The Algarve Line

The railway reached Vila Real de Santo António, on the Guadiana opposite Spain, in 1906, and its station was built a kilometre short of the river on purpose. In 1951 the Gazeta dos Caminhos de Ferro, Portugal's railway journal, explained why: if a bridge were ever built across the Guadiana, the line would have to run straight on to the far bank, so the station stood where it should. The rail bridge never came. In 1952 the trains were extended to a halt by the customs house, near the river, instead, and the crossing built in 1991 was for the road. The trains end at the town station again, and the way on into Spain is still a ten-minute ferry from the quay.

The Algarve line runs about 141 km along Portugal's south coast, from Lagos past Portimão, Silves, Faro, Olhão and Tavira. Since 19 July 2026 it has been electric end to end, and direct regional trains run its whole length in about 2½ hours, with no change at Faro.

The train leaves Lagos, where the railway arrived last, on 30 July 1922, and runs east past Meia Praia and Mexilhoeira Grande to the Arade. It crosses the river on the bridge that opened with the Lagos line to reach Portimão, then turns inland to Silves, under its castle, through the orange groves of the Arade valley.

The junction at Tunes

At Tunes the line from Lisbon comes in from the north. This is the oldest part of the coast railway: trains reached Faro from Lisbon's direction in 1889, and the branch west from Tunes towards Portimão opened as far as Algoz in 1899. The Intercidades and Alfa Pendular from Lisbon share the tracks from here to Faro, past Albufeira–Ferreiras, Loulé and Parque das Cidades.

Faro and the Ria Formosa

Faro is the line's main station, where passengers used to change trains. Beyond it the line runs through Olhão and on behind the Ria Formosa, a lagoon of channels, salt pans and sand islands protected as a natural park, with halts at Fuseta, Livramento and Luz on the way to Tavira.

To the Guadiana

The last stretch, from Tavira to Vila Real de Santo António, opened in 1906 and completed what was then the Linha do Sul. Past Cacela, Castro Marim and Monte Gordo the line reaches the terminus at Vila Real. In 1951 a writer in the railway journal walked the kilometre from here to the quay, to find that the boat for Ayamonte had left: only two boats a day crossed each way, and their times did not meet the trains. A halt beside the customs house, by the river, opened on 24 January 1952, and every train ran on to it. The trains stop at the town station again today, and the crossing into Spain that came, in 1991, was a road bridge.

On board

The line is worked by CP's UTE 2240 electric trains, which replaced the UDD 450 diesels in July 2026. They have about 40% more seats than the diesels, electric lifting platforms and spaces for wheelchairs, and announce the stops on screens and aloud. Two InterRegional trains a day each way make fewer stops.

Since July 2026 most trains run the whole line from Lagos to Vila Real de Santo António without a change, in 2¼ to 3 hours; the rest change at Faro. Between Faro and Vila Real a train runs every hour, and between Faro and Lagos every two hours, more often at peak times. Every day of the week, with a few extra trains on weekdays. No reservation is needed.

Lagos to Vila Real de Santo António, direct trains

Vila Real de Santo António to Lagos, direct trains

A typical run, R 5905: Lagos 13:22, Portimão 13:40, Silves 13:54, Tunes 14:15, Albufeira–Ferreiras 14:20, Loulé 14:38, Faro 14:56, Olhão 15:06, Tavira 15:29, Vila Real de Santo António 15:58. The regionals stop at every station and halt; the InterRegionals skip the smaller ones.

As of October 2026, from CP's journey planner, train pages and Algarve line timetable on cp.pt (opens in a new tab), read for 23 and 27 October and 7 and 8 November 2026. Weekday and Mon–Sat trains do not run on public holidays.

The Algarve line is an ordinary CP regional service, so the ticket is an ordinary point-to-point fare, bought from CP online, in the CP app or at the station, with no reservation needed. Lagos to Vila Real de Santo António costs €11.85 on a regional train and €13.05 on an InterRegional.

To stop off at Silves, Faro or Tavira on the way, buy a separate ticket for each leg. From CP's own pages, in euros, as of October 2026.

Interrail and Eurail passes cover CP's Regional and InterRegional trains, and neither needs a reservation: show the pass and board.

For this journey alone, a pass is not worth buying. The full fare from Lagos to Vila Real de Santo António is €11.85. A pass pays when the Algarve line is one leg of a longer trip through Portugal or across Europe.

Checked October 2026 against interrail.com (opens in a new tab).

Almost every stop is a town worth a few hours: a port of the Discoveries at one end, a Pombaline grid at the other, and a Moorish capital, a walled old town, a fishing market and a river town in between.

The whole line fits into a morning, but end it with a night in Vila Real de Santo António, by the river, and take the ferry to Spain the next day.

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