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Getting Around By Taxi/Ridesharing
Taxis are readily available. All taxis are metered and painted either beige or black and green. Taxi ranks are located in all tourist areas. English is widely spoken, but it is a good idea to write down the address of your holiday accommodation as there are many places with similar names. Uber and Bolt also operates in Portimão.Getting Around By bus
Portimão and its suburbs has a network of local bus routes under the 'Vai e Vem' banner. Buses on some routes run seven days a week, major holidays included, but most routes have no weekend service at all. You can check timetables and prices at Vamus Algarve . (closest bus stop to the conference is #549 at Rua Serpa Pinto)Coming from Lisbon by coach (long distance bus)
Coach companies that operate services between Lisbon and Portimão are Rede Expressos, Mundial Turismo, Renex and FlixBus. Most of them operate from Lisbon Oriente station (reached directly from the airport through the metro line), with tickets starting at 8€. The journey takes, on average, 3h30 minutes. There are 7 - 10 departures every day with each company. Reservation is advised if travelling on Friday evenings (southbound), Sunday evenings (northbound) or at any time around major holidays or during summertime. Tickets can be purchased on line (rede-expressos.pt) (flixbus ). Otherwise, arrive at the bus terminal in good time before departure to allow time to buy your ticket.
These coaches stop in Portimão’s Bus Station with easy access to local buses and taxis.
Coming from Lisbon by train
There are five daily trains between Lisbon and Portimão with a journey time of between 3 hrs 11 minutes and 4 hrs 9 minutes, with prices starting at 23.60€. For times in detail and reservations, which are compulsory, visit CP - Comboio de Portugal and note that a change of train en route at Tunes is always necessary.
All trains start from Lisbon Oriente station (reached directly from the airport through the metro line) and stop at Lisbon Entrecampos.
Trains
There is a daily service of local trains from Faro to Portimão. A similar service operates in the reverse direction. Mind there is a gap of nearly FOUR HOURS between trains during the afternoons.
For times in detail visit CP - Comboio de Portugal . One way fare starts at €6.15 and the journey takes about 1 hour 20 minutes. These are local trains, therefore reservations and advance purchase of tickets are neither necessary nor available.
The railway station in Portimão is a little way to the north of the city centre. Buses are not that frequent, but there is a taxi rank and walking distance to city center takes about 15 minutes.
From Faro airport – transfer
There are many licensed private transfer companies with whom visitors can pre-book a pickup and return journey. The average price for 1-4 passengers is 120 Euros return (round trip). Cheaper prices are available, but these companies often use large vehicles and visitors may encounter many stops before reaching their destination. A taxi from the airport (not pre-booked) will be about €80 one-way on weekdays, 20% extra at weekends and on holidays.From Faro airport – car
The airport is approximately 43 miles or 70km, about 50 - 60 minutes driving along the A22 motorway, from Portimão. The route is well signposted. Be aware that TOLLS are payable for trips along the A22 road. Toll collection is electronic only, Portuguese registered cars do not have to be fitted with a tag, as there are various options to pay the tolls after you made a journey. This is however somertimes cause problems for some visitors when returning cars to the airport. Your car hire company will advise. Most now provide pre-paid toll transponders. The parallel N125 road will save you the 8 cents per km toll but take longer. While driving in Portimão be sure to have a navigation system to aid given that there are many one-way streets specially around the city center.From Faro airport – public transport
Local bus line Proximo (www.proximo.pt) departs each hour from the airport into Faro city centre, where it stops at both the railway and bus stations. It takes about 18 minutes and costs €2.22.
A taxi will cost around €10.
From Faro airport, you can take either the Aerobus line, operated by Vamus Algarve (https://vamusalgarve.pt ), which stops in Portimão