoy is by far the cheapest, and it's the only
one of the low cost websites which has a "fair fuel policy", which
means that you're never forced to buy a full tank of fuel which you may not
use. By the way, if you use the following link LostCousins should get a small
commission:
https://www.enjoycarhire.com/?affiliate=LC
If you don't hire a car you might make
friends with another couple who have - I'm sure that we'll all do our best to
help each other out.
Tip:
don't book your car through an airline - it's likely to be MUCH more expensive.
If you're of a cautious nature you can
also save money on insurance with a policy from insurance4carhire (£39.99 for
unlimited rentals in the UK & Europe up to 60 days per year). This replaces
the excess insurance that car hire companies sell, and which can cost anything
from £5 to £10 per day!
Note:
if you've taken my advice about car hire you'll be picking up your vehicle from
Car Park 4. Don't follow the signs for rental cars after coming through
customs, instead go out of the terminal and turn left (ie
in the direction of departures), continuing until you see a sign for Car Park
4. It's quite a long walk (but you have to walk just as far if you book a car
from an expensive company).
TRANSFERS
If you prefer not to hire a car then
there's a low-cost shuttle that will take you all the way from Faro Airport to
Rocha Brava reception - for under £10 per person each way. It's ideal if you're
arriving late at night.
When booking specify Carvoeiro as the
town, then give the address as Rocha Brava.
Tip:
You can also book a private transfer through the same site - if there are 4 or
more travelling it is only slightly more expensive than a shuttle.
HOW LONG WILL THE COURSE LAST?
The formal proceedings will commence
on Sunday afternoon and end on Friday evening, but you can arrive earlier and
leave later and enjoy the sunshine - you'll probably find that be travelling
midweek you pay less for your flights. I will be arriving a few days early and
staying on for a second week to recover!
MY SPOUSE/PARTNER ISN'T INTERESTED IN
FAMILY HISTORY
No problem - there are lots of other
things to do. Apart from the beautiful grounds and the facilities at the resort
there are many attractions in the area. This article will give you some ideas:
http://www.hpb-rochabrava.com/articles.aspx
You can walk long the cliffs to either
aside of Rocha Brava (but don't try to cross the gulley in the middle as it's pretty challenging). The Algarve is renowned for birdwatching - a Google search brings up lots of results.
If you've got Google Earth on your computer just type in 'Rocha Brava' to be
transported to the resort!
On one or two evenings during the week
I'll be organising a Safari Supper - this is optional but great fun, especially
if you have come on your own or have brought a non-participating spouse who
might be feeling left out.
WHAT IS THE ACCOMMODATION LIKE?
There are over 400 properties in the
resort, mainly one- or two-bedroom apartments (though there are also some big
villas), built in a traditional Algarve style on an estate which extends to
nearly 60 acres. It's a low rise development, so all accommodation is on the
ground floor or first floor, and all apartments have their own entrance (in the
UK we'd call them maisonettes).
The apartments are privately-owned,
and many of the owners stay there for part of the year. This means that every
apartment is different – whilst there are minimum standards that owners need to
meet before being considered for the rental system, many apartments have
extras, and they all have little personal touches.
All the apartments have full kitchens so
you can eat as cheaply as you would at home (and drink much more cheaply - I've
found a perfectly drinkable wine that costs just over a pound a bottle!). They
also have washing machines, so you don't need to bring a lot of luggage (but be
warned that most apartments don't have a tumble dryer or a dishwasher).
Rocha Brava is a NO SMOKING resort.
HOW MUCH DOES THE ACCOMMODATION COST?
The current price is 35.50 Euros per
night for a one-bedroom apartment, usually with two single beds (and an
additional sofa bed or Z-bed in the lounge if required). For 7 nights this
works out at about £197 at the current exchange rate.
A two-bedroom apartment (1 double bed
and 2 single beds) would cost 43.50 Euros per night, or about £244 at the
current exchange rate.
There are also larger apartments and
villas for those of you with bigger families (or bigger budgets), or if you
want a superior apartment (with a seaview).
THE COST OF THE ACCOMMODATION IS THE
SAME IRRESPECTIVE OF OCCUPANCY AND WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE ALL ATTENDING THE
COURSE.
No food is included in the price, but
I am hoping that we will once again have an end-of-course meal, and if so this
will be extra (this year it was 27 Euros for a 3 course dinner with wine,
water, and coffee). Those of you who came in March 2014 will know that we
completely filled the restaurant, so unless I can find a larger venue we may have to restrict the dinner to
attendees and speakers only.
I'll explain how to book accommodation
in a week or two, once the survey forms have been returned - please DON'T book
your accommodation yet otherwise you won't benefit from special treatment (and
could end up paying more than you need to).
STANDARD FACILITIES IN ALL APARTMENTS
Fridge freezer, electric oven and hob,
washing machine, microwave, coffee machine, kettle, toaster, ironing board and
iron, TV (with most of the main free UK channels)
NOT INCLUDED
Hairdryer, bathrobes
AVAILABLE FOR HIRE FROM RECEPTION
Beach towels
WIFI
WiFi had just been
installed across the resort when we visited in March. It's free for guests -
but please note that it's not intended for audio or
video streaming, only for emails and websurfing.
If you bring your laptop, tablet, or
phone make sure you bring a UK to European adaptor. I will have a couple of
extras in case of emergency - I bought a pack of 5 adaptors for £3.30 here.
WHAT COMMUNAL FACILITIES ARE THERE AT ROCHA BRAVA?
There are four tennis courts, a gymnasium/fitness
room, and three swimming pools, although only the smallest one is heated and in
use in March (this year the heated pool was an open air pool - in 2015 we
should have access to a covered heated pool).
There's also a table tennis table (but
it's outside, so challenging if there's a breeze) and there's a pool table and
other games in the Club Room. There are charges for tennis, table tennis and
use of the gym (which will only be open in the mornings during the course, as
we're using part of the area for the course in the afternoons); you'll need to
pay in cash. Rackets and balls are available for hire if you decide not to
bring your own - or you can buy them at the SportsDirect.com store on the way
from the airport.
There is a restaurant, a café/bar, and
a mini-market within the resort, and the reception is
staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Just outside the main entrance of
Rocha Brava there are two restaurants, and there are two more within a short
walk in the direction of Carvoeiro and the beautiful beach at Vale de Centianes (on the left in the Google Earth photo above). If
you leave Rocha Brava from the far side there's a back road leading down to the
beach where you'll find shops, cafes, and bars.
CURRENCY
Other than the course fee everything
needs to be paid for in Euros, even if I've quoted an equivalent in pounds; if
you're happier working with amounts in your own currency a good site to check
exchange rates is XE.com, which quotes the
mid-market rates that banks pay (your bank will probably add 2% commission).
There is no ATM on site - the nearest
is about 2 miles away on the road leading into Carvoeiro village, but I usually
go to the Intermarche supermarket on the road to Lagoa which is a little further away. However, I don't
generally need much cash - almost all the shops accept credit cards, although
the minimarket has a lower limit of 10 Euros for card payments. Rocha Brava
will accept credit card payment for your accommodation.
Tip:
there's an ATM at the airport, so you can draw cash on arrival.
ATMs in Portugal are not allowed to
charge fees - you'll only pay what your bank charges. You may find that it's
cheaper to use a credit card rather than a debit card - it depends on the fee
structure and how much you are drawing (200 Euros seems to be the limit in any
one transaction); I use my Saga Platinum credit card as the 2% charge is very
competitive.
Tip: if
you have a Nationwide FlexPlus current account you
can draw cash abroad without paying any commission using your FlexPlus debit card.
HOW FAR IS THE BEACH
It's a 10 minute walk to the nearest beach,
and there are several other beautiful beaches within 5 miles. The sea will be
too cold for swimming, but the views will be stunning, and on sunny days it
will be warm enough for sunbathing - so you might even go home with a tan!
WHAT ELSE IS IN THE AREA
There is a 9 hole
par 3 golf course within walking distance and there are many restaurants, bars,
and shops nearby. The new Aqua Shopping Center in Portimao is highly recommended (about 20 minutes drive), but there are several supermarkets which
are much closer (though none within walking distance). The resort provides a
free bus service to Carvoeiro (about 2 miles away) three times a day, and the
local taxis are reasonably-priced.
For serious golfers there is an 18 hole par 71 course a bit further away which offers reduced
rates in low season.
DO THEY SPEAK ENGLISH?
I don't speak Portuguese but I've
never found this to be a problem – almost everyone involved in the tourist
industry in Portugal speaks English and you'll find that many people in shops
do too.
WHAT ABOUT THE COURSE ITSELF?
We'll be running most sessions in the
afternoon, leaving you mornings and evenings free, although there will be
workshops and special interest sessions most mornings for those who want to
attend.
Because some of the people coming in
2015 also attended this year's inaugural event there will be two tracks; closer
to the time you'll be invited to choose which sessions you want to attend. You
can download the March 2014 timetable if you follow the link below, but please
bear in mind there will be more speakers and more choice in 2015.
http://forums.lc/genealogy/index.php?threads/course-timetable.1355/
HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL ATTEND?
We're limited by the size of the room
we'll be using and by the number of apartments that we've been able to reserve,
so I'm anticipating there will be about 70-75 of us including speakers.
IMPORTANT NOTE: information given here is
believed to be correct at the time of writing and current exchange rates have
been used. Some details may change due to circumstances beyond the control of
LostCousins but changes may also be made in order to improve the experience for
the majority of attendees. It is your responsibility to take out travel
insurance if required, and please note that if you are visiting from outside
the EU you may need a visa or other permit.