As
@User has said, Alvor is a pretty village (although we last stayed there ~10 years ago) - we normally stayed in Praia da Rocha, which is closer to Portimao and has better transport links/choice of restaurants/shopping etc. Public transport was cheap (and taxis surprisingly cheap too). Good bus service from Portimao up to Monchique, from where you can walk to Foia, the highest point in the Algarve; used to be all mountain paths, but now mainly tarmac'd, due to over-generous EU funding! Another thumbs up to Silves and Lagos, both reachable by train (bit of a walk from Silves station, ~2km, but a damn sight less than so-called Albufeira station to Albufeira!). Don't know if it's still as good, but Dona Barca's in Portimao stood out as a friendly and great value restaurant - I'm still regularly asked to cook Atum com cebola (Tuna with onions) which we first encountered there. On balance, you're a bit of a way from readily accessible public transport links (Alvor station is ~4km from Alvor), so a hire car is probably advisable.
It's a good birdwatching area, particularly the peninsula to the W of Alvor, which is protected, and looked after by the A Rocha Christian group - I've only been there in summer, when there are various warblers to be found, plus e.g. Black-necked Stilt, Kentish Plover, Azure-winged Magpie, Black-winged Kite etc., etc. A walk along the coastal path to Praia da Rocha takes you past a small abandoned sand quarry which is home to a nesting colony of Bee-eaters - we also saw a Montpellier Snake, which shot across our path like a catapulted broomstick. This is probably why Mrs Poacher has gone off the Algarve in favour of Madeira...