Travel in and from the Algarve

Thanks for your help very much appreciated!

We took the bus from Sevilla to Tavira and then 30 hours or so later, went from Tavira to Lisbon, non stop from Faro on. The ride was smooth and comfortable. From Tavira, we had a bus attendant on board as well. We arrived in Sete Rios station near the Jardin Zoological stop on the Blue Line. I usually choose trains... these buses were great. George, Pittsburgh

We used the bus - and a ferry (and our feet) - to close the gap between two different rental cars, one in each country. We did a short visit to the Algarve last fall, and were headed to Andalucia afterwards. The drop-off fees for taking a rental car across the border were staggering (like $500 Euro), so being stubborn, I said to hell with that, I'll find another way. I did.

We picked up our car in Lisbon and drove to the Algarve for a few days. After that, we headed for the Spanish border, and dropped the car off - still inside Portugal - at Faro. We took a bus to Vila Real de Santo Antonio, Portugal, which is right on the small river that forms the border between Portugal and Spain. We took a small ferry across the river to Ayamonte, Spain, hiked a kilometer or two to their bus station, then took a Spanish bus to Huelva, where we rented a different car - then we drove off to Arcos spent the night there, and motored happily through the white hill towns. We had no interest in Faro and Huelva, but they were the closest towns to the border that had rental car agencies.

It was a complicated day, but it all worked, and was a bit of an adventure, to boot (which also saved us a good pile of Euros). The bus system seemed efficient and inexpensive. I'd do it again the same way.

We also took the bus from Portugal (Faro) to Sevilla. It was not only inexpensive and efficient, but also pretty comfortable, too. The scenery was spectacular -- fields and fields of sunflowers (this was summertime) and those great gigantic bull silhouettes once you get into Spain.