Casas da Serra Tavira are four beautifully restored old country houses located in the beautiful foothills of the Serra Algarvia, about 10 kilometers from Tavira and 8 kilometers from the sea. Our traditional country houses Serro da Volta, Casa do Troco, Monte do Cansado and Casa do Pátio are the perfect place for a holiday in the wild nature of the Eastern Algarve, away from the crowded hotels and holiday resorts. You can book our houses directly with us or on Airbnb.
Our houses can be rented as a whole throughout the year. With their fully equipped kitchens and ample inside and outside dining spaces, they are the perfect retreat for your self-catering holidays.
Casas da Serra are recommended by Taste of Portugal, The Washington Post, Observador Lifestyle, Fugas | Público, Country Hotels in Portugal, Visão, Condé Nast Traveller and by more than 130 guests who stayed at our houses since 2017.
When we discovered the tiny village of Daroeira in 1999, we immediately fell in love with the magic of this hidden place. Far away from the crowds, yet only 15 minutes from the endless sandy beaches of the Eastern Algarve and the untouched nature of the Ria Formosa National Park, Casas da Serra are the perfect place to spend a calm vacation in the middle of nature and under the clear-blue skies of the Sotavento. The closest beach “Praia da Fábrica” is also one of the last untouched beaches in Europe.
In 2000 we bought the country house “Serro da Volta” and began to renovate it in the traditional Algarve style, employing local craftsmen and using traditional materials such as handmade roof tiles, canes and hydraulic tiles. Serro da Volta is a detached house, a few hundred meters away from the village of Daroeira, in the midst of an ecological reserve. A small creek runs through the two hectar property and the house is surrounded by centenary olive and carob trees. At Serro da Volta it is just you and the wild beauty of nature.
11 years later, in 2011, we began to renovate a second house, “Monte do Cansado”, located in the middle of the village. Its bedroom and terrace offers breathtaking views over the hills and valleys of Tavira’s hinterland.
In 2016, after having moved from Berlin to Lisbon, we decided to share the unique experience of our Daroeira country houses with guests from all over the world who seek to spend their holidays in an authentic and individual surrounding, far off the beaten track of today’s mass tourism.
In the first years we met wonderful people, some of which even became friends, and decided to move our Casas da Serra project to the next level. “Casa do Troco”, our third house, used to be the trading point for the surrounding villages. At the same time, it was famous for its long ballroom nights. Until the 1980s, old and young people from the neighbouring villages came to Daroeira to listen and dance to the music of local accordion players. But as the young people started to move to the urban centres of Faro, Tavira, and Vila Real de Santo António, Casa do Troco was closed down and abandoned. We want to bring new life to this historic house, not only as a holiday home, but also as a place for friends to meet, cook together, play music, and get together with local people. Casa do Troco has opened its doors in June 2020. An opening party to bring together our friends, family, and neighbours and follow up on the house’s long and rich history had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2019 we aquired Casa do Pátio, an old house in the middle of the village, whose huge terrace offers the most incredible views over the hills and valleys of the Sotavento. Casa do Pátio opened in June 2020.
Serro da Volta
Surrounded by a small creek, our country house “Serro da Volta” lies alone in a sheltered valley, close to the village of Daroeira. The main house has 5 bedrooms, 3 of which are “en suite” (one with a separate entrance from the terrace), a large open-plan kitchen and a bathroom. The second house “Casa Branca” is a separate apartment with a large living room/bedroom and a private bathroom. The 12.5-meter water tank is surrounded by olive trees and offers breathtaking views of the surrounding hills.
With a modern central heating in every room, it is one of the few places where you can enjoy the eastern Algarve in winter and spring, when the beaches and hiking trails are empty, the plants are green and the flowers are blooming.
Monte do Cansado
Monte do Cansado is a small farmhouse with a magnificent view over the hills of Tavira. With 2 bedrooms, bathroom, a huge open-space kitchen and a large sun terrace it is ideal for beach and hiking holidays in the eastern Algarve.
Since November 2018 the house has a central heating system which makes it the perfect starting point for long hikes or bike tours even on cold winter days.
Casa do Troco
Casa do Troco used to be an old trading house with a barbershop and a ballroom, where the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages danced to the sound of a local accordion player. Today it is a spacious house with a swimming pool, an old outside threshing floor turned into a terrace and a giant cooking and dining space with a kitchen island that invites you to cook with family and friends. Casa do Troco has 5 bedrooms for a maximum 9 guests.
Casa do Pátio
In the heart of Daroeira village, this old country house built on the hillside has a large open space kitchen and two bedrooms. With its high and walled-in terrace Casa do Pátio offers an individual and secluded space with superb views over the peaceful valleys and hills of the Serra de Tavira. The wonderful sandy beaches of Fábrica or Cabanas are only 10 km away.
