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CiaraG75

Hi, I wonder if anyone can tell me if it's easy to get familiar boxes of baby formula in the supermarkets in the Algarve? We are going in 3 weeks for 10 days and our youngest will be just 5 months. He is a very hungry fella and would go through 2 and a half to 3 boxes in that time, and I don't want to have to pack that much formula because of the weight restrictions (Ryanair!!).
I normally give him Cow & Gate so obviously I'd prefer to keep going with that, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind too much if it wasn't exactly the same!
Also, what are the nappies like out there? Again, I don't want to bring loads because they're heavy.
Thanks!

2SWEET

Hi Ciara,
We were in the Algarve last month with our 9month old, we took cartons of ready milk with us as cow and gate was the only formula to suit him, while in the supermarket over there the only formula i knew was aptamil,didn't see any cow and gate products at all.

As for the nappies, they did have a very small amount of pampers, but was very hard to get the size we wanted so we tried the portugese brand which were way more expensive at 13 euro for 48 nappies, they weren't great either had to change them at lot more frequently.

CiaraG75

Hi 2sweet, thanks for the reply. I don't think there's anything for it but to bring formula with us but the nappies I think I'll try & get out there. I know €13 is a lot for a pack of nappies but with Ryanair charging a small fortune for excess baggage it might well be worth it! Thanks again:)

pearljamfan

you will find most of the formula milk is sold in local chemists/farmacias. im pretty sure u will find cow and gate, also the nappies i used last time were called dodots,they were fine, i also bought huggies another time, ( im talking about in Lanzarote, so im sure its the same for mainland spain)

Cat Melodeon

In Portugal there's a formula brand called Nutrilon/Blendina which is made by Cow&Gate and which is meant to be the same as C&G here. Aptimil is available pretty much everywhere - it is close to but not exactly the same as Irish Aptimil.

There's a supermarket (hipermercado) chain called Jumbo that stocks all the above - there's one near the airport at Faro that's open fro 09.00-23.00 Mon-Sat and from 09.00 - 13.00 sun & Bank Holidays:
http://villa1244vdl.com/shopping.htm

Dodot nappies are made by P&G, who also make Pampers, and are also widely available. I think they're grand, but do bring Little Swimmer nappies if you need them as they can be hard to get in the right sizes.

2SWEET

CiaraG75 wrote: »

Hi 2sweet, thanks for the reply. I don't think there's anything for it but to bring formula with us but the nappies I think I'll try & get out there. I know €13 is a lot for a pack of nappies but with Ryanair charging a small fortune for excess baggage it might well be worth it! Thanks again:)

Hi again Ciara.
Ah your flying with Ryan Air, their baggage allowance and charges are a joke! We flew with Aer Lingus so wasn't as bad but we still spilt up the fromula putting some in each suitcase and some in our hand luggage to keep it right. Cat Meledeon is right though do take the swim nappies with you very hard to get them there!
What part of the Algarve you staying in, we were in Praia Da Rocha, there is a shopping centre called contiental about 10 minutes away in a taxi, it's worth going to at least once, way cheaper than the ones in the apartments, taxi only cost 5 or 6 euros. They have a great range of baby food jars and juices.

CiaraG75

Thanks so much for the replies, I'm nearly convinced to leave all the stuff behind and go out & buy the Portuguese brands when we get there - what am I like?! Crazy how it takes us a while to come round to alternative brands - I'm sure Portugese babies haven't suffered from using them!:) Just really looking forward to getting away now:D. Thanks again!