Notices

Public Transportation

Local Buses

To and from Albufeira

There is a local bus running from Albufeira to Galé beach and back. This bus stops outside the new Apart-Hotel (São Rafael Suites Hotel) in São Rafael. The schedule is as follows:

To Albufeira from São Rafael
8.00 9.00 10.15 13.15 14.15 17.15 18.05

To São Rafael from Albufeira
7.35 8.35 9.30 12.50 13.30 16.30 17.35

Buses run daily in summer, but not on Sundays or public holidays from October to May.

Going into Albufeira, the bus stops at the marina, then on the edge of the town at the St. Vincent statue, before going on to the main bus station at Caliços. Coming from Albufeira bus station, the bus takes a slightly different route, stopping in town adjacent to the primary schools (Escola Primária).

The buses run to Galé (near the beach). But three times a day (9.45, 13.45 and 16.45 from the São Rafael stop) the buses terminate in Guia. From here, you can walk to the Algarve Shopping Centre in about 25 minutes.

If you pay on the bus, the fare into town is 1.60 € each way, but you can prepay at the booking office and buy, say, 10 journeys for a mere 75 centimos each, which is less than half price. The first time you do this, you have to pay an extra 3 € for the plastic card, but you can subsequently add another 10 journeys to the card for 7.50 €.

"Giro" buses

Since the summer of 2004, three new "Giro" buses have been introduced in Albufeira, the "red line", the "green line" and the "blue line".

These three urban buses all start from the bus station at Caliços, and all take very roundabout routes before returning to the bus station. The buses travel in one direction only, but the "blue" bus takes almost the same route as the "green" bus, in the opposite direction. The routes are quite complicated, but a simplified form of the route is displayed at the (special) "Giro" bus stops. You can get a proper route map from the booking office at Caliços.

The "red" bus covers mainly the west of Albufeira (including the camping ground and the marina), and the "green"/"blue" buses travel around the east of Albufeira (including Montechoro, the Strip, and near to the Oura beach). They all stop in or near the centre of town and at the Cámara building.

Bus cards
Two separate plastic cards, one for the bus to Albufeira and
one for the "Giro" bus

The buses run every day until quite late (midnight in summer), and at 30-minute intervals.

If you pay on the bus, the fare is 1 € for any journey, but you can prepay at the booking office, and buy 10 journeys for 5 €. Again, the first time you do this, you have to pay an extra 3 € for a (different) plastic card, but you can subsequently add another 10 journeys to the card for 5 €.