Bus and train timetables for the Algarve - an unofficial website

YOU ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO READ THE GUIDANCE NOTES first as, at first sight, the operations here can seem a bit complicated.
For example, most buses in the Algarve do not have route / line numbers as they do in many countries.

IMPORTANT - WEARING A MASK IS STILL COMPULSORY BY LAW ON ALL FORMS OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT WITH BIG FINES IF YOU DO NOT. THIS INCLUDES TAXIS AND FERRIES. THIS WILL APPLY UNTIL AT LEAST THE END OF AUGUST

PUBLIC HOLIDAY MONDAY 15th AUGUST

Monday 15th August is a public holiday in Portugal - the Feast of the Assumption. Trains and buses will run to Sunday times.

CHANGES TO SOME BUS ROUTES AROUND FARO FROM MONDAY 1st AUGUST

Announced at five days notice, regional routes 33, 50 and 93 are no longer be operated by VAMUS.They will be operated by a new company under the banner Via Faro, financed by Faro city council. There will also be changes to some other local routes around Faro, little used by visitors. Pages concerned have been updated.

EXTRA TRAINS FROM AND TO LISBON FOR THE SUMMER

There is an extra train Lisbon to Faro on Friday evenings until the first weekend of September. This train calls at Tunes, Albufeira, Loulé and Faro, with arrival in Faro at midnight. Reservations are required. Needless to say, there are no local bus or train connections at that time of night! The return journey on Sundays leaves Faro at 20.08. There will also be an extra train each way on 15th August, a public holiday here. Full timings here on the official railway website.

REDE- EXPRESSOS CROSS BORDER COACH / LONG DISTANCE BUS SERVICE TO SPAIN

The cross border coach / long distance bus service between Lagos and Seville is now operating five journeys each day in each direction calling at Portimão, Albufeira, Faro Airport, Faro and Tavira in Portugal, some also stop in Huelva in Spain. (By comparison, there were eight journeys each way in winter 2019.) The night-time journey and one daytime journey Lisbon - Albufeira - Faro - Seville are also operating. Times here.

Flixbus is operating at least two daytime journeys each day between Lisbon and Seville, with stops in Albufeira, Faro, Faro Airport and Huelva. CHECK THE TIMES AT THEIR WEBSITE! They have also restored the overnight journeys, but these no longer stop in Albufeira or at Faro Airport.

OPERATOR FOR ALGARVE REGIONAL BUSES - PREVIOUSLY EVA AND FROTA AZUL ROUTES

The regional bus service in the Algarve is operated under the name VAMUS. Buses have a mainly white new colour scheme. Click a picture to see it full size.

Their website is vamusalgarve.pt and an 'app' for your mobile available in Portuguese, Spanish and (American) English. Pre paid tickets for multiple journeys can be added. It includes interactive maps of all routes including the stops, an A to B journey planner and a calculator for season ticket fares. There is also a pre paid ticket card available at bus stations, which can be renewed on line, rather than having to go to a bus station.

OFFICIAL MAP OF ALGARVE BUS ROUTES

The VAMUS bus company has kindly provided me with a copy of their official route map which can be viewed and downloaded here.

Bus Station ticket office hours

Most bus station ticket offices are open but some with limited hours. There is an updated list here. If you need a ticket for a long distance journey go to www.rede-expressos.pt or if using Flixbus, to their website.

Paying for the bus - local buses in the Algarve region

Buses in the Algarve do not take contactless debit or credit cards. The crisis situation did not push them towards it. Unless you have a pre paid pass or season ticket, for local journeys it's cash only on board. Change is given, but bus drivers will not thank you for a €20 note. You can pay for a pre paid pass or season ticket at a bus station using a debit card. The VAMUS bus company offers a pre paid 'pay as you go' card valid for all its buses, which reduces on board fares by 40 - 50%. Information in Portuguese and English here.

Bus stops on Google Maps

VAMUS regional bus stops in the Algarve region are marked on Google Maps! Click on a bus stop symbol and you will see the times of the buses and their destination. The route numbers on the departure board may not be shown on the front of the bus, just the destination. Some stops do not show up on the map unless you zoom right in. Warning - because of short notice changes to bus times, I recommend you check bus times and other details at the official websites if your journey is important. The information on Google is not necessarily going to be correct.

Also shown on Google Maps are the Albufeira local GIRO system bus stops, routes and times - but a warning!

Many of the times shown on Google are WRONG by up to 10 minutes. Also, last buses are up to 30 MINUTES EARLIER than Google states. There is NO officially published timetable. The times here and on linked pages are correct and based on almost daily use of the system.

TRAINS - TICKETS AND RESERVATIONS

Remember that reservation is COMPULSORY on all long distance trains, even for the shortest journeys. Tickets are sold up to 60 days in advance. Timetable changes may be made at short notice. You should check times FOR THE EXACT DATE OF TRAVEL at the official website www.cp.pt

Reserved seats are not available on regional trains. Tickets for regional trains can be bought from the CP website or using their 'app'. You must either print your ticket or keep it on your mobile device. There is no 'collection' option, if only because most stations have no ticket office and there are no ticket machines. Payment on board the train is cash only.

TAXIS INCLUDING UBER ETC

Taxis, Uber, BOLT etc are available almost everywhere. Most municipal taxis do NOT accept card payments. All taxi companies have English speaking staff. In most areas, they operate as co-operatives with a central contact point by phone or app. A simple internet search 'taxi + (name of town)' will find this information.

FURTHER DISCOUNTS TO 'SEASON TICKETS' ON REGIONAL BUSES

A promotional drive has further reduced the cost of monthly passes to 50% of the base fare and with a maximum price per month of €40 ie equivalent to €2 each working day. Might be useful to long term visitors staying outside towns or in places not served by the purely urban networks. Details here.

TOURIST PASSES FOR ALGARVE BUSES

These are available as three day versions at €35 and seven days for €45. Days must be consecutive. They can be bought using their 'app' or at any bus station ticket office and the bus ticket office in Largo do Dique, Portimão. They are valid on ALL buses operated by VAMUS listed in timetables on this site. They are NOT VALID on Mundial Turismo (MT), Rede-Expressos or other long distance services or international services, nor on the local urban buses in Lagos, Portimão, Albufeira, Loulé, Vilamoura, Quarteira, Faro and Tavira. The local buses in those towns have their own day passes, multi-ride tickets and season tickets for frequent or regular users.

TOURIST PASSES FOR REGIONAL TRAINS IN THE ALGARVE

Available from STAFFED stations only - Lagos, Portimao, Tunes, Albufeira, Loulé, Faro, Olhao, Tavira and Vila Real de Santo António - and are NOT VALID ON ALFA PENDULAR OR INTERCITY TRAINS. Do the maths first. A return (round-trip) ticket from Faro to Lagos is only €14,80.

Passes cost €20,90 for two days and three days for €31,90. Reduced fares for children. Days must be consecutive. The seven day pass is not being advertised, that I can find.

Discounts for long distance train travel!

If you book more than 8 days in advance there are some really cheap fares available on trains, eg between the Algarve stations and Lisbon. These fares can be cheaper than coaches (buses). These tickets might not be refunded if you do not use them. Go to www.cp.pt for all you need to know.

OTHER DISCOUNTS ON TRAIN TICKETS

If you are aged 25 or under, CP is offering a 25% discount on all Alfa Pendular, Intercidades, InterRegional and Regional train tickets. You can use this discount in any class, any day of the week. Just show official ID with proof of your age such as a Citizen card, ID card, driving licence or passport. You can buy your tickets from long-distance ticket offices, netTICKET travel agents. These tickets can be reissued or refunded.

Young people aged 26 or over can still enjoy the Cartão Jovem discount for individual journeys.

In addition, a 40% or higher discount is available to all travellers on long distance Intercity and Alfa Pendular trains who make reservations on line eight days or more in advance. Reservations open 60 days before travel. On some trains the number of these discounted tickets is limited. These tickets can be exchanged for a different train, but are not refunded if you don't make the trip. You can buy your print at home tickets at www.cp.pt and in English. DO NOT buy tickets from RailEurope or any other site as they cannot offer the discount and cannot provide you with the mandatory seat reservations. These you would have to obtain locally and pay an additional fee for them. Anyone over 65 can travel half fare on trains so long they have ID eg passport.

STEP FREE ACCESS TO TRAINS - NOT POSSIBLE

I must emphasise that there is NO STEP FREE ACCESS at any Algarve station to any train while it is in the platform. All trains in use have steps up into the carriage. Some platforms are very low, making it difficult for some. I have added an item to the 'disabled page' with details of the various stations.

BUS DELAYS

Traffic congestion and unrealistic timetables mean that many buses may not be relied upon to run to time, especially on the longer journeys. However, I have very little recent bus travel beyond Albufeira to report on! Some timetables for longer routes e.g. Faro to Lagos have had a few minutes added to make them more accurate.

On the longer routes eg Lagos - Faro and Albufeira - Lagos, delays of 10 - 15 minutes towards the end of the journey were commonplace, on any day of the week. Delays are even more likely in summer.

TIMETABLES AT BUS STATIONS ETC

Timetables may not be currently posted at bus stations and were not seen at Faro and Loulé. Most bus stops now have a timetable panel showing the times buses leave and to where they go. But not at all stops, including some in Albufeira I know of.. Copies of the official timetables can be downloaded from the VAMUS website, but finding which one(s) you need can be a problem. For example, between Albufeira and Portimão there are four different bus routes each with its own timetable. Copies can be obtained from bus station ticket offices. The official timetables have information in English as to which days buses do or do not run.

DISABLED OR FIND IT HARD TO GET AROUND? DEFICIENTE? BEHINDERTE? HANDICAPÉ?

Please click here for some observations on this issue. You will have problems using the buses and trains in the Algarve. I am able-bodied by the way!

Why the site exists

I have built this site of local bus, train and ferry information here in the Algarve in response to many queries raised through various forums.

The main idea is to allow visitors and potential visitors to plan ahead by getting an understanding of the local public transport operations and the places they serve and don’t! I recommend that wherever possible you check times locally. Updates are made here whenever changes are found on official websites or through personal experience!. Whenever I go somewhere, I check the information. Each timetable bears the date on which I was last able to verify it as being correct.Schedule changes often introduced with little or no advance warning.

I live in the Algarve and use these buses and trains as I do not drive. Not all routes and services are included. I have left out those unlikely to be of use to visitors, for example some short schooldays only runs.

I have not included full details of some of the local 'city' bus type operations. They have websites to which I can redirect. You can make enquiries at the local bus station or tourist information offices if required. Please note that tickets are NOT interchangeable between these purely urban buses and the other buses.

As much as possible has been checked on the ground eg by using the buses concerned and/or obtaining the printed timetables.

Official websites

The official website of the regional bus company, VAMUS, is at https://vamusalgarve.pt/ available in English, Portuguese and Spanish. To change language, go to the bottom right hand corner of the page and click 'idioma.'

This has interactive maps for each route, showing all stopping places. There is a journey planner but to use it you ned to know the exact stops yuu will board and alight and in some cases it is a different stop number depending on direction.

The urban operators around the larger towns also have websites, with varying degrees of information.That for Albufeira is the worst. Some information is out of date. No official timetables are published! Each local site is mentioned on relevant pages, with links to them.

I would be pleased to receive any additional information you think would be useful. If you can scan or photo timetables, leaflets etc, please email them to me. I can then include the data in these pages.

www.algarvebus.info An unofficial website for buses and trains in the Algarve Owned and maintained by a local resident	Questions about Albufeira? Visit the forum
Albufeira on Facebook - lots of pictures!	My own picture blog of the Algarve and more http://cubsur51.wordpress.com

www.algarvebus.info

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The Algarve region of Portugal - information on bus and train services

Contents - summary

News and updates - latest - Wednesday 10th August 2022