The real choice on the Algarve is not train or bus in general, it is which end you start from, because the rail line runs east to west along the shore and everything behind it belongs to coaches. I have ridden the coastal line end to end twice, once in July and once in October, and the summary I would give anyone booking this week is simple: the train wins between Faro and Lagos, the bus wins east of Vila Real, and neither saves you if your flight lands after ten at night.
From Lisbon to the coast
Trains leave from Oriente and arrive at Faro, which is the only Algarve station that every long-distance service uses. Book the fast option and the run takes just under three hours; book the slower one and you add roughly forty minutes and a change at Tunes. These are the three ways down, with the trade-off stated before the price:
- Alfa Pendular, direct from Oriente to Faro, around three hours, with a seat reservation that is compulsory.
- Intercidades, a little slower and a little cheaper, same route and the same arrival platform.
- Coach from Sete Rios, about three and a half hours, departing roughly hourly and costing less than either train.
I take the train when I land in daylight and the bus when I land late, because the last coaches run after the last trains and the difference at the far end is a taxi you did not need to pay for. The one exception is a Sunday, when the train timetable thins out and the coach becomes the only sensible option left.
Along the coast, east to west
The regional line from Faro west is the part that justifies the whole trip. Distances are short, the sea is on the left for most of it, and the trains are frequent enough that you can decide in the morning where you sleep that night. The segments I use, with real timings:
- Faro to Lagos, about two hours ten, roughly 15 euros, with a change at Tunes for most departures.
- Faro to Portimao, about one hour forty, a similar fare, and the easiest run if you are based on that stretch.
- Faro to Tavira in the east, under an hour, around 7 euros, and the reason to give the eastern side a day.
- Faro to Lagos in the summer peak, when extra regional services fill the gaps and the timetable finally matches the beaches.
Every one of those legs is short enough to ride without a reservation, which is the second reason I prefer the coastal train: you can miss a connection and still be standing on a platform with another option inside an hour. The busiest hour is the one after four, when the beach trains fill, so I travel before lunch whenever the day allows it.
Where the coach wins
East of Vila Real de Santo Antonio the rail line stops, and west of Lagos the hills take over, so the buses do the work that trains cannot. The Algarve network runs from Faro to every resort town in about an hour, with services into the interior to Loule and beyond, and the fares sit well under the rail equivalent.
Two cases decide it for me. If you are staying anywhere above the coast road, the bus stop is closer to your bed than the station and the walk you save is the whole argument. If you are travelling on a Sunday, when the regional trains thin out, the coach is not a fallback but the actual timetable.
Fares, cards and what I buy
Long-distance tickets carry a promo fare that appears several weeks ahead and disappears as the train fills, while regional prices are flat and set by distance. That split decides how I book: I fix the Lisbon leg the moment the flights are confirmed and leave every coastal hop until the morning of travel. What I actually spend looks like this:
- Lisbon to Faro on a promo fare, often half the counter price if I am early enough.
- Faro to Lagos or Portimao at the standard regional rate, bought at the machine with no queue.
- A single ticket for each leg rather than a pass, since no saver card covers a fortnight of short hops at this price.
Keep the paper ticket until you are out of the building. Inspectors work on the platform and on board, and the fine for a lost regional stub costs more than the ride itself.
The last kilometre
Stations here do not always land where you want them. Faro puts you a quarter of an hour on foot from the old town, which is fine with a small bag and unpleasant at seven in the evening with a full one. Lagos is further from the beach than the map suggests, so I budget a taxi fare of about 6 euros rather than dragging a case up the hill. Tavira, by contrast, is the one station I am happy to walk out of, because the town is small and the river crossing is the first thing you want to see anyway.
Book the Lisbon leg first, then decide the west end after you have seen how far the coastal line actually reaches on the day you travel. Both calls take ten minutes and both are cheaper before the week you arrive than inside it.