The information has been obtained from printed
timetables and other local sources (like taking the bus) and is
given in good faith.
Information correct as of 2nd April
2022
The stopping place for Rede Expressos, Mundial
Turismo, Expresso Qualidade and other long distance services is
the bus station in Rua da Abicada. This is 1.5km from the town
centre. Services to and from Lisbon, Seville etc stop there.
This bus station is also used by the 'Aerobus' to and from Faro
and
Faro Airport via Lagoa and Albufeira.
Map here. Other relevant information is here
All regional buses stop in Avenida Guarané by the river. Most of
the local Vai e Vem buses stop at Largo do Dique close by.
Portimão is linked with the rest of
the Algarve by the inter-urban and long distance bus routes listed
above.
The railway station is just to the north of the city centre, with
trains along the Algarve route and connections with Lisbon via
Tunes.
Long-distance buses (coaches to UK readers) run to Lisbon and more distant parts
including Seville.
Below - Alameda square in Portimão
The city of Portimão and its suburbs are served by a network of
mini-bus routes under the banner ‘Vai e Vem’. Service starts at
0700 and finishes between 1930 and 2000hrs. On December 24th
service ends at around 1900hrs. In summer there are later buses
between Portimão and Praia da Rocha but not elsewhere.
At weekends and public holidays some
routes have very limited service, several have none at all. The
mini-buses used for most journeys are grossly inadequate at busy
periods (school start and finish times) so be prepared for
overcrowding and even for a full-up bus sailing past your stop.
The picture below is one of the minibuses used most of the time.
They do have some larger buses used at busy times on some routes.
These buses do not go across the river to Ferragudo etc!
There are maps and timetables at some city centre bus stops,
but many other stops have no information at all.
The links below are to the official timetables. Timetables are
annotated in Portuguese and English. The official website itself,
only in Portuguese, is here.
THE OFFICIAL SYSTEM ROUTE MAP IS HERE. All stopping places are shown.
There is a useful interactive map at https://www.cm-portimao.pt/ptmapa/
click Vai e Vem and a route number to see the complete route and
all the stops. When a route is shown, click a stop to see the
times of the buses.
All the links below are to the official maps and timetables
on the Portimão council website and will open in a new window.
Most routes serve the Largo do Dique in the City
Centre. The Alameda is the large square in the older part of the
city about 5 minutes walk from Largo do Dique. Some routes
start/end at Rua das Hortas rather than the Alameda or Largo do
Dique. Rua das Hortas is near the municipal market and quite a
walk (about 750 metres) from the Largo do Dique.
Inbound buses that stop at the Centro de Saúde (Health Centre)
stop at the city market outbound. The Health Centre is a short
walk from the market. See the map.
In Praia da Rocha, inbound buses stop at the Hotel Jupiter, Hotel
Oriental and the Fortaleza. They return via a parallel street
without stopping.
The route between Portimão city centre and Praia da Rocha has
late evening service in July and August. It is numbered route
3N.This is now the only route operating after about 2000hrs.
In ALVOR all buses in all directions call at the bus stop at the
large roundabout junction at the entrance to the village. At the
time of my last visit no current timetables were on display. There
is a local agent selling Vai e Vem bus passes called Papelaria
d'el Rei nearby at Rua Marquês de Pombal, nº 3. Open every day.
CRUISE LINER SHUTTLE - the port of Portimão operates
shuttle buses as required between the cruise dock and the city
centre at Largo do Dique. The distance is about 1 mile / 1.6km, is
flat and easily walkable.
ON VAI E VEM BUSES SUMMER TIMES APPLY ONLY DURING JULY AND AUGUST. Make sure you are looking at the correct times.
At the time of my most recent visit, no current timetables were
visible at the main Largo Do Dique bus stops nor at Alvor. Many
bus stops do not indicate which bus stops there, some are still
showing the numbers for routes discontinued 2 or 3 years ago!
The diagram below shows the main routes likely to be used by
visitors.
Click the diagram to see it full size. There is no
direct Vai e Vem service between Alvor and the eastern end of
Praia da Rocha.
Route 13 is the quickest route between Portimão and Alvor, but does not run at weekends nor on public holidays. At weekends and holidays it is Route 1P that you need - see below.
Route 13 - City (Largo
do Dique) - Tres Bicos - Bemposta - Hospital Particular - Alvor
Roundabout every 25 minutes during peak hours, every 50 minutes
mid-morning and mid-afternoon. This bus starts from a different
stop at Largo do Dique than the other buses to Alvor - check the map or you
might miss it like I nearly did! See Route 16 below for limited
Saturday service along this route.
Route 14 City
Centre (Largo do Dique) - Alameda - Portimonense Stadium (outbound
only) - Poeta Ant. Meixo School - Vale França - Praia do Vau -
Clube Prainha - Torralta (Dom Jõao II Hotel) - Alvor Praia (beach)
- Alvor Centro. Runs via Alvor Praia in this direction only. To go
from there to Praia do Vau etc take the inbound bus and go via
Alvor Centro (Rotunda / Roundabout) runs every 30 minutes on weekdays only. For weekend and holiday service see route 1P below.
Route
33 City Centre (Alameda) - Portimonense Stadium
(outbound only) - Largo do Dique (for other local and regional
buses) - Marina - Praia da Rocha (Fort) runs every 30
minutes DAILY /DIAREMENTE/TOUS LES
JOURS/täglich. Timetable - external link
Route 3N City Centre (Largo do Dique) -
Marina - Praia da Rocha (Fort) runs in July and August only, every
30 minutes from city between 2030 and 2330, from Praia da Rocha to
city 2039 to 2339. SÓ EM JULHO E AOGOSTO / SEULEMENT JUILLET ET
AOÛT / BETRIEB NUR JULI UND AUGUST
Route 35 Ladeira do
Vau - Hospital - Cardosas - City (Largo do Dique) - Jardins da
Rocha - Praia do Vau every 25 minutes for most of the day,
every 40 minutes during the late morning and late afternoon.
Runs on
weekdays only
Route 1P City
Centre (Largo do Dique) - Portimonense Stadium - Jardins
da Rocha - Praia do Vau - Clube Prainha - Torralta Hotel Dom
João II - Alvor Praia - Alvor Centro (Roundabout). Runs about
every 30 minutes in summer, about once every hour in winter
and only runs on Saturdays,
Sundays and Holidays. Apenas aos fims de semana e
férias, seulement les weekends et fêtes, nur am Wochenendes
und Feiertagen. (via Alvor Praia in this direction only. To go
to Praia do Vau etc from Alvor Praia, take the inbound bus and
go via Alvor Centro.)
OTHER WEEKDAY ROUTES - these DO NOT RUN AT WEEKENDS OR ON PUBLIC HOLIDAYS.
Parque de Feiras
e Expo* and
Portimão Arena. The next stop on routes 31, 32 and 37 is at
the 'new' bus station for long distance services.
The Cardosas stop is
very near the Aqua Shopping centre.
Route 11 - Penina Church - Centro de Saúde -
City (Largo do Dique) - Poeta Ant. Meixo School - Praia da
Rocha (Fort) about every 45 minutes
Route 12 - City (Rua das
Hortas) - Bemposta - Montes do Alvor (near the aerodrome)
every 30 - 45 minutes during peak hours, every 90 minutes
otherwise.
Route 15 - Campanheira -
Hospital - Penina - Montes de Alvor - Alvor Roundabout - Alvor
Praia (beach) runs eight times a day at irregular intervals.
Campanheira is served only at peak hours in winter.
Route 21 - Sargoçal -
Mexilhoeira Grande - Rotunda Autodromo - Montes da Cima
- Alcalar - Hospital - City (Rua das Hortas). Four journeys
each way plus schooltime journeys. A rather complicated
timetable to understand!
Route 31 - City (Largo do
Dique) - Rua Das Hortas - Railway Station - Parque de Feiras e Expo* - Cardosas - Hospital every 45
minutes. The Parque de Ferias e Expo stop is served only by
buses going towards the city.
Route 32 - CIRCULAR ROUTE
City (Largo do Dique) - Rua Infante d'Henrique - Railway
Station - Parque de Feiras
e Expo* -
Hospital - Cardosas - Centro do Saúde - City (Largo do Dique)
every 45 minutes. Quicker than route 31 for journeys to or
from Railway Station and Hospital. The Parque de Ferias e Expo
stop is served only by buses FROM the city.
Route 34 - Campanheira -
Hospital - Cardosas - Retail Center - Centro do Saúde -
Bemposta eight journeys at irregular intervals. Not shown on
the map! Does not operate in July, August and the first two
weeks of September, i.e. school summer holidays..
Route 36 - Poeta Ant.Meixo
School - City (Rua das Hortas) - Retail Center - Chão das
Donas - Alfarrobeiras. Every 30 minutes, except that
Alfarrobeiras is served only once each hour.
THESE ROUTES RUN ON SATURDAYS, ROUTE 37 ALSO RUNS ON
SUNDAYS AND HOLIDAYS
Route 16 - same as route
13 above but extended to also serve Montes de Alvor near the
aerodrome. Four buses Portimão to Montes do Alvor, five buses from
Montes do Alvor via Alvor to Portimão. Service finishes at
1725hrs. Saturdays only.
Route 37 - Hospital - Cardosas - Centro de Saúde - City
(Largo do Dique) - Railway station - Parque
de Feiras e Expo* - Hospital. Every 60 minutes. On Saturdays some buses
run to and from Ladeira do Vau. The Parque de Ferias e Expo stop
is served only by buses going FROM the city towards the
Hospital.)
Route 38 - City (Largo do
Dique) - Rua das Hortas - Sesmarias - Chão das Donas -
Alfarrobeiras. Saturdays only. Two outbound and three inbound
buses only.
Route 39 - City (Largo do
Dique) - Bairro Independente / Estadio 2 Irmãos - City (Largo do
Dique). Saturdays only, seven buses at irregular intervals.
The current official fares
leaflet can be downloaded here - available in Portuguese and
English. Fares have not increased since 2013!
Cash fare is €1,50 for any
single journey. A one day ticket (unlimited journeys) is
€3,50. There is no discount for seniors or children except for
residents. Children under 4 travel free.
Pre-paid single journey fare
is 80 cents. 10 or 20 journeys can be loaded onto a
rechargeable card, costing 3 Euros, which you can buy at the
Largo do Dique bus office and other places around town,
including in Alvor: Papelaria El Rei, Rua Marquês de Pombal,
nº 3. This pre-pay system will save you money if you intend to
use the buses more than about 6 times during your stay.
Monthly passes are available
at €24.00. You need a photo. Enquire at the bus office.
Children, senior citizens and those of reduced mobility who are residents can get half price passes, but
you will need to provide proof of address etc. Tourists are
not eligible for these discounts.
Vai e Vem tickets are not valid on VAMUS buses, nor
vice-versa.
Portimão's old 'bus station'
used by local and regional buses is an open air facility near
the Largo de Dique, which is not far from the old bridge over
the river and the main city centre shopping area.
NB - bus stops are not lettered as per map - this is just for convenient indexing!
Check which stop your bus
leaves from. Do not leave it to the last minute! (Personal
experience was not a good one!). The bus stops are fairly
clearly labelled as to the destinations served. There is no
waiting room etc. There is small shop and café attached to the
Repsol Garage (petrol station). Inbound local buses from Lagoa
and Ferragudo don't turn immediately towards the Largo do
Dique. They go along the Rua Infante de Henrique as shown,
before embarking on a tour around the city. If it's the city
centre shops you want, get off at the first stop after
crossing the bridge.
ALL LONG DISTANCE BUS / COACH SERVICES NOW CALL AT THE 'NEW'
BUS STATION 1.5km (nearly a
mile) from the town centre. CLICK FOR MAP. More information here. Local bus routes 31, 32
(weekdays) also 37 (weekends and holidays) stop at the new bus
station. Other buses do not go there, leaving a very long walk
between them!
PORTIMÃO'S SHOPPING CENTRES BUS CONNECTIONS
Portimão has several retail
parks and shopping centres around the edges of the city. Most
of the buses mentioned below DO NOT run at weekends.
Portimão Retail
Centre and the
nearby Vila Marché shopping centre are served by routes 31,32,
34, 36 and 37 as well the VAMUS bus number 80 from Lagos via
Mexilhoeira Grande.
The Continente Portimão
Cabeço do Mocho
hypermarket in Rua das Papoilas is passed by route 21 and 36,
also the same VAMUS bus to and from Lagos.
The Center Comercial
Continente on
Rua São Lourenço de Barrosa is served only by route 36.
For a list of all the timetables on the site,
click here
For an alphabetical list of places in the Algarve, click here
For some important general notes about buses in the Algarve, click
here
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