Lagos to Rimini via Seville and Bergamo Orio A Serio Pt. 1

I left Lagos at 06:15 on a cold dark November morning.

Given the problems getting taxis at that hour, I walked to the halt at Meia Praia and boarded the train for Faro.

At Faro, I walked the 100 metres to the EVA bus station and after 30 minutes caught the 08:20 bus to Seville.

The bus stopped at the frontier for five minutes for Portuguese and Spanish Police to check ID Cards/Passports. It appears that after the recent spate of drug hauls in the Algarve, buses crossing internal schengen frontiers are being increasingly monitored.

We had a layover of 20 minutes in Huelva and arrived in Seville Plaza das Armas 10 minutes late at 13:00 (Spanish Time.)

I then took the C4 bus from outside Plaza das Armas (€ 1.10) to the Prado S. Sebastian Bus Station from where I walked the 400m or so to:

PENSION SAN PANCRACIO
C/ CRUCES Nº 9
41004 – SEVILLA
España

Tel: 34 5 441 31 04
email: pensionspancracio@hotmail.com

I found this Hostal on the web but chanced my luck being November. I got a single room for
€ 25.00 for a night.

This Pension is situated at the top end of the old area behind the Alcalar. Very clean and welcoming.

The room had no TV and there was a shared shower. I understand that there are double rooms with showers.

However, there is free wifi.

Showers are not available between 23:00 and 07:00. There is a curfew at 01:30.

I had to leave to get the bus to the airport from near the Prado Bus Station. The owners kindly awoke early to let me have a shower and let me out!

There is a lovely malmute cross in residence called "El Gordo" - The fat one! Very friendly.

I walked to the bus station at caught the bus to Seville Airport. Cost € 2.10.

Now en route to Milano Bergamo by Ryanair. Flight was full which is great news for traffic loadings.

Arrived Bergamo with 2 inches of snow on the ground. Took the bus to Milano Centrale Station. Euro 8.00 and 50 minutes transit.

Milan Central was chaos. Snow had caused havoc across the whole Northen Italian Rail network. I was heading for Bolonha and then Rimini. Ticket on a regional train to Bolonha was Euro 10.80.
Unfortunately one of the catenaries had come down on the line and trains were restricted to one way working on one section. As a result a trip that should have taken 2 hours took just under 4 hours. Was able to connect with a late running Rimini train. Only arrived in Rimini 1 hour late.

Armação de Pera to Alcantarilha Station

There is actually no station called Armacão da Pera. There is a Station called Alcantarilha/Armação da Pera but it lies inland 7,5 km.

Buses are operated by Eva Transportes (http://www.eva-bus.com) as follows:

Armação de Pêra to Alcantarilha(Est)
06:30 06:55 weekdays only (except public holidays)
12:30 12:55 weekdays only (except public holidays)
16:40 17:05 weekdays only (except public holidays)
16:55 17:00 weekdays only (except public holidays)
18:30 18:55 weekdays only (except public holidays)

I would be careful if planning to use this service as it may be linked to daily school runs and may be subject to alteration.

Trains from Faro to Coimbra

I am surprised that you are flying into Faro to get to Coimbra, as both Lisbon and Porto Airports are much closer.

Coimbra is between five and six hours by train from Faro via Lisbon.

On landing at Faro Airport you will then need to get a taxi to Faro Town. This should take about 15 minutes and cost circa +-Euro 10:00.

On this basis, by the time you have collected your bags, cleared formalities, etc., it is unlikely you will be in Faro until circa 20:15 or 20:30.

The last train of the day North leaves Faro at 19:03 - i.e. before your plane lands. However, this train would,anyway, miss the connecting train from Lisbon to Coimbra, the last departure from Lisbon Oriente being at 21:39.

If you intend to travel by train you will need to overnight in Faro and get the first departure the next morning.

This leaves Faro at 06:55 and arrives Coimbra-B Station at 11:46. This is a direct train and one does not need to change trains in Lisbon.

There is a daily long distance bus service operated by Rede Expressos leaving from Faro Bus Station, 100 metres from Faro Train Station, via Lisbon Sete Rios Bus Station.:

Dept: Faro 20:30
Dep: Lisbon 00:15
Arr: Coimbra 02:50

If you miss this one there is a further departure as follows:

Dept: Faro 01:30
Dep: Lisbon 07:00
Arr: Coimbra 09:20

These are through connecting services operated by Rede Expressos - http://www.rede-expressos.pt/.

You can find links to and/or directly download train and bus timetables pdf format in the "Algarve & Portugal - Travel Transport Links Panel" on the right hand side of my blog at

http://barlaventostravelblog.blogspot.com

Algarve - Quinta do Lago - Blackberry and ADSL Access

See my article here:

http://barlaventositblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/algarve-quinta-do-lago-blackberry-and.html

Pousadas in the Algare

There are three pousadas in the Algarve - Sagres, Tavira and São Bras de Alportel.

More information here on the website of Pousadas de Portugal:

http://www.pousadas.pt

Lisbon Sintra Cascais Travel Card

I was at Lisbon Airport, last Sunday, and noticed at the Tourist Counter that Portuguese Railways, (CP) and the bus operator for the Sintra/Cascais area, SCOTTURB, are now offering a one day Euro 12 travel combi travel pass which allows one to take a train to either Sintra, Cascais or Estoril and use SCOTTURB buses to make connections between the Stations.

There are trains from Lisbon Restauradores to Sintra every 30 minutes at least and the same on the Line from Lisbon Cais de Sodre to Cascais. This offer the opportunity of a great day out.

I attach below a copy of an extract from the leaflet. (Click on it to enlarge:)

Lisbon to Lagos by Train

You can also take the train from Lisbon to Lagos from Gare Oriente. Price is € 4.00 to € 6.00 more than the buses.

The Advantages are that you can wander around, not be cramped and if it is a nice day you get to see a lot of the rural Alentejo. There is also a cafe/bar onboard. Its also worh it just for the privilege of crossing the 25 Abril bridge over the Tagus where you have a great view.

Was up in Lisbon at the weekend and came back on the 13:20 Sunday train from Gare Oriente. It was great and the countryside was beatiful. Lots of happy free range porkers running about under the cork trees. :))

Bear in mind the last 1 hour to Lagos is by local train from Tunes Junction.

Santiago de Compostela to Porto.

Sorry for the delay in responding owing to Internet Access problems.

There are no direct train links from Santiago de Compostela to Porto.

There are two trains daily between Vigo and Porto.

Connecting Services as follows:

Santiago da Compostela: 05:50
Vigo: 07:37
Vigo: 07:40
Porto: 09:55

Santago da Compostela: 17:38
Vigo: 18:59
Vigo: 19:44
Porto: 21:55

For more information see Spanish Railways (Renfe) renfe.es and
Portuguese Railways www.cp.pt.

Restaurante o Prato Cheio Lagos - RIP Sr. Jõao Camacho

It is with great sadness that I have to report the passing away of Sr. João Camacho, owner of the popular Lagos Restaurante "O Prato Cheio."

It appears he died after falling of the rocks while fishing near Sagres.

A report can be found here (in Portuguese):

http://dn.sapo.pt/2008/11/06/cidades/pescador_desaparece_local_onde_amigo.html

Algarve - Lagos

If you are planning to travel by Public Transport, strongly recommend you consider Lagos.

Faro has some historic sights but it is not by the Sea. It is inland on a lagoon. It can be visited in a day by train or bus from Lagos.

Albufeira, has good bus services but the train station is 6 km from town. It is also tourist heaven.

In Lagos, we have great beaches including the 5km long Meia Praia Beach, some wonderful views and the town itself retains a strong Portuguese flavour. However, our town council has taken upon itself to dig up part of our main avenida in at present as part of a town modernisation project. Nonetheless, I think it would be a great place to stay.

Have a look at these items on my blog:


http://barlaventostravelblog.blogspot.com/search?q=lisbon+lagos

As regards hotels in Lagos, have a look at the Albergaria Marina Rio or the Marina Club. You can find their details on this page or a Lagos-based event I am helping organise:

www.dancaiberica.org/index.php

Note that the Romatik is out of town and if you are not hiring a car you will be dependent on taxis or the daytime local buses to Lagos.

As regards taxis from Lagos Station or bus sstation...hmmmm!

Better pm me nearer the time with your details and I'll try to get one there for you.

Phone and Internet - Rural Areas - Algarve

See:

http://barlaventositblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/phone-and-internet-rural-areas-algarve.html

Faro to Lisbon - Scenic Alentejo route

Faro is only 280 kms from Lisbon and linked by a good toll motorway. It is therefore only 2,5 hrs drive.

I would suggest that if you do want to do something en-route you should consider the following:

Faro to Castro Marim.

Castro Marim to Mertola

Mertola to Beja

Baja to Evora

This will give you a taste of the interior of the Alentejo region. It will take about 5 hours. Certainly stop and walk around Mertola

Evora is a Unesco World Heritage Site. Hotels there include the IBIS. There are Roman Ruins, old churches etc. Spend the night there.

From Evora, Lisbon is only a 2 hours run.

Granada to Sagres, Cabo St. Vincente

If you really mean that you wish to get to the Lighthouse at Cabo St. Vicente, you should be aware that in winter there is only one bus a day on week days that serves this location. As there is no accommodation, if taking the bus it means that you would have to walk the 5 to 6 kms back to Sagres the nearest town. You may be able to rent a bicycle in Sagres and visit Cabo St. Vicente that way.

This bus is as follows:

Lagos Cabo S.Vicente 10:30 11:25 Mondays to Fridays only.

On this basis, if you are intended making a return trip from Granada, and Cabo St. Vicente is your final destination, a rental car would probably be a good option.

According to Google Maps, the distance is 562 km and will take about about 6 hours each way. I have driven all this route myself and it is motorway all the way to Lagos 40 kms from Cabo St. Vicente - there is a good road from Lagos to Sagres and Cabo St. Vicente. The only potential problem can be bottlemecks on the ring road around Seville.

See this link for a map:


http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=Granada,+Spain&daddr=Cape+St+Vincent+-+SW+Portugal&hl=en&geocode=%3BCbs3T9TiCub8FUPaNAIdBLd2_yFjIe6EuYKFRQ&mra=pe&mrcr=0&sll=34.452218,5.493164&sspn=16.814361,37.749023&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=7

If you intend using public transport, the only feasible means is by bus.

This will involve three buses:

Granada - Seville

You would need to get a bus from Granada to Seville Plaza das Armas Bus Station.

www.alsa.es operate from Granada to Seville Est. Prado but then you would need to get a local bus from there to Seville Plaza das Armas.

Buses from Seville to Lagos.

Seville Plaza das Armas - Lagos (Algarve)

Dept: Seville 07:30 Arr Lagos 12:00 Daily
Dept: Seville 16:15 Arr Lagos 20:45 Daily

With the second service you would have to spend the night in Lagos and then continue to Sagres/Cabo St. Vicente the next day. Similiarly, neither of the two buses connects with the only service to Cabo S.Vicente as indicated above. You would need to spend the night in Lagos or Sagres.

Lagos - Sagres - Cabo St. Vicente.

The first bus would connect with the following and later buses to Sagres.

Lagos Sagres 12:40 13:35 Daily
Lagos Sagres 13:35 14:40 Weekdays/Saturdays.

There are about 11 buses per day from Lagos to Sagres. Less at weekends.

A final thought. You might want to stay in Lagos and rent a scooter for the day and ride out to Cabo S.Vicente.

You could try:

Luis of Sidecar 32 in Torraltinha,Lagos is one.
He can be contacted via the following address.
Side Car 32 - Motociclos de Aluguer, Lda.
R. St Casa Misericórdia
8600-621 LAGOS
email: filipe_bolota@hotmail.com
Tel: 282798383

He can deliver a bike to you in town at the Luzcar Office behind the Repsol Garage on the main Avenida.