The information has been obtained from printed
timetables and other local sources (like taking the bus) and is
given in good faith.
Summer times on most VAMUS buses generally apply
1st July to 17th September
Buses DO RUN on all public
holidays to Sunday times, but many routes now have very
little or no weekend or holiday service.
BUSES BETWEEN THE MAIN RESORT AREAS ALONG THE ALGARVE COAST
Please also read
the the general
guidance notes as bus operations here in the Algarve may
be a little different from where you live.
Click here for a
diagram of Algarve bus routes
Lagos <> Portimão <> Lagoa <> Albufeira <> Vilamoura <> Faro
For a quick summary of the buses at the main towns only, click here.
Click here
to view the complete timetable Faro – Almancil – Quarteira –
Vilamoura – Albufeira – Lagoa – Portimão – Lagos, including fast
buses Faro to Lagos and Albufeira to Lagos.
Click here for the
complete timetable in the opposite direction Lagos – Portimão –
Lagoa – Albufeira – Vilamoura - Quarteira - Almancil –
Faro.
Click here tor the
summer-time only Route 52 between Alvor and Armação de Pêra.
This takes a much longer route than the others between
Portimão and Armação de Pêra.
The services between the coastal resorts consist
of several different, overlapping, routes.
I have done my best to indicate what connections there may be. However it is my experience that connections are NOT usually held for late running buses.
Faro - Olhão - Tavira - Conceição - Monte Gordo - Vila Real de Santo António
Click here for the times of buses between these towns, along the eastern coast of the Algarve.
Do the buses run every day?
Many buses on the VAMUS routes do not run at WEEKENDS or on PUBLIC HOLIDAYS.
Those buses that RUN DAILY (including public holidays) are
highlighted with a blue heading DAILY
Buses that do not run
every day are described as follows :
MFO – Mondays to Fridays (weekdays) only; does
not run on Saturdays, Sundays or on Public Holidays
SHX – does not run on Sundays or
public holidays; SAT – runs on Saturdays only
except holidays
SSH –
runs on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays only; SUN – runs
on Sundays and Public holidays only
SCH –
runs on SCHOOLDAYS only ie will not be running in July and
August, not on public holidays nor during Christmas and Easter
breaks.
XXX –
used where bus runs only on certain days that do not fit into
these headings – look for a special note.
Delays
I would not trust any connection of less than 15 minutes. If
you have a vital connection eg for a flight at the airport -
take heed! These delays are almost entirely due to traffic
congestion in Portimão and Faro. Buses are not normally held for
late running connections.
Local buses generally run on time but, the longer the journey,
the more likely you are to be delayed. Buses between Faro and
Albufeira via Vilamoura usually keep fairly well to time.
During high summer (August) there is often severe traffic
congestion in Albufeira, which delays buses including local
routes.
Notes to Timetables
A – At Faro Bus Terminal the TRANSRÁPIDO (Route 57)
bus leaves from inside the terminal building. Most of the other
buses towards Loulé, Quarteira, Vilamoura and Albufeira leave
from the stop immediately outside the bus station entrance on
the same side of the road, but check on the departures board to
be sure. You must buy your ticket from the ticket office inside
the terminal building before boarding your bus. If you have time
to wait for your bus, avoid the disagreeable café/bar inside.
There are two or three much better establishments across the
road, with a McDonald’s and other fast-food shops about three
minutes walk away.
B – Officially called Faro (Fórum/Teatro Figuras) - this stop is outside the FORUM ALGARVE shopping centre on the outskirts of town. The bus to and from the airport stops across the road - towards FARO you cross the road to get to the AIRPORT. From the AIRPORT you can get off at the Forum Algarve and cross the road to get to ALBUFEIRA etc. Getting on or off here can save a lot of time, as the Transrápido does a loop round the town of Faro on its way to or from the Bus Station. Bus times to and from the AIRPORT here. The other buses between Albufeira and Faro also stop here at the Forum Algarve
C – Olhos d'Agua. If you are visiting the beach, get off the bus at CANAS. All buses from Albufeira stop there two minutes after Olhos D'Agua, towards Albufeira two minutes before Olhos D'Agua This stop is a lot nearer the beach and the big hotels. About 50 metres from the stop you will see a road going off down a hill at a roundabout. The beach is about 400 metres down this road. There is NO PARKING down there, unless you are willing to pay €1.15 per hour. It is a nice beach though.
D - Arcadas São João - this stop is
where 'The Strip' crosses the main road at the traffic lights,
near Jinkies bar.
E - Albufeira Shopping also known as
Continente (the stop is officially called Rotunda dos
Relógios) - for buses to and from the Vilamoura direction
this is the nearest stop to the old town area of Albufeira. From
here it is about 6 or 7 minutes downhill walk into the old town
- the VAMUS buses do not go to the old town. See this page for more
information and a map. DO NOT STAY ON THE BUS ALL THE WAY TO
THE BUS STATION, which is a mile/1.6km from the old town.
F - The Albufeira Bus Terminal is on
the north edge of town and a mile/1.6km from the beaches etc. If
you are coming from the Portimão/Lagoa direction (except
on the buses that run via Vale de Parra) you will need to take a
local GIRO bus for the last leg of the journey (separate ticket
needed), take a taxi or walk. More information here. Buses from
Quarteira, Vilamoura and Olhos D'Agua stop a few minutes walk
from the old town on the main road at the Albufeira Terrace
Shopping centre. This is NOT the same place as Algarve Shopping,
below.
Buses to or from Faro that run 'through' Albufeira bus station
arrive there 3 - 5 minutes before the time shown, which is the
time the bus leaves to continue its journey.
G – Algarve Shopping (Vale Verde) This
stop is outside the ‘Algarve Shopping’ mall and close to the
Albufeira Retail Park. It is 4 miles / 6.5 km from Albufeira.
There is an Albufeira Giro bus (Route 7) once every hour every
day from Albufeira bus station. Times here. This bus also serves
Guia village. The bus to return to Albufeira is Giro Route 8 -
times here.
Giro tickets and passes are NOT VALID on VAMUS buses, nor
vice-versa.
Warning - if travelling from Albufeira or towards Guia you will
have to cross a VERY busy main road. There is no crossing as
such, but there is a 'no steps' footpath over a bridge. It's
rather a long way round, but much safer than trying to cross the
road. The
website of the Algarve Shopping Mall is here – some parts
are in English.
H – Armação de Pera bus stops are
a bit complicated. There is a small bus 'terminal' on the Via
Dorsal (the main road through town) but it's just a couple of
bus shelters, no office or anything. I have a map here.
All the buses towards Lagoa, Portimão and Lagos stop
there, after having gone past it on the other side of the road
and nearly 400 metres in the wrong direction! ALL buses to and
from Silves and Alcantarilha Estação stop only at the
‘terminal’.
There is also a stop outside the campsite on the road to
Alcantarilha. Local buses stop there. Sorry about all
that - map.
Long distance services operated by Rede Expressos stop at the 'terminal' on Via Dorsal. Some of those long distance trips also stop at the Holiday Inn Hotel on the seafront. Check when booking.
J - In Porches, all buses, including
Linha Littoral route 51, stop on the N125 main road just outside
the village near the BP petrol station. Route 13 Albufeira -
Portimão via Armação de Pêra also stops in the village centre by
the church and school.
K – Portimão has an outdoor bus
station. All 'regional' buses start and their journeys at stops
along the Avenida Guanaré, by the river near Largo do Dique.
Plan here. The local buses also stop elsewhere
in town, according to route. In Portimão centre, Transrápido and Linha Littoral
buses stop only in Avenida Guanaré by the river. Local
'urban' buses stop a short distance away in and near the Largo
do Dique.
The Aerobus (route 56) to and from the airport also long distance buses (coaches to UK readers) eg to Lisbon and Seville use a different bus station in Rua Abicada 1 mile / 1.6km north of the city centre. Information here. For more information including local connections around the Portimão area etc please click here.
L – Praia da Rocha bus stop for
VAMUS services is near CLUBE PRAIA DA ROCHA in the AVENIDA DAS
COMUNIDADES LUSIADAS. This is about 300 yards from the Hotel
Jupiter, down on the main road by the roundabout. The stop is at
the same location as the city ‘VAI e VEM’ bus stops called Clube
Praia da Rocha.
M - at Alvor this bus stop is at the
roundabout/traffic circle (rotunda) just outside the centre of
Alvor. All buses use the same stop. Buses cannot enter the
village as the roads are too narrow. At the time of my
last visit there were no current timetables on display.
N - In Vilamoura all buses on
routes 9 and 66, in both directions, stop at the same
stop at the Praia da Marina, near the Casino and Marina. Buses
also stop at the Aldeia do Mar in Rua do Sol about two minutes
after Praia da Marina. Map of Vilamoura showing the stops
etc here.
A map of the wider area of Vilamoura and Quarteira showing
routes and stops is here.
There is also a FREE local minibus service between Vilamoura
and Quarteira via a rather roundabout route. Details here. It runs about once every hour
on weekdays from around 0700 to 1900, also on Saturdays but only
until 1400hrs. No Saturday afternoon or Sunday / Holiday service
except on the summer time 'Linha Branca' which runs around
Vilamoura until just after midnight, every night, until the
second Sunday of September.
P - for other daily buses between Quarteira and Almancil,
please go to this page.
Those buses also go to Mar Shopping mall. There are also buses
between Quarteira and Almancil via Aquashow and Quatro Estradas
on weekdays when the University is open - times here.
Q - there is a more frequent daily service between Albufeira marina
and the Bus Station via the old town (Avenida da Liberdade) with
Giro route 3. Times here.
Z - Going into Albufeira, the Parque Lúdico stop is the
nearest to the old town area of Albufeira, which is about 5
minutes walk. The Avenida
do Ténis stop for buses towards Galé, Armação de Pêra,
Lagoa and Portimão is outside the school 100 metres from the
roundabout. Map here. ONLY the buses on route
13 stop here.
Route 13 also stops at the Albufeira marina, about 2 minutes
after the Avenida do Ténis coming from Albufeira. Complete bus
service times between Albufeira and Vale de Parra are here. Albufeira Giro
buses 7
and 8
also stop in Vale de Parra. Click the numbers for times.
NOR = ‘Normal’ DIR = ‘Directa’ – these are the two sets
of local buses between Albufeira and Faro. They take slightly
different routes – for more information click here.
LL– Route 51 Albufeira -
Lagos fast bus (Linha Littoral) – this fast bus service stops
only at the places shown, also outside the Hospital in
Portimão. Download, view and print the official timetable
leaflet here.
Aerobus - Route 56 Faro - Faro Airport - Albufeira - Lagoa -
Portimão - Lagos stops only at the bus stations in those towns.
Also serves Faro University at Gambelas when open. Timetable here.
TR – Route 57 Transrápido – this fast
bus service stops only at the places shown plus some other
locations in the city of Faro, plus Algarve Shopping and
Portimão Hospital. Buses may carry 'TRANSRÁPIDO' sign on the
front. Official timetable here.
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, click here
www.algarvebus.info