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.

Scandanavian Flights - Sterling Bankruptcy

The Algarve again is being hit by the current global recession.

This morning, Sterling A/S, the Icelandic owned Scandanavian based Low Cost operator has declared bankruptcy.

This affects twice weekly flights from Faro to Copenhagen, Stockholm and a weekly flight to Oslo.

This leaves Faro without any direct link to Stockholm to Copenhagen. Oslo still has a flight link to Faro via Norwegian Air Shuttle.

This a serious blow to the Algarve as a winter destination for Scandanavian Passengers. One can only hope that Easyjet, Ryanair, Air Berlin or TuiFly step in to fill this gaping hole.

See:


http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/7948284

Serra da Estrela or Guarda to Salamanca

From Guarda your only routing to Salamanca will be as follows:

Train:

1 train per day - Sud Express.

Depart: Guarda 20.42
Arrive: Salamanca 0.05

Bus:

There are two buses per day operated by alsa.es:

Depart: Guarda 12.45
Arrive: Salamanca 16.45

Depart: Guarda 23.30
Arrive: Salamanca 03.30 (Next Day)

Note from whichever town you will be in, in the Serra da Estrela, you will have to get a local bus to Guarda.

Hotel between Lisbon and Guia

Although it is less that 100km from Lisbon, I frequently use the Ibis Setubal Hotel which is about 40km from Lisbon Aiport on the old Lisbon to Algarve road.

See: http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-1275-ibis-setubal/index.shtml

It is ideal for kids as there is a garden and a pool.

Access is via Setubal and you can rejoin the motorway at Marateca.

See: http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-1275-ibis-setubal/location.shtml

Further south there are not many hotels of quality as folk tend to make the Lisbon to Algarve run in one fell swoop.

In my opinion and experience this would be the best option.

You are then less than 2 hours by motorway from Guia in the morning.

Be aware that the motorway is a toll road.

Mobile Phone Providers in Portugal

There are three main mobile providers in Portugal - TMN, Vodafone and Optimus.

They all offer PAYG (Pay as you go!)

At present they do not require registration. you can just go in and pick one up.

If you are buying a sim you must make sure you have an unblocked mobile as even vodafone portugal sims will not work in vodafone mobiles from other countries.

Vodafone tariffs here: (in Portuguese)

https://loja.vodafone.pt/tarifarios/vitaminas/Vita+Light+Total.htm

for the others have a look at

www.tmn.pt
www.optimus.pt

Lagos - Cantinho Algarvio

Restaurante Cantinho Algarvio in Lagos is having a tapas evening on the night of 8th November 2008. € 15:00 per head.

Cantinho Algarvio
Rua Afonso de Almeida 17-21 - Lagos
8600-674 LAGOS

Bookings: 282 761289 or info@ocantinhoalgarvio.com

Buses between Portimão / Faro and Evora

The following are the current bus schedules between Portimão / Faro to Evora operated by Rede Expressos - http://www.rede-expressos.pt/:

PORTIMAO EVORA Only Sundays except Public Holidays when runs on Monday.
Depart Arrive
17:20 21:15
Price € 15.00

PORTIMAO EVORA Only Sundays except Public Holidays when runs on Monday.
Depart Arrive
14:30 18:15
Price € 15.00

Faro Evora - Daily
Depart Arrive
08:15 12:30
11:15 15:30
16:30 20:45

Evora Faro - Daily
Depart Arrive
09:00 13:05
14:30 18:25
17:15 21:05

Transport Option from Faro Airport to Lagos

The price for a taxi from Faro Airport to Faro station is currently in the order of between
€ 11.00 and € 13.00 plus possibly bag charge.

The price of train a train ticket from Faro to Lagos is currently €6,15 per person.

As you do not indicate where you are staying in Lagos it is difficult to price taxis but lets add € 20.00.

Total Cost: 5 x €6.15 + € 13.00 + € 20.00 = € 63.75

Lets say € 65.00

Currently, quoted prices for Faro Airport to Lagos for a six seater taxi is € 90 to € 110 & possibly bag charge.

So the costs of travelling by train are less.

Two provisos, however:

1) There are often no taxis waiting at Lagos station when trains arrive.
2) At present, the last train leaves Faro for Lagos at 20:11

You may find a transfer service more appropriate:

For example:

http://www.low-cost-transfers.com/faro-airport/index.php

are currently quoting € 77.50 for transfer of 5 people directly from Faro Airport to Lagos.

This avoids the hassle of 2 cabs and will take you to the door.

Santarem Hotels

Santarem is not far from Lisbon and other tourist centres such as Fatima which is why there are a few hotels there.

Have a look at the following:


http://www.hotelalfageme.com/
Hotel Alfageme*** - Santarém

Hotel do Prado*** - Santarém
hotel.prado@mail.eurest.pt


http://www.maisturismo.pt/hsantarem
SANTARÉM HOTEL