Albufeira Giro Bus System

Correct as of 2nd April 2024

OFFICIAL TIMETABLES AND MAPS ARE AVAILABLE AT WWW.VAMUSALGARVE.PT/GIRO OR USING THEIR APP.

ADVICE - WHEN USING THE INTERACTIVE MAPS ON THE WEBSITE, BE AWARE THAT MOST STOPS HAVE TWO CODE NUMBERS ACCORDING TO THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL.
AT LEAST ONE (ROTUNDA DOS GOLFINHOS) HAS TWO CODES EVEN THOUGH THERE IS ONLY ONE STOP! CHECK YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE CORRECT ONE.
Bus stops and times are shown on Google Maps. I cannot say whether the information is accurate everywhere, but it is for the stop I use most of the time

Operated by Grupo Barraqueiro under contract to Albufeira Council

Infos en français, auf Deutsch, em Portugues içi, hier, aqui

Links to timetables and route information on Giro routes below. The full size map is in a PDF format which can be downloaded and saved.

TIMETABLES AND MAPS
Route 1	Route 2	Route 3	Route 4
Route 5	Route 6	Route 7	Route 8
Route 9	Route 10	Route 11
Use the links above for timetables unofficial and official, also maps of each route with the stops

WHERE'S MY BUS?

Go to WWW.VAMUSALGARVE.PT/GIRO or download their app for the live bus tracker.
It doesn't work all the time but is useful to see far away your bus is. You must allow the site or app to access your location. Especially if you don't know exactly where you are and can't find the nearest stop!

All buses now normally used are 100% electric

Buses of various sizes and shapes will be seen!

All routes go from and back to the main Bus Station. Some buses are circular routes and run in only one direction. Some routes have diversions to serve schools at certain times.
Routes 4 and 9 will be the most useful for those arriving at the main bus station and wishing to go to the Avenida da Liberdade area of the old town.
Routes 3,9 and 11 go back from Avendia da Liberdade to the bus station.
Between the Bus Station and Rua Alves Correeia, nearest stop to the square and the beach, it's route 10.

The main areas of the town and suburbs and which Giro buses go there. All routes start and finish at the main bus station - Terminal Many routes are circular, running only in one direction
Galé, Salgados, Vale de Parra	7, 8	Guia (Market Hall)	7, 8	Brejos Sul (Casa Benfica)	1, 5, 6, 9,11
Marina	3, 7, 8	Algarve Shopping	7, 8	Montechoro (Erin's Isle)	1, 6
Páteo and Cerro D'Águia	3, 9	Ferreiras, Malhada Velha	5, 11	Old Town Avenida Liberdade	2, 3, 4, 9, 11
Patroves (infrequent)	3	Camping Albufeira and Clube Albufeira	3, 5, 7, 8, 11	Old Town Rua Alves Correeia	10
Oura	2, 4, 6	Arcadas São João (the 'strip')	1, 2, 4, 6, 9	Branqueira and Vale Navio	1, 9
Santa Eulália, Balaia, Olhos D'Água,	6	Mosqueira, Fontainhas (infrequent)	5, 11	Vale da Azinheira, Patã de Baixo	9
Vale Serves and railway station	5, 11	Câmara (Town Hall)	ALL except 5, 6 and 8	Açoteais, Falésia, Alfamar, Rocha Baixinha (infrequent)	6

GIRO SERVICE FREQUENCY

All routes have daily service between approximately 0700 and 2000hrs. In summer the main routes 2,3,4,5,10 and 11 operate later into the evening, until about 2200.

ALBUFEIRA GIRO BUS NETWORK SUMMARY OF ROUTES AND FREQUENCIES
Route 1	Weekdays and Saturdays every 30 minutes, Sundays and Holidays every 60 minutes	Route 7	Weekdays every 60 minutes, weekends and holidays whole route once every two hours
Route 2	Every 30 minutes, daily	Route 8	Weekdays every 60 minutes, weekends and holidays whole route once every two hours
Route 3	Every 30 minutes, daily		There are buses once every hour, every day between Albufeira and Guia via Algarve Shopping
Route 4	Every 30 minutes, daily	Route 9	Every 60 minutes, daily
Route 5	Every 60 minutes daily complete route. Albufeira- Malhada - Ferreiras every 30 minutes weekdays	Route 10	Weekdays every 20 minutes, weekends and holidays every 30 minutes.
Route 6	About every 60 minutes, daily, Albufeira <> Olhos de Água. Extra buses for school traffic.	Route 11	Every 60 minutes daily complete route. Ferreiras - Malhada - Albufeira every 30 minutes weekdays
Route 1 runs every 30 minutes on summer Sundays and Holidays over most of the route and serves Branqueira and Vale Navio every 60 minutes weekdays, every 2 hours at weekends and holidays. Route 6 also serves Açoteias, Fálesia and Rocha Baixinha at very infrequent and irregular intervals. Routes 7 and 8 provide one bus every 60 minutes each way daily between Albufeira and Guia via Algarve Shopping.

TIMETABLE AND ROUTE INFORMATION AT BUS STOPS

Maps and timetables are posted at almost all bus stops, but at the time of writing, there are NONE visible at the bus station. The information may be a little confusing where more than one bus stops. If you are somewhere there is nothing, you can also find times on line at www.vamusalgarve.pt/giro - or find the VAMUS app. Click 'Idioma' to see the site in American English, French and Spanish. So it's 'line' not 'route' and 'schedule' not timetable. 'Business Days' = weekdays, 'Non-Business days' = Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays. For the timetable, each stop has a number posted. You can find that stop and see the next buses due.

WAITING FOR THE BUS? ON THE BUS AND WANT TO GET OFF?

ALL stops are by request only. Waiting at the bus stop? Give the driver a clear signal as the bus approaches. On the bus and want to get off? Ring the bell as you get near the stop you need. If you do not signal, the driver will not stop!

GIRO FARES

Contactless card payment is NOT possible. Official notice of the fares here. There is a two zone fare system as shown on the map. Travel across two zones will cost €2,60 cash, €1,60 with a pre paid pass. A one zone ticket on board costs €2,00 cash, €1,60 with the pass. Pay on boarding if you do not have a pass - CASH ONLY! Single tickets, whether paid cash or using the pre paid multi journey pass, are valid for one journey only. If you need another bus, you now to have to pay a second fare which makes using a bus uneconomical for two people for many journeys when compared to using taxi, Uber or Bolt. GIRO bus tickets are NOT valid on any other bus you might see.

CHILDREN AND SENIORS! There is no child discount on Giro buses except for residents. Anyone at school here travels free. Those four years and under travel free. Seniors, including non-residents, can apply for a reduced rate monthly pass. See below.

Warning - DO NOT buy a new monthly pass towards the end of the month unless you will be using the buses really a lot!

MONTHLY SENIORS PASSES

For the monthly Seniors (65yrs +) passes you must fill in a form (photo not required) and pay €5 for the rechargeable card. ID e.g. passport is required when you present the completed form. The monthly cost of the Seniors pass is €11 for one zone, two zone travel will cost €12,50 a month. These passes can be used by non residents. Can only be obtained at the Bus Station ticket office. These can be recharged on or after the 26th of the previous month.

ADULT MONTHLY PASSES

The full adult monthly pass costs €18 for one zone, €21,50 for two zones. No ID required. Can be downloaded, set up and renewed with the VAMUS app. Also available for purchase at the bus station ticket office, card costs €5. These can also be recharged on or after the 26th of the previous month.

PRE PAID SINGLE JOURNEY PASSES

These do not have a fixed time period. For irregular users, this is a plastic pre-pay card (€3) which can be loaded with a minimum five journeys which reduces the fare to €1,60 for any journey across the two fare zones. Pre-pay cards will de-activate if not used for three months. Adding more credit will re-activate them. The cost of the pre-pay card (€3) is refunded if you hand it back. Unused fares are not refunded. Anyone can use a card, they are not personal.

THREE AND FIVE DAY TOURIST PASSES - VALID FOR THE WHOLE GIRO NETWORK

The three day tourist pass costs €20,35 (= 10 zone 1 single journeys so quite expensive!) and the five day pass costs €33,55 (=16 journeys) both can be downloaded using the VAMUS app or purchased at the bus station. These passes cannot be shared.

For a list of all the timetables on the site, click here
For an alphabetical list of places in the Algarve, click here
For some important general notes about buses in the Algarve, click here
Back to the main page here