Faro

Faro is the capital of the extremely touristy Algarve region. It is also the location of the main airport for the area. Most of the worst package holiday excess is actually based in other towns however. This leaves Faro as a moderately unspoiled historic blah blah blah...

Basically Faro is a nice enough place to spend a day if you've arrived by the airport, or if you are passing through on the way from Seville to Lisbon and have time to kill. The old town is quite pretty, and the tourist office will happily provide you with a map and a leaflet. The walk described on the leaflet will get you round the main sights within a morning, leaving the afternoon to get the bus out the town beach, which is located miles out of town past the airport. There are a few bars in the city centre to spend the evening in, although in the winter at least none is particularly lively. There is even a club. The main hostel is okay but nothing special if you need to stay a night afterwards, otherwise just get the night bus or the first train onwards to somewhere more interesting.

If you want to spend real time on the Algarve, head for somewhere cooler, like Lagos.

Arriving by Plane.

Faro Airport has scheduled flights from various european hubs. It also has hundreds of charter flights during the season, and year-round economy flights from all over Europe. See the Getting There section for the whole of Portugal for details. The airport is located about 6km from the town, with a somewhat irregular bus service running daytime only to get there.

Arriving By Train.

The train station (Estacion de Ferroviaria) is located in the town centre on the Avenida de Republica. It is a small station with vey few facilities, which closes for 6 hours at night. It is served by the following routes:

• High speed Alfa Penicular service from Lisbon
• Regional service from Vila Real de Santo Antonio on the Spanish border
• Regional service from Lagos, at the other end of the Algarve coast

Arriving By Coach.

The coach station (Estacion de Rodoviaria) is located right in the centre of the town, 5 minutes down the Avenida de Republica from the train station. EVA buses run from here all over the Algarve region. In addition they also run a day and a night service from Lisbon to Seville which stop outside the coach station.

Once you get there.

First things first. Get a map. These can be picked up for free at the tourist office. This is located at the far end of the Jardim Manuel Bivar - if you arrive at the bus station or train station walk down the Avenida de Republica to the Praca Dr Francisco Gomes which fronts on to the marina, and carry on along the side of it - the office is straight ahead of you.

Getting around by public transport

A minibus network runs around the central area, starting from Avenida da Republica next to the bus station. Most people will find they are able to get as far as they would like by foot however. If you want to go further afield there is a small network of semi-regular local buses run by EVA. In particular, buses 14 and 16 run from outside the bus station to the airport and beach.

Internet

Internet Cafes.

There are two or three internet cafes dotted around the town centre, look out for the signs in the pedestrian areas of the town.

Free Internet.

Internet access is available via kiosk-style terminals at the train station. Slightly better terminals are available at the Instituto Portugues da Juventude, which is located on the Rua da Policia de Segurancia Publica (PSP) just outside the town centre (the youth hostel is upstairs). Alternatively there is a terminal in the library, which is just around the corner.

Hostels

Rede Nacional de Turismo Juvenil runs the only real hostel in town, the Faro hostel. This is located just outside the old town centre on the Rua da Policia de Seguranca Publica (PSP). If possible pick up a map from the tourist information office in the town centre. Otherwise, head for the Praca Dr Francisco Gomes and check the route on a map there. The hostel itself is in an institutional-looking building next to the park and just past the police station. This is cheap, but has all the downsides of HI hostels everywhere.

In summer several pensiones offer cheap shared accomodation on the roof. Ask for details at the tourist office

Much of the nightlife in the town is based around the Rua Conselheiro Bivar, which is one of the pedestrian streets heading off the Praca Dr Francisco Gomes. There are a number of reasonably good bars, and a couple of clubs. Another possible area is just past the roundabout and supermarket on the road to the airport, where there is a cinema and a few other venues.

If you are bored of looking at endless churches, Faro is a little short on attractions. The walls, and the streets themselves in the old town are fairly impressive, but there are no real museums. The art galleries and live science centre don't particularly seem to be targetted at visitors to the town. The beach is a pleasant enough sandy beach, but hardly unique for the area, and it is located a long way from the centre of town.