I am travelling to Spain in the fall and visiting friends in Madrid. I want to do a round trip and fly from Madrid to Barcelona, spend a couple days, fly Barcelona to Portugal, spend a couple days and fly back to Madrid. I having trouble with the Portugal part.
The things I'm most interested in seeing are in the Algarve, so I was considering flying into Faro, but the costs in & out are significantly higher than what they would be into Lisbon. The best option is Air Berlin, but they only fly in on Sundays and out on Wednesdays, which doesn't really fit my schedule.
So, I was wondering how feasible it would be to fly into Lisbon on a Friday early in the morning, take the train to Faro and bus/train out to Sagres to stay for a couple of nights then back to Lisbon on Sunday to fly out on Monday to Madrid mid-day.
Not factoring in the price of the train from Lisbon to Faro & back, I can probably save about $500 on the flights. However, from my reading, I understand that bus/train service in the Algarve on the weekend is spotty at best. So, I guess I'm ultimately wondering if this is worthwhile (which I know is subjective, but opinions would be appreciated) or if I really should be making the decision between shelling out the $ to see the Algarve or just stick around Lisbon for a couple of days. Thanks everybody.
Posted by
Tumwater, WA, United States
118 posts
It would be easy to spend two or more days in Lisbon. My wife and I spent a week there and time flew by. We rented a car in Lisbon and stayed in the Algarve area for a week and enjoyed it. I think the easiest way to get around in the Algarve is by car as bus and trains have a schedule that may not fit yours. Driving is easy with their well marked new highways and some of the places that you may wish to see may not be served well by public transportation. It is about a two to three hour drive to the Algarve from Lisbon. If you are planning on flying, be sure and check the cheaper airlines such as Easy jet, Span Air, and Ryan, although Ryan's flight out of Barcelona is from an airport far out of the city.
Posted by
OP
Canada
37 posts
Thanks Charles. You made a good point about some things I forgot to mention. Ideally, I'd rather not drive (but if that's what it comes down to, I might). The airlines I've looked at are RyanAir & EasyJet (neither of which appear to fly from Barcelona to Faro or Madrid) and TAP, Spanair and Air Berlin. The TAP & Spanair flights to Faro come in at 369E and 552E respectively (each leg). I can get a multi-line flight through TAP from Barcelona-Faro-Madrid for about 280E, which is pretty good but they go through Lisbon both ways anyhow, so I wasn't sure if it made more sense to get off the plane in Lisbon and go the rest of the way bus/train.
Posted by
gaston, oregon, usa
842 posts
I'm going to have to agree with Charles. Driving a car is the best way to see the Algarve, and the roads are wonderful, and there is no traffic!
We did Lisbon, Tavira, and Porto when we did Portugal a year ago in Dec. We stayed in Tavira and did trips in our car to all of the areas in the Algarve.
Stay in Lisbon, rent a car, and do the Algarve with your own wheels.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
I have driven from Lisbon to Albufeira in the Algarve and I think that's the way to go. I do remember, though, that it was a 4 hour drive, and not a very interesting one either.
Posted by
Bay Area
3551 posts
I have been to the Algarve. It is OK if it is along your route but otherwise I would skip. Lots to to in Lisbon, Sintra, Belem , museums etc. It is really imp and a draw for the Brits that are seeking sun!
Posted by
Ottawa
237 posts
Hi CP
You didn't mention what it is in the Algarve that most interests you.
Driving is the best option. I would rent a car at the Lisbon airport drive to the Algarve and return the car to catch you flight to Madrid.
As someone mentioned the driving is easy and the airport is well signed.
There are lots of interesting sights in the Algarve and wonderful beaches.
Posted by
OP
Canada
37 posts
Again, thanks for pointing out what I missed in my original post. I didn't want my story to be overly long but obviously left out some details. Anyway, what I'm hoping to visit is the bone church (Faro, I believe) and to see where the Mediterranian meets the Atlantic (out by Sagres probably). A good friend who knows my interests thought I would enjoy it there so I wanted to include it in my visit since I'd be in Spain anyway. I'll be by myself for this leg of the trip so wasn't sure how comfortable I'd be driving but everyone seems to think that's the way to go. I'll look into that a little more.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
I think you will find that most geographers will say the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean at Tarifa in Spain or Tangiers in Morocco, not at Sagres. Anyway, it's not much to look at from the surface....one long expanse of water to the east....another long expanse to the west ;)