Cafe Fabulas, Chiado, Lisbon

During our sojourn this week in Lisbon, we needed a location to meet and have a relaxed business meeting with a colleague.

We had planned to go the Kaffehaus in the Chiado area, which we know and like. However, it is currently undergoing expansion works until the end of March 2010.

After some scouting around on the web and by foot, we found close by just of Rua Ivens, Cafe Fabulas. This is a lovely cafe with sofas, wifi offering quality light snacks. It is located in old cellars and has a great environment.

Web site is here

http://www.fabulas.pt/

Highly recommended.

Pensão Residencial Portuense, Lisbon

Just back from a quick two day trip to Lisbon.

Travelled up and back on the EVA Transportes 3hr45min express coach service from Lagos Bus Station to Lisboa Sete Rios Bus Station (Metro Jardim Zoologico.) Euro 19.00 each way.

This time we stayed at Pensão Residencial Portuense in Rua das Portas de Santo Antão 149-157,1150-267 Lisboa. Rua das Portas de Santo Antão runs up from Rossio parallel to Avda. da Liberdade.

The Pensão was refurbished last year. Although not flash and only a B&B, it is well appointed for the price, clean and excellently well situated for visiting the Baixa, the Alfama, the Castle and the Chiado area by foot. Metro Restauradores and buses are only 2 blocks away.

Very well priced,(via bookings.com). A double was € 45.00 per nightly for bed and continental breakfast.

Service was good as well.

Internet access (free) is restricted to the reception area where, if you have your own laptop, one can plug into the hotel router via an ethernet cable.

In house 3G/mobile coverage is not great, given the surrounding buildings and geography.

Strongly recommended.

View from Top Single Room towards Rossio...

Ryanair - Faro - Hamburg(Lübeck)

Ryanair have announced a new twice weekly schedule linking Faro and Lübeck starting on 1st May, 2010.

See: http://bit.ly/ryanairfarolübeck

Madeira Disaster Fund - Bank Details

For anyone wanting to contribute to the Madeira Disaster Fund, bank details have been kindly posted here:

http://bit.ly/madeiradisasterfunds

Kaffeehaus - Chiado, Lisbon

Great cafe offering austrian cuisine in the centre of Lisbon.

http://bit.ly/kaffeehauschiadolisboa

Faro to Sevilha - how early for bus?

Your schedule looks fine. I reckon a 05:30 departure from Salema is fine. 90 minutes max to Faro airport at that time of day.

You need to be at the bus station no more than 30 minutes beforehand to buy your ticket.

However, if you are in Lagos over the proceeding days, you could pick up your ticket in advance from Faro to Seville at the bus station in Lagos.

Lisbon - Quarteira - Night time Renex Service

There is a departure of a RENEX bus from the Gare Oriente Bus Station to Quarteira at 01:00.

Gare Oriente Bus Station is about 10 minutes by taxi from the Airport. With bags and being late at night you should expect to pay up to € 10.00 for the taxi.

Arriving at 11:55 p.m. (i.e. nearly midnight) will be a problem.

However, if your plane is delayed, or there are delays in unloading your bags, it is unlikely you will be able to make the bus at 01:00. The bus arrives in Quarteira at 04:40.

The next RENEX bus is at 05:30. It arrives in Quarteira at 09:35 You would be best to wait at Lisbon Airport, as the area around Gare Oriente Bus Station is not that secure at night.

Please note that August is 6 months away and the timetables may change before that. You should check timetables again nearer the time.

Ryanair - Portugal - Contact details.

Sérgio Bastos has posted the contact details for passenger queries concerning Ryanair in Portugal on his blog here:

http://bit.ly/ryanairportugalcontacts

Location advice - Cerro das Mos?

Please see the following link on Google Maps.

http://bit.ly/9aOc1e

If you zoom out you will see the position of R. Jaime Bispo Palhinha in relation to Lagos Bay. Cerro de Mós is a residential suburb is situated on a hill behind Lagos.

There is a Modelo Supermarket about 5 minutes walk away. The old town is about 15-20 minutes walk away, but coming back uphill can be tiring particularly in Summer with the heat.

Equally, there are no beaches nearby within easy walking distance. I would suggest that a car is necessary.

The nearest Restaurants are about 10 minutes away by foot.

travel from santander to luz

In my opinion, although it is about 100 km longer than the most direct route, the best and most economical route from Santander, Spain to Praia da Luz, Portugal is via Valladolid, Salamanca, Merida, Seville, Ayamonte and Lagos.

Apart from 20km south of Salamanca where the road is being upgraded to motorway, this route is dual carriageway most of the way and has no tolls. Additionally, fuel is considerably cheaper in Spain, so it pays to travel in Spain as much as possible.

A Route Map is shown below:(Click on full screen to view)

santanderluz

Lisbon to Sintra - Trains

Yes there are!

See: http://bit.ly/lisbonsintratrains

Edinburgh - Faro - New route - Ryanair

Ryanair announced a new route from Edinburgh to Faro from 1 May 2010.

See:

http://bit.ly/ryanairfaroedinburgh

No worries to rent a car ?

I have used Luzcar over the years. They offer pick up at Faro Airport.

Their prices are a bit higher than others but are all inclusive, including second driver and nipping over the border to Spain. They do look after their clients.

See: http://www.lagoscarhire.com/

Another company with a good reputation is Auto-Jardim.

See:

http://www.autocarhire.net/

lagos, albufeira, or neither? help!!!!!!!

For all in one, Lagos would probably be your best bet given your parameters. But then I live here! :))))))))

We have beaches, (including the 4km long sandy Meia Praia beach) restaurants, bars/clubs, and shopping and in summer, a great night life..

Cubsur will probably be along, shortly, and confirm that he would say the same thing about Albufeira. There is possibly a chance of more shopping therapy opportunities in and around Albufeira though.

DiskWizz, if he's around, will probably say the same about Praia da Rocha.

Another destination to look into is Alvor.

It's all a matter of personal choice really, as all the above destinations meet your criteria.

Lisbon to Alvor / Alvor to Malaga

The best way for both trips is by car!

The drive from Lisbon to Alvor takes 3 hours.

Lagos/Alvor/Portimão will take about four and a half to five hours.

See this article on my blog about my trip on this route last year.
http://bit.ly/lagosmalagacar

If, however, (and you do nor specify it), you are referring to public transport then the best option on both routes is Bus.

Lisbon - Alvor

There are regular buses throughout the day from Lisbon Gare Oriente bus station to Alvor operated by Renex.pt

Go to my blog here:

http://barlaventostravelblog.blogspot.com

Scroll down on the right hand side and you will find a panel
entitled:

Algarve & Portugal - Travel Transport Links

In this panel you will find links for:

# RENEX Bus Service - Lisbon to Algarve (including Lagos) timetable

Click on the latter and you will be able to download the latest timetable in pdf format.

2) Alvor - Malaga.

You will have to get a local urban bus to Portimão.

From there pick up the twice daily Portimão to Seville Bus.

In Seville change bus stations and get a bus direct from Seville to Malaga.

At present there is an EVA/DAMAS but that leaves Portimão at 07:00 and arrives in Seville Estacion das Armas at 13:00 (Spanish Time)

You will need to get a local C4 bus between Estacion Plaza das Armas to El Prado Bus Station which runs from just after 6 in the morning till 23:30.

You will then need to get the alsa.es 15:00 departure which arrives in Malaga at 17:45.

At present. the afternoon bus does not connect with ongoing alsa buses to Malaga

What is best bus or train travel..??

There are no direct trains between the Algarve and South Spain/Seville. However, there are good bus services.

See this article on my blog.

http://bit.ly/lagossevillebus2009

There is not really anywhere between Albufeira and Seville that matches Albufeira. There is Monte Gordo near Vila Real Stª. Antonio where there will be some night life but not like Albufeira. On the Spanish side there is Isla Cristina and El Rompido. However, I have only driven through them.

I would suggest, however, the following change to your itinerary!

Instead of going to Albufeira, why not head first to either Lagos or Praia da Rocha near Portimão. The transit time by bus is not much more than Lisbon - Albufeira and they both have great night scenes in Summer. You could then layover in Albufeira en route to Seville.

For more information on travelling from Lisbon to the Algarve, have a look at Cubsur's excellent site here:

http://algarvebus.info/

For bus and rail, go to my blog here:

http://barlaventostravelblog.blogspot.com

Scroll down on the right hand side and you will find a panel
entitled:

Algarve & Portugal - Travel Transport Links

In this panel you will find links for:

# Eva Bus Service - Eva Bus Service - Lisbon Sete Rios to Lagos
# RENEX Bus Service - Lisbon to Algarve (including Lagos) timetable

Hope this helps.

Bordeira - near Faro to Lisbon

Google Map Location here:

http://bit.ly/BordeiraFaroAlgarve

If you are lucky and your villa is facing the right way and is in a good location you may have a great view over the coastal plain towards the sea.

As regards Faro centre, it is fairly compact. I would recommend you park somewhere like the car park at the bus station and walk.

You are well located for access to the A22 Via de Infante Spinal Motorway. The whole coastal Algarve is therefore within 90 minutes driving. You could easily visit Silves (old walled town) ( http://bit.ly/silves_algarve_wiki ), Monchique and Lagos (historic old town) (http://bit.ly/lagos_algarve_wiki) as well.

Visiting Lisbon depends on you.

By toll motoway, one can get up to either of the two bridges crossing the Tejo in about 3 hours allowing for stops. Distance is +- 280 kms.

However, there are good rail and bus services from Faro to Lisbon.

For rail, have a look at Cubsur's excellent site here:

http://thomasallen.home.sapo.pt/travel/006.htm

For bus, go to my blog here:

http://barlaventostravelblog.blogspot.com

Scroll down on the right hand side and you will find a panel
entitled:

Algarve & Portugal - Travel Transport Links

In this panel you will find links for:

# Eva Bus Service - Faro to Lisbon Sete Rios
# RENEX Bus Service - Lisbon to Algarve (including Lagos) timetable

My recommendation to allow enough time in Lisbon would be to take the early morning Alfa-Pendular train to Lisbon and then perhaps come back to Faro by bus. The bus station and train station are close to each other. Bear in mind that by July, summer timetables will have come into operation.

Travel from OZ to Braga, Portugal

Iḿ not sure why you are heading to Barcelona first...Its a way the other side of the Iberian Peninsula!!!!

There is no Airport at Braga. The nearest airport to Braga is Porto which is 55km away.

There are direct flights to Porto from a variety of destinations.

There is a list of current destinations served here:

http://bit.ly/porto_destinations_2010

Although low-cost Ryanair operates Barcelona Girona (Change of Airport may be required)- Porto, I would have thought that Madrid, London Gatwick, and/or Paris CDG would be equally good routings and then catch a Ryanair or Easyjet low-cost to Porto.

From the airport you would have to take the Light Rail system into the city(Campanha) and then get a train to Braga. (Trains every hour) (About 50 minutes travel time)

Madrid and Badajoz, Spain to Lisbon, Portugal

There is one daily train service service from Badajoz to Lisbon as follows:(click on full screen to view.)

badajoz_lisboa_rail_timetable_2010

There are bus services as follows:

alsa.es



and

anibal.net

Timetable see:

http://bit.ly/lisbon_madrid_anibal


A final alternative would be to route via Faro in the Algarve.

There is one website that allows pick-ups in Spain with reasonable drop-offs at Faro Airport. They then offer pick-up of a Portuguese Hire car there as well.

See:

http://www.iberiacarhire.com/

Distance between Lisbon and Porto

According to google maps between 317 and 339 kilometres depending on route.

Martinhal Beach Resort & Hotel - Sagres

Interesting bit of publicity here about the above new resort opening in Sagres in April 2010.


See:http://bit.ly/algarve_martinhal

Ryanair - Cork - Faro

Ryanair will be operating a summer service from Cork to Faro.

More information here:

http://bit.ly/ryanair_summer_cork_faro

Driving into and through Lisbon

Downtown Lisbon has been the subject of traffic calming measures in recent years which has made it even more unfriendly for those who want to drive into the city. You end up having to drive 1km down a road before you can double back.

Unless you are staying in a hotel somewhere in the area of Avda. Jose Malhoa, or similiar, where you can easily get off the motorway ring road, I do not recommend it. Stay in Sintra, Carcavelos, Estoril or Cascais and use the excellent suburban railways to commute in and the metro,tram and bus to get around in the city..

Places to visit around Lagos, Algarve

Assuming you have a car, suggest that the following may be off interest:

1) Sagres - Visit the fortress that housed the famous navigation school set up by Infante Dom Henrique which powered Portugal's voyages of discovery 500 years ago.

2)Cape St Vincent - The most south westerly point of Europe.

3) Monchique Village and Mountain. Dominating the Western Algarve, this massif is worth a trip.

4) The far wet coast - explore the beaches and rugged west coast North of Vila de Bispo. Lunch at Carrapateira.

5) Lagos Old Town - One of the few towns in the Algarve that retains its old character.

See: http://bit.ly/lagos_algarve_wiki

6) If you are with youngsters.... Zoomarine in Guia.

See: http://bit.ly/zoomarine_algarve

7) Silves

Old walled town dating back to Roman times.

See: http://bit.ly/silves_algarve_wiki

That should keep you going for a while.

Public transportation Lisbon-Óbidos

The cost of taxis would be exorbitant..probably in the order of € 100 euros plus each way.

Bus is probably the best way to make this trip.

The following is the current week-end timetable for the bus service from Lisboa Campo Grande to Obidos and return:

Lisboa Obidos Weekend Bus Service Timetable - Click to enlarge

Or click here:

http://bit.ly/lisbon_obidos_weekend