I have no easy means to check or update so please confirm through sources given below.
Sines (pop.14,300, urban area 20,000) is a coastal town in
the Alentejo region of Portugal. It is not in the Algarve
- I was visiting! The city is about 166km / 105 miles by
road south from Lisbon and a similar distance from Albufeira in
the Algarve. Sines is probably not a holiday destination. Although
it has a small and popular beach, a pleasant old quarter and a
nice little castle on the hill, it is flanked by two large modern
port installations. Sines is one of Portugal's biggest commercial
ports. It might be a useful base for exploring the nearby areas.
Read more about it in this wikipedia article. Sines is the
birthplace of the legendary explorer Vasco da Gama. There are many
monuments to him.
You will need to make your way from the airport to the SETE RIOS
bus terminal. This is about 3 miles/5km from the airport and is
linked to it by the underground metro line. Take any train to the
end of the line at São Sebastião then change to the Blue Line for
a two stop ride to Jardim Zoológico station, which is adjacent to
Sete Rios. Trains run every few minutes from 0630 daily. The
journey will take around 25 minutes and cost €2 plus 50 cents for
the rechargeable ticket card.
There is also a direct special bus, Aerobus 2, running about
every 20 minutes. Consult the Aerobus website for details. For your bus
options from elsewhere in the city check the city bus website at http://carris.pt/
Consult the long distance bus website www.rede-expressos.pt
for Lisbon - Sines times, remember it's LISBOA on the timetable
search. One-way fare is currently €14.20 and the journey takes
about 2 hours 40 minutes. There are eight journeys each way on
weekdays, seven on Saturdays and Sundays. Extra journeys operate
in both directions on Friday and Sunday evenings during University
terms and during July and August.
For travel to or from other parts of Portugal you will almost always need to go via Lisbon. South of Sines, Rede-Expressos also stops in Cercal, Odemira, São Teotónio and Odeceixe. There is also a daily bus between Sines and Beja - see below.
There is no bus station as such. Coaches and buses start and end
their journeys in the Rua Júlio Gomes da Silva, opposite the
health centre (Centro do Saúde) and near the Fire Station
(Bombeiros). This is about five minutes walk from the town centre.
There is a green kiosk acting as ticket office, waiting room and
information desk. There are no cafés or bars in the immediate area
in which to while away the time, just a few benches.
Sines is a small town and walkable. The old part of town sits
high on a cliff above the sea, so getting down to the beach and
port areas requires a very steep hill to deal with coming back up.
A lift (elevator) links the Praia Vasco da Gama (beach) and town
area on top of the cliff. Excellent picture of it here,
courtesy of http://kanimambo-carlos.blogspot.pt/
. Below the town, the former main road alongside the beach to the
northern port area has been closed to traffic and rehabilitated to
become a pedestrian and cycle route.
There is a local minibus route around town that runs once each
hour, but on weekdays only. Information on the official
website here. Stop number 5 is by the main stops for
the other bus and coach services connecting Sines with Lisbon and
different towns. It also serves the new shopping centre out of
town. There are no buses at weekends or on public holidays.
The stadium of Vasco da Gama Sines (the Complexo Desportivo de
Sines) is on the edge of the main part of town. However their team
occupies a very lowly position in the second division of the
regional league (fifth tier) and is surely only for the diehard
fans! The nearest big club is Vítoria Setubal.
If you have any comments or updates for this page, I will be pleased to receive them by email. For more about Sines as a town, please see this article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sines
I take no responsibility for any inconvenience caused as a result of later changes to times etc. This page is for general guidance only and you must check details before making commitments and decisions!