Sines Portugal - how to get there by train or bus and how to get
around
INFORMATION CHECKED AND UPDATED 18th MARCH 2024
PLEASE CHECK AT THE OFFICIAL WEBSITES FOR THE TIMES ON THE EXACT
DATE YOU PLAN TO TRAVEL
LONG DISTANCE BUS (COACH) TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE ONLY 30 DAYS IN
ADVANCE.
HOWEVER, CURRENT TIMETABLES WILL BE A FAIR INDICATION AS TO
FREQUENCY
I have no easy means to check or update so please confirm
through sources given below.
Sines (pop.14,300, urban area 20,000) is a coastal town in
the Alentejo region of Portugal. It is not in the Algarve
- I was visiting! The city is about 166km / 105 miles by
road south from Lisbon and a similar distance from Albufeira in
the Algarve. Sines is probably not a holiday destination. Although
it has a small and popular beach, a pleasant old quarter and a
nice little castle on the hill, it is flanked by two large modern
port installations. Sines is one of Portugal's biggest commercial
ports. It might be a useful base for exploring the nearby areas.
Read more about it in this wikipedia article. Sines is the
birthplace of the legendary explorer Vasco da Gama. There are many
monuments to him.
IMPOSSIBLE. Sines has no passenger rail service and with the nearest
railway stations over an hour's bus ride and the services being very
infrequent, travelling to Sines even part of the way by train is
simply not an option.
Lisbon - Sines by long distance bus (coach) - Operated by Rede
Expressos
You can now pay for Lisbon
metro journeys using contactless payment. Each journey
including transfer to another line if needed will cost €1,80.
You will need to make your way from the airport to the SETE RIOS
bus terminal. This is about 3 miles/5km from the airport and is
linked to it by the underground metro line. Take any train to the
end of the line at São Sebastião then change to the Blue Line for
a two stop ride to Jardim Zoológico station, which is adjacent to
Sete Rios. Trains run every few minutes from 0630 daily. The
journey will take around 25 minutes and cost €2,30 (cash)
including 50 cents for the rechargeable ticket card, or €1,80
using contactless card payment.
The direct Aerobus service
between the Airport and Sete Rios is no longer operating.
For your bus options from elsewhere in the city check the city
bus website at http://carris.pt/
Consult the long distance bus website www.rede-expressos.pt
for Lisbon - Sines times, remember it's LISBOA on the timetable
search. One-way fare is currently €15. Most journeys take around
2hrs 40 minutes. There is a service of nine journeys each way,
with extra journeys from Lisbon on Fridays and from Sines on
Sundays, some of which are faster than the others.
For travel to or from other parts of Portugal you
will almost always need to go via Lisbon. South of Sines,
Rede-Expressos also stops in Cercal, Odemira, São Teotónio and
Odeceixe. There is also a bus across country between Sines and
Beja - see below.
Algarve to Sines by train
IMPOSSIBLE as above
Algarve to Sines by coach (bus)
Rede Expressos operates one daily direct service from Portimão via
Lagos and Aljezur. This leaves at 1500hrs arriving in Sines at
1750hrs. The return trip leaves Sines at 1005hrs, arriving in
Portimão at 1300hrs. Information at www.rede-expressos.pt as
above. Connections are available from and to other parts of the
Algarve by local bus or train.
Arriving in Sines
There is no bus station as such. Coaches and buses start and end
their journeys in the Rua Júlio Gomes da Silva, opposite the
health centre (Centro do Saúde) and near the Fire Station
(Bombeiros). This is about five minutes walk from the town centre.
There is a green kiosk acting as ticket office, waiting room and
information desk. There are no cafés or bars in the immediate area
in which to while away the time, just a few benches.
Getting around in Sines
Sines is a small town and walkable. The old part of town sits
high on a cliff above the sea, so getting down to the beach and
port areas requires a very steep hill to deal with coming back up.
A lift (elevator) links the Praia Vasco da Gama (beach) and town
area on top of the cliff. Excellent picture of it here,
courtesy of http://kanimambo-carlos.blogspot.pt/
. Below the town, the former main road alongside the beach to the
northern port area has been closed to traffic and rehabilitated to
become a pedestrian and cycle route.
There is a local minibus route around town that runs once each
hour, but on weekdays only, between about 0715 and 2000.
Information on the official website here. Stop number 5 is by the main stops for
the other bus and coach services connecting Sines with Lisbon and
different towns. It also serves the shopping centre out of town.
There are no buses on this route at weekends or on public
holidays.
Further afield from Sines - local and regional buses
PLEASE CHECK AT THE OFFICIAL
WEBSITE FOR THE TIMES ON THE EXACT DATE YOU PLAN TO TRAVEL.
Local bus service does not
operate at weekends or public holidays unless stated
These local buses are very infrequent. The bus operator is Rodo
Alentejo, whose website www.rodalentejo.pt contains neither a map nor
list of routes. Timetables can only be displayed if you use the
'Origem' and 'Destino' search. If there is no direct bus, no results
will be displayed so it is difficult to search for connections.
This is a summary of the local bus routes from Sines to nearby towns
and villages. PLEASE check bus times locally. They may be changed
with little or no warning.
Timetables are on display at the main place where the buses stop,
but not elsewhere. Buy your ticket from the bus driver. Change is
given! Buses do not show a route number, just the destination.
BEJA via Santiago do Cacém, Abela, Ermidas : weekdays only : to Beja
at 0815 (arriving at 1050) and to Ermidas at 1735 on all weekdays.
Return trip from Beja to Sines leaves at 1620, arriving at 1855 on
weekdays. Timetable in full here.
Other buses run to and from Santiago do Cacém - see below.
PORTO COVO Buses from Sines to Porto Covo on schooldays are at
0725, 1330,1630 and 1835 with return journeys at 0653, 0717, 1237
and 1802. Some of these buses go to or come from Vila Nova
Milfontes.
During school holidays there are buses from Sines every weekday at
0745 and 1835, also from Sines on Mondays and Thursdays at 1330,
from Porto Covo all weekdays at 0713 and 1802, also on Mondays and
Thursdays at 1238. Timetable
VILA NOVA MILFONTES - two buses each weekday, from Sines at 0725 on
schooldays, 0745 during school holidays and at 1835 all weekdays.
From Vila Nova Milfontes at 0625 on schooldays, 0645 during school
holidays and 1730 all weekdays. Timetable
OTHER MEANS OF TRAVEL TO PORTO
COVO AND VILA NOVA MILFONTES
You can also travel between Sines and Porto Covo or Vila Nova de
Milfontes with Rede Expressos coaches (long distance buses) at least
three times daily and more frequently in summer. These will cost
more than local buses. Go to www.rede-expressos.pt for times in detail and
tickets.
SETUBAL via Santiago do Cacém, Grandôla and Alcacer do Sal. From
Setubal at 1045, 1415 and 1715 on weekdays only. Two hours and 25
minutes journey. To Setubal at 0720 on schooldays, 0730 during
school holidays, 0905, 1225 and 1630 also on weekdays only. A bus
also runs from Alcacer do Sal to Sines at 0650 arriving at 0840,
return journey is at 1815 arriving 1946. There is no weekend or
holiday service between Sines and Alcacer do Sal. Timetable in full
here.
The Rede-Expressos
long distance services to and from Lisbon run via Setubal, thus
providing an alternative with several journeys every day.
LAGOA SANTO ANDRÉ via Industrial Zone, Galiza and Brescos : weekdays
only, two buses each way.
CERCAL via Monte Novo, Porto Novo Crossroads (nb 5 km from the
village) , Sonega and Tanganheira : weekdays three buses each way,
four on schooldays. One bus each way on Mondays and Thursdays during
school holidays goes via Porto Covo. On schooldays there are two
buses each day via Porto Covo. Two buses per day have connections at
Cercal with Odemira and one per day with São Teotónio and Odeciexe.
Timetable.
TRÓIA (for ferry to Setubal) - via Galiza, Brescos, Vale Figueira,
Melides and Casa Branca : two buses each way every day - timetable.
SANTIAGO DO CACÉM via Casa Madeira and the refineries : runs
weekdays only, seven buses from Santiago Cacém to Sines, but only
three in the other direction with extra buses on schooldays, 25
minutes journey. Timetable here.
On weekdays there are six buses each way on a different and much
slower route via SANTO ANDRÉ. On Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays
between Sines and Santiago do Cacèm are four buses each way via
Santo André - timetable for that route here. On weekdays there are other buses
each way on different routes for example those going to and from
Beja and Setubal.
Football Stadium in Sines
The stadium of Vasco da Gama Sines (the Complexo Desportivo de
Sines) is on the edge of the main part of town. The team plays in
the first Division of the Setubal District League, the fifth tier
of Portuguese football. The nearest big clubs are in Lisbon.
Comments and updates
If you have any comments or updates for this page, I will be
pleased to receive them by email.
For more about Sines as a town, please see this article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sines
I take no responsibility for any inconvenience caused as a result
of later changes to times etc. This page is for general guidance
only and you must check details before making commitments and
decisions!
Back to the home page here
www.algarvebus.info
