Dinners, music and singalongs – the evenings that make your golf trip unforgettable

Ask anyone who's travelled with us what they remember best, and the answer is rarely a birdie. It's the evening when the whole group sat at a long table, when someone won the quiz on the final question, or when John brought out his guitar and suddenly everyone was singing Swedish singalongs in a restaurant. Golf is the reason you come. The evenings are the reason you come back.

Many of our guests travel as couples or on their own, and we know how easy it is for a week to pass without making new golfing friends. That's why our golf hosts organise regular group dinners throughout the season. We book tables at restaurants we know, choose the menu together with the kitchen and make sure you never have to sit alone. After a couple of evenings, the fourballs sort themselves out.

Local food, local wines

We eat what people eat here. In Eastern Algarve, that often means grilled fish or meat, or cataplana with seafood; in Spain it might be paella, an evening of tapas or grilled meat from the mountains. A few times each season we hold wine tastings where a local producer or sommelier takes us through the wines of Algarve or Andalusia glass by glass. It's a relaxed way to learn something new, and an even better way to get to know your neighbour at table.

Quizzes, prize-giving and a bit of friendly competition

Several of our weekly competitions end with prize-giving at dinner that evening, and the room is rarely quiet when the results are announced. There's also usually a quiz with teams at each table – tricky enough that everyone can contribute something. It's not about golf in the first place. It's about laughing together.

John Sanderson – the man with the guitar

In Eastern Algarve, our evenings have their own master of ceremonies. John Sanderson plans and hosts our social evenings in Tavira and Cabanas, and once the meal is cleared, he brings out his guitar. He plays and sings everything from classics to his own favourites, and when the snapps glasses appear on the table, he leads the singing so that even those who never sing along find themselves joining in the chorus. His quiz evenings have become a huge favourite with our guests: questions that are just the right level of tricky, teams mixed across the tables and a prize ceremony with the same twinkle in his eye as when he's playing. John has that rare gift of getting a room full of strangers at the start of the meal to feel like a group of friends by dessert.

At all our destinations

We hold most of our largest evenings in Eastern Algarve, where they have long been part of the rhythm of the season – and here, each week begins with our Monday gathering. But our golf hosts at all our destinations also organise regular dinners, activities and enjoyable outings. Ask your golf host when you arrive, or check the weekly programme in the guest portal or the app. Everything is optional, nothing is mandatory, and you're always welcome.

So pack your golf shoes, but also pack something to wear to dinner. The best stories from a golf trip rarely start on the first tee.

See all golf packages

Want to see more from our evenings and activities on site? Follow PT Golf on Facebook – we post pictures from our activities throughout the season.

Read more about Eastern Algarve, our new home courses Quinta da Ria and Quinta de Cima.