TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO ALGARVE (AND DON'T CHARGE IT)

The Algarve is one of the most beautiful and fascinating regions of Portugal, full of natural and cultural attractions. Come on, it is a perfect destination for summer vacations or for a getaway. Now ... if you plan to travel here there are some things you should keep in mind. In this article we are going to give you a few Tips for visiting the Algarve.

The Algarve is a very tourist region so, if you are overwhelmed by sites full of guiris, we recommend you not to visit it during the months of July and August. We believe that the best month to enjoy its beaches is september, more than anything because in May and June the water can be very cold, but also these months and October are a good time to travel to the south of Portugal.

As for the weather, the Algarve region enjoys long and warm summers, so from May to the end of October, you can enjoy its beaches. The autumns and springs are very mild and winter also enjoys many sunny days. With what, in general, the weather is very pleasant throughout the year.

The Algarve is full of attractions so if you do not know where to start you can read this article where we tell you 10 things you should do on a trip to the Algarve.

The only international airport in the Algarve is Faro. If you travel from Spain, there are direct flights to Faro from Barcelona and Madrid:

→ Flights to Faro from Barcelona
→ Flights to Faro from Madrid

As an alternative, you can always travel to Seville (200 km to Faro) and from there rent a car to visit the entire Algarve region. Either travel to Lisbon (260 km to Faro) and get off by train, bus or renting a car.

→ Flights to Lisbon from Spain
→ Trains in Portugal

No doubt in car (or motorcycle even better!): this means you will have an unparalleled freedom, especially if we consider that public transport in the Algarve is not the best, nor does it reach all sites. For us it is, without a doubt, the perfect means of transport to visit the region and that will allow you to get anywhere!

If you do not feel like going with your car or you live too far to drive to the Algarve do not worry, there are many offices and car rental companies. We always reserve with Rentalcars and Autoeurope websites. But beware, if you rent it in Spain, keep in mind that you will leave the territory, national, so it is very possible that you have to pay a small extra

→ Car rental with Autoeurope
→ Car rental with Rentalcars

Portugal started charging tolls a few years ago to enjoy the highways, and in this case, the Highway that crosses the Algarve is the A22, Of course, for payment. A few days before our trip searching for information on the web we find that the vast majority recommend paying And forget about it.

How to register in the toll system?

What you should do is stop in the area enabled for tourists that you will find on the right as soon as you cross the bridge over the Guadiana, in a kind of booths like toll booths in Spain, and use electronic machines without leaving the car. How is it done? Simply Entering your credit card and automatically linking to your registration. More information here.

How does the system work?

Every few kilometers you will go through some arches that register your registration, in this way you will be charged the amounts corresponding to the sections that you circulate (here you can calculate the tolls rates according to your destination).

Other alternatives

There are other alternatives, although they are less comfortable than the card registration when crossing to Portugal:

- Toll Card: it is a prepaid card with a loaded balance, which is used as we pass the toll arches. Travel costs will be deducted from the balance you have. There are € 5, € 10, € 20 and € 40 and must be purchased online. For more information visit this page.

- Toll Service: this title allows unlimited travel on the highways of Portugal for 3 days. It is perfect for weekend trips. Its price is € 20. More info.

- Via Verde temporary device: a device designed especially for frequent travelers. It has a rental cost of € 6 the first week (€ 1.50 the following) and applies the cost depending on consumption.

Web to know the price of the toll of a route

In this official website of the government of Portugal you can calculate the price of the toll in one way. Put the origin and destination and you will get the detail.

Is there a way to avoid paying tolls in the Algarve?

Yes there is and it is simply not to use the A22 motorway. There is another road that crosses the Algarve from end to end: we talk about the N125, a secondary road that passes through villages and uninhabited areas. The good thing is that it is completely free and reaches any corner of the Algarve, the bad thing is that it is usually a very trafficked road with a high accident rate.

We use both options: we do not register our car so we always use the N125 or other secondary roads, but we travel the A22 with the car of our housesitting (registered) hosts to take them / pick them up to the airport.

What do we recommend?

Easy, if you have little time available and you don't mind paying a few euros, the A22 is much more comfortable. But we also didn't have big traffic problems using the N125, so if you want to save money ... you know, paying the toll is not mandatory.

If you travel by car from Spain do not forget to fill your tank since gasoline in Portugal is a tad more expensive.

If what you want is to travel all over the Algarve, it doesn't make much sense to stay in Tavira since, however beautiful, you will be far from many interesting places. Our advice is make base in a site of the center of the Algarve, and from there make visits during the day to different sites. Albufeira or surrounding villages, or Lagos are excellent options.

→ Cheap accommodation in Albufeira

Another option if you have more time (a week or so), is to divide the visit into two zones, in this case a good idea is to stay a couple of days in Faro and the rest in Lagos, or somewhere quieter in the surroundings .

→ Cheap accommodation in Faro
→ Cheap accommodation in Lagos

We stayed about 10 days doing housesitting, very well accompanied ...

In each restaurant they are usually served, before the main dishes, about starters of bread, olives, pate and butter. You know that they are not free: if you eat them they will charge you € 1-2. If you don't want them, just leave them and the waiter will take them. Sometimes they also ask when they take note.

The Algarve is not huge, but do not be fooled: along its coast there are many places of interest and if you want to make the most of your stay you should organize yourself well.

Let's say you have 7 days of time, this would be a good plan:

1. We would look for a cool accommodation in the west central zone and we would use 3 days to explore the western part (Carvoeiro, Portimao, Lagos, Sagres, Silves ...)

2. Being in the same accommodation, we would spend a couple of days (better interspersed) to be calmer, make closer visits, a little planning ...

3. The last 2 days would go to the east coast (Tavira, Faro…). Here we do recommend changing accommodation to one closest to this part of the Algarve.

But to taste the colors, right? The important thing is that you organize with logic, since the Algarve is not immense but it is not as small as it seems ...

In this post we tell you how much it costs to travel to the Algarve.

These are the tips for a trip to the AlgarveWe hope you find them useful! Do you need more information about the Algarve? Take a walk through the Nature and Travel blog of Antonio Ruiz, an expert in the area.