Getting to and Around Albufeira

Faro Airport sits about 45 km from Albufeira, and there are five real ways to make the trip. As of July 2026, here's how they compare.

My own pick, and the one I give most readers who ask: the official taxi if you're two or more people and landing outside the Aerobus window, since €41 split two or three ways beats the hassle of a transfer and the wait of the indirect bus. It's also worth deciding which area you're staying in before you land, since a taxi to the Old Town or the Marina is a shorter, cheaper ride than one all the way out to Falésia; our where to stay guide breaks down the areas if you haven't booked yet. Uber and Bolt are worth checking first though, since they often undercut the taxi at €30, just watch for surge pricing if you land between 4pm and 7pm in peak season.

A few things that trip up first-time arrivals: the official taxi fare is fixed by time of day, not distance, so there's no point haggling, just confirm you're getting the daytime rate if you land before 21:00. The €3.10 in tolls is usually added on top of the quoted €41 or €49, so don't be surprised if the final total on the meter runs a couple of euros higher than the headline figure. And if you're landing with more than four people or a lot of luggage, an XL Uber or Bolt at around €45 is often the more comfortable option than trying to squeeze everyone and their bags into a standard taxi.

The Aerobus, route 56

The Aerobus, run by Vamus as route 56, calls at the airport on its way to Lagos and reaches Albufeira bus station in about 40 minutes. The catch: it runs seven departures a day in summer but drops to only three in winter, so check the current timetable before you count on it, particularly for an evening arrival outside peak season.

The indirect city bus, and the train

The cheaper route via Faro's city bus station costs €5 to €7 per person but takes 1h15 to 1h30 door to door once you account for the transfer, which makes it a real option only if you're not carrying much luggage and aren't in a hurry. The train station serving Albufeira is actually at Ferreiras, about 7 km outside town, and services are infrequent enough that I don't recommend it as an airport-to-Albufeira option; it's more useful for day trips once you're already based here, and it's covered further down.

Once you're in Albufeira, the Giro city bus is the backbone of getting around without a car. It runs five lines, Green, Blue, Red 1, Red 2 and Orange, across 168 stops, linking the town centre, the marina, Montechoro, Oura, Santa Eulália, Albufeira Camping and the Ferreiras train station.

Fares: pay on board and it's €2.10 for one zone or €2.75 for two zones. Buy the rechargeable pass card instead, €3 for the card itself, and each journey drops to €1.65, loadable in bundles of 5, 10 or 20 trips. If you're staying more than a couple of days and plan to use the bus more than once or twice, the card pays for itself fast. The exact deposit and tax figures hotels quote at check-in are a separate topic, covered in full in our guide to Albufeira's real costs.

Line 3 specifically links the Old Town with the marina, useful if you're staying in one and want an evening out or a boat trip departure in the other without a taxi, which matters if you're heading out early for something like the Benagil cave boat trip, which leaves from the marina every morning.

Both Uber and Bolt operate in Albufeira, and between the two of them and the local taxi rank they cover every route across town reliably. Expect surge pricing on Uber and Bolt during the 4pm to 7pm window and through peak summer months, when a fare that's normally a few euros can climb noticeably; a metered or fixed-rate taxi doesn't move the same way, so it's worth comparing both apps against the taxi rank price if the fare on screen looks high, rather than assuming the app is automatically cheaper.

Within town, the taxi ride I get asked about most is the one between the Old Town and the Strip: 3.2 km, six to nine minutes, and a short enough hop that splitting it two or three ways makes more sense than the 40-minute walk after a night out, particularly once the summer heat has faded into a warm, sticky evening and nobody wants to arrive at dinner already sweating. The Old Town's pedestrianised streets mean taxis drop you at the edge of the zone rather than at your door, which is worth knowing if you're arriving with luggage late at night, since it can mean a short roll over cobbles to reach your hotel.

One practical habit worth adopting: keep a note of your hotel's exact street name before you land, not just the area. Drivers know the Old Town, the Strip and the Marina well by name, but a specific apartment block in Olhos de Água or Falésia is easier to find with the address written down than described from memory at 11pm.

The Old Town itself is genuinely walkable, and pedestrianised streets mean it's a pleasant, level stroll from the square down to Praia dos Pescadores or through to Praia do Peneco via the cliff tunnel, both covered in our Old Town guide. Walking becomes less practical the further you range: the Old Town to the Strip is about a 40-minute walk, doable in cooler months but a real commitment in July heat, and Olhos de Água and Falésia sit far enough east that walking from the centre isn't realistic at all. Within any single area, though, plan on covering it on foot; it's the fastest way to actually see the town rather than pass through it.

For most visitors, no. Between walking the Old Town, taxis for the Old Town-to-Strip hop, and the Giro bus for everything else, a rental car adds cost and a parking headache without adding much convenience if your trip is centred on the coast and the boat trips that leave from the marina.

Where a car earns its keep is day trips: Silves and its Moorish castle sit about 30 minutes north, Lagos is 40 minutes west, and reaching Sagres or Paderne Castle comfortably on your own schedule is far easier with a car than by bus. Car hire runs from about €10 a day off-season for a manual, which is genuinely cheap if you're planning two or three day trips beyond the coast, less compelling if you're staying put. If you do want to see the wider Algarve without renting, our full-day trip west to Sagres, Lagos and Silves covers the same ground with a driver already arranged.

The honest way I'd frame it: if your Albufeira trip is beaches, the Old Town and a boat trip or two, skip the car entirely and put that money toward the tours themselves. If you're the kind of traveller who wants a day away from the coast to see a castle or a different town, book the car for just those days rather than the whole trip, most rental desks in town will do a short-term hire without penalising you for keeping it brief.

One more honest note if you do rent: the Old Town is pedestrianised, so you'll be parking at the edge and walking in regardless, the same as arriving by taxi, and parking directly on the seafront in high season fills early, so plan to arrive before mid-morning if you want a spot close to the centre.

If you're arriving alone or want the least friction, take the official taxi or an Uber from the airport and don't overthink it. If you're on a strict budget with time to spare, the indirect bus via Faro city bus station saves real money for a longer ride. And once you're actually in Albufeira, resist the urge to rent a car unless you're planning day trips north or west; the Giro bus, a short taxi and your own feet cover the rest of the things to do in Albufeira you can reach by bus without the cost or the parking search that comes with a rental.

Old Town, Marina and the Strip

Albufeira is three separate places wearing one name, and almost every transport question here reduces to moving between them. The distances are short, which is why a car earns so little.