From Faro to the start of the Rota Vicentina

[charlottehiking]

Hello

We arrive on the 13th of april at the airport of Faro. I can not find a way to go from the airport to the start of the Rota Vicentina and how to return to the airport (we leave very early on monday the 20th so maybe 19th back at the airport).

Can anyone help me?

Thanks in advance.
Charlottehiking

 

[Tincatinker]

https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Faro/Santiago-do-Cacém is ever your friend. You'll be challenged to get much walking in within your time & travel frame.

This link https://stingynomads.com/rota-vicentina-trail-portugal/#Practical_information_for_the_route may be helpful.

 

[charlottehiking]

Rome2rio can not find anything for our specific dates Very weird, maybe it's because it's too early? Don't really get it

 

[Deleted member 43780]

was also gonna suggest rome2rio

 

[peregrina2000]

Hello

We arrive on the 13th of april at the airport of Faro. I can not find a way to go from the airport to the start of the Rota Vicentina and how to return to the airport (we leave very early on monday the 20th so maybe 19th back at the airport).

Can anyone help me?

Thanks in advance.
Charlottehiking

Are you starting to walk in Sagres, or at the northern end in Santiago do Cacém? I’m assuming from Sagres, in which case you will have a choice between train from Faro to Lagos and then bus on to Sagres, or do the whole thing in a bus. I would just remove the date and look at the normal schedules. April 13 is the MOnday after Easter which is a holiday in Portugal — don’t know if it is a national holiday, but I know schools and universities are closed. That might result in a reduced schedule, but I’m virtually certain you can get there.

 

[peregrina2000]

Also, if you go to the EVA (bus company) web site, you can see schedules for monday April 14. You do have to change in Lagos, here are two screen shots. But I used Lagos and not Lagos airport, which also has a stop, so if you are going directly from the airport, you should change the departure to Lagos airport.

 

[Tincatinker]

Rome2rio can not find anything for our specific dates Very weird, maybe it's because it's too early? Don't really get it

I would not use R2R for buying tickets, only for general route planning. Once I've established there is a bus or a train I'll search the specific service provider websites for timetable information.

 

[Friend from Barquinha]

Are you starting to walk in Sagres, or at the northern end in Santiago do Cacém? I’m assuming from Sagres, in which case you will have a choice between train from Faro to Lagos and then bus on to Sagres, or do the whole thing in a bus.

This is correct, about the train and buses.

Here is the train schedule from Faro railway station to Lagos, the end of the line closest to Sagres. You'll have to catch a local bus from Faro airport into Faro proper; these run really often and stop very close to the train station, right downtown, so not a problem.

Train times result

Timetables and prices search

www.cp.pt

As you can see, there are 13 trains a day, it's an hour and a half- to 2-hour run, and the latest one arrives in Lagos at 10:22 at night.

The Lagos train station is just a quick walk away, across a bridge over the marina, from 1/ the bus station and 2/ downtown Lagos with some small hotels. [Edit: sorry, this is an active web page, so you have to put in "Faro" and "Lagos" and "April 13th" to get the results. Otherwise, it's blank.]

Here's the bus schedule from Lagos to Sagres:

Bus timetable Lagos - Salema - Vila do Bispo - Sagres - Cabo São Vicente

A website for public transport information in the Algarve Region of Portugal

www.algarvebus.info

You can see there's a bunch of buses, though a variety, depending on whether it's a weekday, a school day (weekday less holidays), or a weekend day, but several a day in any case to Sagres, or a couple continuing on an extra 20 minutes to Cabo Sao Vicente.

I'd be inclined to get to Lagos, if at all possible, the same day you arrive in Faro (via train), and then the next morning take the bus out to Sagres to start your walk. That way, you'd maximize your walking time! So, for instance, if you stayed in central Lagos on the 13th, you could catch a local bus at the bus station (very nearby) at 9 am on the 14th and be in Sagres by 10 am or Cabo Sao Vicente by 1020 to start walking.

You don't need to reserve ahead for the train ride; it's a no-reservation, commuter-type train that runs almost all the way across the Algarve coast, terminating at Lagos. Don't forget, if you're 65 or older, to present your passport and ask for a "reformado" ticket, for half price. And if you arrive at the very last minute--no panic; get aboard; you can buy your ticket (for cash) from the conductor. It's a really good system, I find.

(And don't get tricked like we did in Lagos; not knowing the route through town, we panicked and got a cab from the Lagos bus station to its railway station, spending a fair bit and going all round the edge of what is a fairly big place with a ring road; only to find, when standing at the railway station, that we could have walked across in 10 minutes!)

Also, the main bus station in Faro and the railway station are virtually next door to each other, so you really can decide which to use at the last minute, once you've come into town from the airport when you arrive.

Bom caminho!

 

[Steveand Jannie]

Train and bus or just the bus from Faro airport.

 

[peregrina2000]

This is correct, about the train and buses.

Here is the train schedule from Faro railway station to Lagos, the end of the line closest to Sagres. You'll have to catch a local bus from Faro airport into Faro proper; these run really often and stop very close to the train station, right downtown, so not a problem.

Train times result

Timetables and prices search

www.cp.pt

As you can see, there are 13 trains a day, it's an hour and a half- to 2-hour run, and the latest one arrives in Lagos at 10:22 at night.

The Lagos train station is just a quick walk away, across a bridge over the marina, from 1/ the bus station and 2/ downtown Lagos with some small hotels. [Edit: sorry, this is an active web page, so you have to put in "Faro" and "Lagos" and "April 13th" to get the results. Otherwise, it's blank.]

Here's the bus schedule from Lagos to Sagres:

Bus timetable Lagos - Salema - Vila do Bispo - Sagres - Cabo São Vicente

A website for public transport information in the Algarve Region of Portugal

www.algarvebus.info

You can see there's a bunch of buses, though a variety, depending on whether it's a weekday, a school day (weekday less holidays), or a weekend day, but several a day in any case to Sagres, or a couple continuing on an extra 20 minutes to Cabo Sao Vicente.

I'd be inclined to get to Lagos, if at all possible, the same day you arrive in Faro (via train), and then the next morning take the bus out to Sagres to start your walk. That way, you'd maximize your walking time! So, for instance, if you stayed in central Lagos on the 13th, you could catch a local bus at the bus station (very nearby) at 9 am on the 14th and be in Sagres by 10 am or Cabo Sao Vicente by 1020 to start walking.

You don't need to reserve ahead for the train ride; it's a no-reservation, commuter-type train that runs almost all the way across the Algarve coast, terminating at Lagos. Don't forget, if you're 65 or older, to present your passport and ask for a "reformado" ticket, for half price. And if you arrive at the very last minute--no panic; get aboard; you can buy your ticket (for cash) from the conductor. It's a really good system, I find.

(And don't get tricked like we did in Lagos; not knowing the route through town, we panicked and got a cab from the Lagos bus station to its railway station, spending a fair bit and going all round the edge of what is a fairly big place with a ring road; only to find, when standing at the railway station, that we could have walked across in 10 minutes!)

Also, the main bus station in Faro and the railway station are virtually next door to each other, so you really can decide which to use at the last minute, once you've come into town from the airport when you arrive.

Bom caminho!

All excellent advice, and I will just add that the historical center of Faro and its port are both very nice places to visit — walls, cathedral, praça, museum. We had always just driven around it, with its reputation as the hub of cheap flights to the Algarve (which it is), but the town itself is well worth a visit. Same goes for Lagos, of course, so that complicates your decision!

 

[anthikes]

I am doing the same journey next weekend and will report how it goes!

I am staying in Faro a couple of nights, partly because there is a big Decathlon store that's walking distance from the Historic Center.

I plan to take the train right through to Lagos and have a night there to look about. I was considering taking a bus to Cabo but it appear you can start walking from Lagos, so I am going to do that.

 

[Friend from Barquinha]

I am doing the same journey next weekend and will report how it goes!
I am staying in Faro a couple of nights, partly because there is a big Decathlon store that's walking distance fro

We've stayed in Faro a couple of times, and find this a good hotel to stay at...central, and not too pricey if you don't want to do the hostel thing.

★★ Hotel Sol Algarve by Kavia, Faro, Portugal

Located a 5-minute walk from the Faro Train Station, Hotel Sol Algarve by Kavia offers accommodation at a short walk from Faro's historic centre.

www.booking.com

 

[wjohnk]

I have stayed at the Hotel Marina Rio in Lagos which is between the Rail and Bus stations. You have to walk over a footbridge to walk from the Rail station which explains why a taxi had to take a long way round. Google maps shows the route.