Electrical Installations - Portugal

If you apartment is not new or several years old, best to get the wiring checked by a local sparks.

It is unlikely with new builds, but with older properties there have been cases where builders skimped on electrics, using what a Portuguese electrician friend calls "Electro-Pedreiros", or labourers masquerading as electricians.

I, myself, in the past have refused to install desktop computers down here after arriving at properties and finding the electrical system unearthed.

If it is a new build, should be OK as Portuguese Safety Regs are now much much tighter.

Fly into faro-then where? Isla canela/ayamonte..etc

You can fly into Faro and hire a car to go to Spain.

Luzcar.com do such rentals.

I was down at Faro Airport on Friday and Auriga Crown the Spanish Car Hire operator is opening up a booth at Faro Airport as from April.

Although they have not yet got prices on their site nor indications of inter-country rates, I have confirmed from a webmaster that I know who operates a rental site marketing their vehicles that they have already advised him about their intention to move in the Algarve / (Portuguese) market. If their inter-country drop-off rates are reasonable this could be of great benefit to those wanting to tour the Iberian Peninsula by Car.

http://www.aurigacrown.com

I have also heard rumours that Pepecar is considering a similar move.

As regards Isla Canela, it is a typical modern tourist resort with lines of aparment blocks, beaches and very little else. Ayamonte has some character but there is limited public transport between the two.

I would suggest that Lagos, Albufeira, Praia da Rocha or Monte Gordo might be more of interest.

Low Cost - Scotland to Lisbon

Globespan, Ryanair, Easyjet operate from Glasgow, Prestwick and Edinburgh to Faro Airport. You can get a taxi from Faro Airport to Faro Train or Coach Station and then a cheap bus or train to Lisbon in about 3 hours.

Train will only really be possible if you arrive prior to 15:00.

However, there are Rede Expressos, EVA and Renex buses to Lisbon with the last departure at 20:30, arriving 23:45.

Ryanair - Dublin - Porto cancelled

Ryanair has announced the termination of the following route from July:

Dublin - Porto

http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/news.php?yr=09&month=mar&story=gen-en-160309

Vilamoura to Guarda

Guarda is 55lkm from Vilamoura by the fastest car route, which includes toll roads, which will make the trip quite expensive. Transit time with stops 6 hours each way.

Train times from Loule Station (15 mins by taxi from Vilamoura) to Guarda via Lisbon vary between 7:30 mins and 10:20 minutes each way.

I have post an extract of the current relevant train timetable here on Scribd:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/13412496/Loule-Guarda

I have post an extract of the current Bus Times by Rede Expressos Bus here on Scribd:

http://www.scribd.com/full/13412787?access_key=key-23dywot7q8fw3fitqadv

Transit times are similar or longer than the train.

So if it is an urgent trip, car would be better. However, whichever mode you choose, going up and down even on two days will not leave you much time in Guarda.

Travel from Lisbon to Algarve to Malaga

Public transport links between Spain and Portugal are almost exclusively restricted at present to long distance coaches.

While you will not need a car in Seville, you will need one to explore the Algarve and you may well miss places you want to see in Spain.

I would therefore strongly recommend flying in and out of Lisbon on this trip. Rent a car in Lisbon and drop it off there. Intra-country drop offs are very expensive in Europe. Be aware to specify an automatic if you are from the other side of the pond as in Europe we mainly drive manual shift vehicles. I also suggest a vehicle with aircon as Andalucia will be very very hot at that time of year. (Between 35º and 40º during daylight hours.)

You routing should be by toll road from Lisbon Airport via the Vasco da Gama Bridge to Albufeira. (+- 2:30 mins). Albufeira - Seville freeway (2 hours). On the Seville to Malaga route there are various options, including the scenic long one via Jerez/Algecira/Marbella.

While in Malaga, with a car you can also make an easy day trip to Granada and the Sierra Nevada, although it will be very hot in the former.

To do all the above by bus would at least double travel time and add a lot of inconvenience.

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Algeciras, Spain (Ferries from Morocco) and Lagos (Algare, Portugal)

The following is a brief synopsis of bus routing between Algeciras, Spain (Ferries from Morocco) and Lagos (Algare, Portugal)

Algeciras to Seville (Prado )

Timetable here.

http://www.tgcomes.es/horarios_33.htm

Seville to Lagos (Seville - Plaza das Armas) (DAMAS/EVA Transportes)

Sevilha Lagos 07:30 12:00 Diariamente
Sevilha Lagos 16:15 20:45 Diariamente

http://www.eva-bus.com/home_pesquisa2008.php?lang=PT&servico=0&origem=Sevilha&destino=Lagos&Procurar=Ok

Lagos, Algarve - Schools

A full list of primary and secondary schools in Lagos can be found here:

http://www.cm-lagos.pt/portal_autarquico/lagos/v_pt-PT/menu_turista/concelho/educacao/escolas/

The ESCOLA SECUNDÁRIA COM 3ºCICLO DE GIL EANES & ESCOLA SECUNDÁRIA DE JÚLIO DANTAS are the two secondary schools in the town.

The Escola das Naus behind the Marina may also be of interest.

http://www.eb23-n2-lagos.rcts.pt/

Be aware that all of these are Portuguese State Schools. I would suspect that at least some of the head teachers will have some English, but do not count on it. Whether they can provide extra tuition I don't know. The state education system here is currently under great pressure so don't count on it.

I would suggest that in the first instance you contact the Escola das Naus.

Madrid to Faro

Ryanair ran a service on this route 2 years ago for 6 months, However, because they advertised it badly, they only got 50% loadings.

They decided not to persevere with the service, which I think was wrong.

There are not low-cost flights between Madrid and Faro.

Your options are:

Low-Cost Flight - Madrid-Lisbon and then Bus/Train Lisbon - Faro

Bus/Train - Madrid to Seville

Bus - Seville to Faro

Have a look at these posts on my blog which may help.

http://barlaventostravelblog.blogspot.com/search?q=Madrid+Faro