Presumably you mean Faro airport. There is only a bus service to Faro railway station and bus stations but it's a bit erratic - about every 45 minutes. After that it depends where you want to go onto. There is great untapped potential in a proper direct service from the airport to the main resorts but until the local franchise is put out for renewal I doubt the current operator will do anything. But at some point there is going to be a battle between Arriva and Stagecoach over this (my 50p bet is on Arriva).

The undisputed expert on local transport in Portugal is cubsur - I suggest you study his site http://www.algarvebus.info

Thanks for replying.

What for example is the best way to get to Albufeira?

thanks

Me here, website person as mentioned above. Here's my advice.

If you wish to go from the airport to Albufeira by bus there is only one way!

Take the local bus from the airport to the city centre bus station.

Current times at http://www.algarvebus.info/003.htm

An irregular service as you can see but it is the only bus at the airport. Fare into the city €1.55, journey about 15 minutes.

From the main bus station there are two bus routes to Albufeira. The timetable of the fast bus (Transrapido) is highly irregular and runs only 7 times each day on weekdays and only twice a day at weekends and holidays. It takes 45 - 50 minutes to get to Albufeira.

Times in full at http://www.algarvebus.info/002s.htm

That one makes several stops in Faro then runs non-stop along the motorway to Albufeira bus station, which is at least a mile from from any hotels, tourist areas etc, so you will in all probability need another bus or taxi to complete the journey.

Alternatively and/or if you are unlucky with the Transrapido timings, there are local buses every 30 - 60 minutes via Almancil, Quarteira, Vilamoura and Olhos D'Agua. These may have a slight advantage in that they pass through the 'new' part of Albufeira and stop outside or very close to many of the tourist destinations.

Times in full at http://www.algarvebus.info/002w.htm note that there are few buses during the afternoons at weekends and that last buses are around 7pm at weekends, 730 otherwise.

Bus fare is the same no matter which bus you catch at €4.20 - remember you must buy your ticket at Faro from the ticket window inside the bus station. Allow a good few minutes for this, as whenever I have to buy a ticket at Faro there is always an old lady making the journey of a lifetime before me in the queue!

Albufeira details at http://www.algarvebus.info/albufeira.htm

Total cost by bus €1.55 + €4.20 = €5.75 plus possibly €1.10 for a local bus at Albufeira to final destination. Yes a lot cheaper than a van transfer but possible a 2, 2 and a half hour journey as against 45 minutes.

You might think about going by train but Albufeira's station is 4 miles from town with only a very sporadic bus service, so you would be probably be spending 8 - 10 Euros on a taxi into town, which would rather cancel out any saving already made.

On the general question of a direct bus between the airport and tourist resorts I think this will never happen. I don't remember the exact numbers but something around 50% of people arriving at Faro are with charter/holiday companies so they are bussed direct to their hotels by that company. Many of the rest hire cars and drive themselves to their destinations. A good many (myself included) opt for a pre-booked van transfer for around 30 Euros (Albufeira) which saves on journey time and possible problems with carting luggage on and off buses - there is no room even for medium sized bags on the local buses although the vehicles normally used for Transrapido do have an underfloor luggage compartment.

I have used the bus option in the past but I find very few people do this simply as the buses do not run very often nor very early or very late - bus services around the Algarve start up around 7am and generally stop around 8pm.

There are so many tourist destinations so widely spread along the Algarve, that running a bus service to and from the airport to suit even a small fraction of them would be highly uneconomic. I have met people who take a taxi into Faro and then the train to, for example, Lagos which is a long journey that can be done for next to nothing by train. That works and saves €€€ on a van transfer.