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Need advice regarding travel from Cascais, to (and around) the Algarve, and back to Lisbon

Posted by on

This is my first time using Rick's travel forum, and I appreciate any advice/suggestions. My husband and I will be doing the Rick Steves "Heart of Portugal" tour beginning June 10th, which starts in Lisbon and goes north. This will be our first trip to Portugal, and second Rick Steves tour. We're arriving in Lisbon May 29th so we can spend time in Cascais and the Algarve; the tour doesn't cover these areas, and we're exploring possible part-time retirement options. We've heard that it's pretty easy to drive to and around the Algarve, so we're planning to rent a car for part of the trip. My husband drives a manual, so he'll be the driver. However, he prefers not to drive from Cascais to Lagos (our first stop in the Algarve), nor to Lisbon from Tavira (our last stop), but to take the train or bus to and from those towns. He says he's more comfortable driving only in the Algarve. So my questions:

  1. Train or bus to Lagos from Cascais? (I believe we'll have to get to Lisbon first to catch either of those)
  2. Train or bus from Tavira to Lisbon? (I think the connection is in Faro)
  3. Rent a car in Lagos and return it to Faro (drive there from Tavira) where we'll catch the train or bus to go to Lisbon?
  4. Take the train or bus from Cascais to Faro (instead of continuing to Lagos), rent a car in Faro, drive to Lagos, and then return the car to Faro?
  5. Right now we have 4 nights booked in Lagos, 2 nights near Albufeira (in Olhos de Aqua), and 3 nights in Tavira. Maybe cancel those 2 nights near Albufeira and add 2 nights to Lagos since we can do much of the Algarve in day trips anyway?
  6. I've read that public transportation is limited in the Algarve, but has anyone gone there and just used buses, taxis or Ubers to get around? Curious if that's an option, but concerned we'd lose a lot of flexibility and not get to some of those out-of-the way sites.

I've been researching train and bus schedules, reading Julie Fox's blogs and info, looking at car rental companies - and am hitting information overload. I look forward to any advice you can share! Thank you so much.

Posted by
270 posts

We did an extended trip to Portugal and used a combination of train, bus, taxi, car rental to get around ( no Uber).

In Lisbon we purchased the Navegante zapping card, loaded €20, used it on Metro, commuter train and bus.

1- From Cascais take the train to Lisbon ( Cais do Sodré) don't leave the station, go downstairs take the Metro Green line to Baixa Chiado transfer to Blue line to Marques de Pombal transfer to Yellow line to Entrecampos.
At Entrecampos go upstairs to the train platforms for the AP train to Faro.
At Entrecampos I ask at the ticket booth which platform for the AP train Southbound since the platform is shared with commuter trains.
Alternatively I've taken a taxi ( about €50, more with luggage).

The train site is cp.pt, the bus site redeexpressos.pt

The buses in the Algarve are not the greatest, Vamus is Algarve bus company but some cities have their own local bus service.

A car is a real plus in the Algarve.
If renting a car I would rent in Lisbon and use for the entire trip.
The drive from Lisbon to the Algarve is all highway, don't forget to ask for the transponder to pay for the tolls.

Ps: map of Lisbon train / Metro system to help visualize transfers
https://www.cp.pt/StaticFiles/Passageiros/3_viajar/0_servicos/lx/ligacao-cp-metro-lisboa-baixa.pdf

Posted by
1677 posts

For a first timer, I wouldn’t drive from Cascais to the Algarve either. Take the train from Cascais to Faro. You can follow the previous poster’s suggestions, or go to Oriente instead. An Uber from cais do Sodré may be cheaper than Entrecampos. Bolt is another option to Uber and is usually a bit cheaper. With luggage, taking the metro is a pain, IMO.
I would likely rent to car and return to Faro, so you have it the entire time in the Algarve.

Posted by
2 posts

Thank you for the suggestions! Neither of you suggested the bus, so the train it is. We'll probably catch an Uber or Bolt to the train station in Lisbon, vs. using the metro with luggage!

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