okay. i've got a doosey. i'm trying to meet a friend of mine in lagos, portgual. lagos is in the southwestern corner of the algarve. i know i can get a train to seville, but does anyone know how easy it is to get over to lagos, how much it might cost, and also how easily this can be done on a weekend during the holiday season? any advice would be much appreciated.

Hi jetaway,

I have only been to one place in Portugal and this thread hit the nail on the head !

I was travelling the whole of Spain years ago for a few months in summer and on my south route, we took a detour and hit Lagos. It was a great place in summer but I am not sure how fun it would be in the winter months since all they really have there is beach and partying.

Anyway, I do not recall specifics nor prices but we took a bus from Sevilla to Huelva and then waited for another bus (I think there was only one or 2 a day) from Huelva to a town called "Ayamonte" which is on the Spanish side of the Guadiana river. There will be loads of "taxi drivers" (be carfeul and do not use them for they may rob you blind) waiting at the bus station to offer you a ride into Portugal via the bridge a few miles north of Ayamonte. The bridge is an option but just not with these self proclaimed taxi drivers. A short walk from the Ayamonte bus station is the Guadiana river where you can get (I am pretty sure it is still operating) an open deck boat across to the quaint village of "Villa Real de San Antonio" which is on the portugal side of the Guadiana. The boat ride is only about 15-20 minutes if I recall correctly. When I went years back, we rolled into Ayamonte a bit late in the afternoon and had to make a split second decision to get the last boat across to Villa Real. We jumped on the boat which cost us about $2 and took our chances. It ended up being the right decision and we stayed overnight in a youth hostel in Villa Real before catching a train to "Lagos" the next morning.

Try to get to Ayamonte from Huelva a bit early in the day so you do not run into the problem of perhaps missing the last boat to Villa Real de San Antonio. I advise this because while Villa Real is a nice quaint village in Portugal, Ayamonte is a bit nasty and not the type of place you want to spend the night.

The trains from Villa Real along the Portuguese southern coast are old and slow but also cheap (at least they were 5 years ago) but make for a nice rustic experience and I think it was a few hours ride to Lagos. You will undoubtedly meet quite a few older men and women on the train offering you a hostel or pension in Lagos. I am not sure if this will be the case in winter but we took an old man up on his offer and got a great hostel (no idea of the name) with a view of the ocean for about $10 a night for a double room

One of the most amazing things about Portugal is that it is even cheaper than Spain

Saludos,
jer...

p.d. I am sure there are other routes from Sevilla to Lagos but this was ours when we made the trip years back. It was a great time!

Jer,

Wow. I can't believe I picked the one place in all of Portugal that you've actually been to. Thanks for all the information. You are more informative than any of the guidebooks I've read!

One more question, how feasible do you think this route will be in the winter? Do trains and boats still run on weekends? I'd hate to get stuck in Ayemonte (?) because it was Sabado.

Thanks for your help, as always.

Hey jetaway, jer again.

Glad you enjoyed my little travel tale

The busses and trains should run on weekends but may be fewer than during the week.

Although there is very little info to be found online about the Portuguese side of Villa Real de San Antonio, you can get all you need on Ayamonte at www.ayamonte.net

If you click the button "Informaci�n", you get loads of useful telephone numbers for the city including the "Oficina de Turismo" ("Tourist Office") which is (95) 947 0988.

Not sure how much English they will speak there.

Another website on Ayamonte at www.geocities.com/Colosseum/4411/aya/plano.htm shows some useful photos of the city and the Guadiana river with the bridge ("Puente Internacional" or "International Bridge") that I mentioned just north of the city. You can see how narrow the river is and how close Ayamonte is to Portugal. Special attention to "Plano 3" ("Map 3") which shows us Ayamonte and Villa Real de San Antonio loud and clear

By the way, on "Plano 1", point "2.PUERTO Y MUELLE PESQUERO" ("PORT AND FISHING DOCK") is where you can (or used to be able to) get the little boat to Villa Real de San Antonio. You may want to ask at the tourist office via phone or e-mail before you go if it still runs, it was a fun way to cross the river (beats swimming in December anyway )

Maybe I judged Ayamonte wrongly, it may be nice from what I can see online now but years ago I got a bad feeling there even though I was only there for an hour or so. I may have jumped to conclusions due to the slimy "taxi drivers" that were all over us offering us rides to Portugal via the bridge.

Saludos,
jer...