Luxurious Links Golf All Year Round? Why Estela Golf Should Host Your Next Trip

With its vast array of high-quality golf courses and year-round sunshine, the Algarve understandably steals the limelight when it comes to golf in Portugal. But the peak season temperatures can extend beyond what is tolerable, causing many to look further north for their summer golfing getaway.

Excited to see what this part of the country has to offer, I flew into Porto and headed 30 minutes up the coast to Tivoli Estela Golf & Lodges.

Tucked away amongst remote farmland, don’t let your somewhat meagre surroundings as you approach cloud your expectations of what awaits you. On arrival, it’s clear you’re in for a luxurious and unique stay. It starts with the 80 air-conditioned wooden lodges, of which there are five different types ranging in size depending on your needs, nestled seamlessly into the natural landscape.

Despite only opening in July 2025, the maturity of the flora makes it look like it has existed for decades. All the lodges have a private decking area and inside, you’re greeted with a spacious room and a comfortable bed, a lounge area to relax and a modern bathroom. In short, it has all the amenities needed to recharge and enjoy your time away from the golf course.

I particularly enjoyed the housekeeping communication system, which involved magnetic golf balls of different colours - choose to display the green ball and you can swap your room clean for a complimentary drink at the bar!

Elsewhere on site, you can enjoy the indoor pool, steam room and sauna within the wellness center, a well-equipped gym and even a short tunnel that leads directly to what is essentially a private beach. There’s also an outdoor pool with a well stocked bar and two padel courts for the sporting enthusiasts as well as a children’s play area and kids club.

The resort sits adjacent to Estela Golf Club and you can catch a golf buggy shuttle directly from your lodge to the clubhouse, which takes a mere five minutes.

The course has been around for much longer than the resort, 25 years in fact, and for those who want an authentic links experience in more pleasant temperatures, it’s a standout choice. In fact, the breeze that sweeps in off the Atlantic keeps the temperature pretty constant from April through to mid October.

Both nines are very much out and back which consequently means there is jeopardy off every tee. If you have developed a bout of the hooks during your warm up you might want to pack some extra balls, as the first six holes run tightly along a section of the 3.5km of coastline the course covers.

But even if you do shell a few balls into the ocean, it’s hard to stay mad when soaking in the stunning views that greet you from every angle.

The third hole is a devilishly tight par four that plays into the prevailing wind to what looks like an infinity green. In fact, the majority of the greens sit well above you, adding to the questions asked of your approach play, although you get a good look at the putting surface on the beautiful par-3 fourth as well as the waves crashing into the dunes beyond.

You get glimpses of the iconic stone windmill, which forms the Estela Golf Club logo, as you play the first few holes but you get up close and personal to it as you putt out on the 6th green in all its majesty. The eighth hole requires a tee shot over water, again to an elevated green while the 9th is one of the wider fairways on the course, offering some relief as you finish the outward half.

For the back nine it’s much of the same (which is no bad thing) but the finishing two holes certainly leave a lasting impression on your round. The 17th is a beautiful par-3 over water to a raised green while on the par-4 18th, you drive between a narrow shoot of bushes to a wide fairway and then play uphill to a green that sits directly in front of the clubhouse.

The food at the clubhouse is very good but it must be said to go up a notch or two back at the Tivoli Estela Golf & Lodges where the Green’s restaurant serves up authentic Portuguese flavours inspired by the freshness of local, seasonal ingredients. Highlights include the finest fish and seafood from the coast, perfectly paired with the region’s renowned wines.

The appeal of both the stunning links golf course and the serenity and facilities of Tivoli Estela lodges on their own stands to reason but combining the two like I did during my visit makes for a truly memorable trip. Visit the Tivoli website to find out more.