A car is necessary. Not recommended — necessary. This is the single most important practical fact about living in the Algarve and it belongs in the first paragraph of anything written about the region.
The Algarve is a 155 kilometer linear strip with dispersed low-density settlement, out-of-town supermarkets and retail parks, hospitals in two towns, an airport in the middle, and beaches, golf courses and schools almost all outside walking distance from housing. Public transport exists and is inadequate for a life. Budget 200 to 350 euros a month all in for one modest car.
The corollary matters disproportionately for a region where retirees dominate: aging out of driving here is an existential problem rather than an inconvenience. Worth thinking about at 60, not at 78.
Driving
The A22 Via do Infante runs parallel to the free but slower EN125, the region’s spine. Since January 2025 the A22 has been toll-free under Law 37/2024 — a meaningful ongoing saving and the end of the region’s most irritating administrative chore.
Summer traffic on the EN125, the coastal access roads and the approaches to Albufeira and Praia da Rocha is genuinely bad: journeys that take 20 minutes in February take 50 to 60 in August. Parking at any popular beach in season requires arriving before half past nine.
On licenses: under Decreto-Lei 46/2022, holders of US, Canadian and UK licenses may drive in Portugal without exchanging, provided the license was issued or last renewed within 15 years and the holder is under 60. Full detail on the national transportation guide.
The railway — useful, within limits
The Linha do Algarve runs Lagos to Vila Real de Santo Antonio via Portimao, Silves, Tunes, Albufeira, Loule, Faro, Olhao, Fuseta and Tavira, with the interchange at Faro. Modernization and electrification began in late 2022; the Faro to Vila Real section was well advanced by 2024 while Tunes to Lagos lagged. Faster Alfa Pendular and Intercidades services from Lisbon serve only Tunes, Albufeira, Loule, Faro and Messines-Alte.
The central limitation for residents: several stations are inconveniently far from the towns they name. Albufeira-Ferreiras is roughly six kilometers inland from Albufeira. Portimao’s station is a walk from the center. Lagos’s is across the river from the old town.
Where the train genuinely works: Faro to Olhao to Tavira, where the towns and stations line up, and for reaching Lisbon. It is not a substitute for a car.
Buses
Vamus Algarve — the rebranded Eva and Frota Azul network — runs intercity and urban services. Coastal intercity routes are reasonably frequent in summer and thin out sharply in winter. Cross-country routes to inland towns can be two or three services a day, and some run only on school days. Proximo operates Faro’s urban network, including routes 14 and 16 between the airport and the city.
Usable for a specific journey. Not usable as the basis of a life, and least usable exactly when the tourists have gone and residents still need to get places.
Cycling and walking
Excellent recreationally, poor as transport. The Ecovia do Litoral runs the length of the coast, the Ria Formosa paths are flat and beautiful, and inland roads are quiet outside July and August. But the EN125 is fast, busy and dangerous for cyclists, and the A22 is prohibited to bikes.
Individual town centers — Tavira, Lagos old town, Faro’s Cidade Velha, Olhao — are genuinely walkable in themselves. Between towns, you drive.
Faro airport, and the winter problem
Faro sits 4 km west of the city, roughly 10 to 15 minutes by taxi or on the Proximo 14 and 16 buses. It handled 10.395 million passengers in 2025, up from 9.83 million — its first year above ten million.
Connectivity to Northern Europe is outstanding in summer and materially reduced in winter. Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2, TUI, Wizz, Transavia and TAP run very dense peak service to the UK from a dozen-plus airports, plus Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France and Scandinavia. The winter schedule drops routes, cuts frequencies from daily to twice weekly, and raises fares on what remains.
There are no transatlantic routes from Faro and none in prospect. Anyone traveling to or from North America must connect — most practically via Lisbon, a 2h45 drive or a train, or via London, Madrid, Frankfurt or Amsterdam. This is the Algarve’s largest structural disadvantage against Lisbon for anyone with family in the Americas, and it also means the region’s summer flight glut is of little use in January.
Frequently asked questions
Can you live in the Algarve without a car?
Realistically, no. The region is a 155 km linear strip with dispersed settlement, out-of-town retail, hospitals in two towns, and beaches, schools and golf courses mostly beyond walking distance. Bus service between towns thins sharply in winter and some inland routes run only on school days. Individual town centers are walkable; the region is not.
Is the Algarve train useful?
For Faro to Olhao to Tavira, and for reaching Lisbon, yes. Elsewhere its limitation is that several stations sit well outside the towns they name — Albufeira-Ferreiras is about six kilometers inland, Lagos’s station is across the river from the old town. Fast services from Lisbon stop only at Tunes, Albufeira, Loule, Faro and Messines-Alte.
Are the Algarve motorways still tolled?
No. The A22 Via do Infante has been toll-free since January 2025 under Law 37/2024, along with the A23, A24, A25, A4 Transmontana and part of the A28. That removes both a real cost and the region’s most persistent administrative annoyance for residents and visitors alike.
Can I fly from Faro to the US?
No. Faro has no transatlantic service and none in prospect. You connect via Lisbon — a 2h45 drive or a train — or via London, Madrid, Frankfurt or Amsterdam. Faro’s strength is Northern Europe in summer, where service to a dozen-plus UK airports plus Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France and Scandinavia is dense. In winter routes drop and fares rise.
Sources
- ANA Aeroportos de Portugal — Faro passenger figures, 2025
- Lei 37/2024 — abolition of tolls on the former SCUT motorways
- CP Comboios de Portugal — Linha do Algarve services and modernization program
- Vamus Algarve and Proximo — network and urban services
- IMT and Decreto-Lei 46/2022 — recognition of foreign driving licenses
