Monte Gordo is a popular beach resort on the eastern Algarve while Lisbon is the charismatic capital of Portugal, and is considered as one of the best cities in Western Europe. Lisbon is 325km to the north west of Monte Gordo, and both destinations are connected by good public transport, with multiple daily departures. This guide will detail how to travel from Monte Gordo to Lisbon by public transport and include fares, bus station information and links to current timetable.

There are both bus and train services between Lisbon and Monte Gordo, and there is very little to separate them. Both have similar journey times between 4h30 and 5hours depending on the exact service. The bus is slightly cheaper at €20.00 as opposed to €22.95 for the train.

There are many more bus departures during the day but the train is more relaxing and spacious, especially the Alfa Pendular train. The main difference is that the bus service is direct, whereas for the train there is a connection at Faro, but this is an easy train connection. The train ticket (for the Faro to Lisbon section) must be purchased in advance and it is likewise advisable to pre-book bus tickets especially during the busy summer season.

Generally we would take the train, as we enjoy train travel, but both methods of travel from Monte Gordo to Lisbon are comparable and equally as good. The following section explains in detail how to travel by train and then bus between Monte Gordo and Lisbon.

There are two sections for the train journey; a regional train from Monte Gordo to Faro and then an intercity train from Faro to Lisbon. There are two types of intercity train services; Intercidades and Alfa Pendular (AP), the AP is slightly faster offers a better level of comfort and is marginally more expensive. The single fare from Monte Gordo to Lisbon as of summer 2017 is €22.95/ €23.95 (Intercidades/ Alfa Pendular).

The Algarve regional train

For the latest timetables, please see the Combios de Portugal (CP) website, the timetable that lists all suitable connections from Lisbon to the Algarve is found here:
www.cp.pt/StaticFiles/horarios/longo-curso/comboio-porto-lisboa-faro-lagos-v.r.s.antonio.pdf

(please note: link opens new tab, or downloads the PDF, depending on your browser)

The above time table only summarises the major stops of the Algarve regional railway, the Monte Gordo train departure is a few minutes after the Vila Real de Santo Antonio departure. A full Algarve regional timetable can be seen here:
www.cp.pt/StaticFiles/horarios/regional/comboios-regionais-vila-real-s.antonio-lagos.pdf

(please note: link opens new tab, or downloads the PDF, depending on your browser)

The key fact with train travel from Monte Gordo to Lisbon is that tickets must be pre-booked (for the Faro to Lisbon intercity train) as seats are allocated and can be limited. For most other destinations in the Algarve we would recommend visiting the train station and booking the tickets there, but Monte Gordo train station is small and unmanned, so this is not possible. The two options are to either book the tickets on the Combios de Portugal (CP) website or visit Vila Real de Santo Antonio train station – booking on line is probably easier. The Combios de Portugal website is here:
www.cp.pt/passageiros/en/

(link opens new tab)

Monte Gordo train station is about a 10-minute walk to the north of the town and the exacts GPS coordinates are; 37.19006, -7.44808. In Lisbon, all trains stop at Oriente train station, which is to the north east of the city and connected to the red metro line.

The Monte Gordo to Lisbon bus takes around 5 hours due to the number of stops along the Algarve coastline. Bus travel in Portugal is safe, reliable and inexpensive and the modern coaches that serve the route are clean, comfortable and sufficiently spacious for a pleasant journey.

There are three bus companies which operate along the Lisbon to Monte Gordo route; Eva, Rede Expressos, and Renex, but all of the companies are part of the same organisation. Renex was purchased in the summer of 2017 and is no longer a private bus company. The Rede Expressos website list all of the bus services between Monte Gordo and Lisbon and the website can be found here:
www.rede-expressos.pt

(link opens new tab, on the ticket search box use “Lisboa Sete Rios” as the destination)

Rede Expressos coaches are modern, and comfortable

A single ticket from Lisbon to Monte Gordo costs between €19-€20 depending if it is an express service or slightly slower service. During the summer months tickets should be purchased as soon as possible as the bus route serves all of the beach resorts along the eastern Algarve and popular services sell out well before the day of departure. The most popular departures are Friday evening and Sunday afternoons. Tickets can be bought from Rede Expressos website but there are shops in Monte Gordo which also sell them.

Monte Gordo is too small to have a bus station and the main bus stop is to the rear of the main pedestrian shopping street, the Rua Pedro Alvares Cabral. The exact GPS coordinates for Monte Gordo bus stop are 37.18209, -7.45179.

The bus station of Monte Gordo is no more than a bus stop

The bus station which serves Rede Expressos and Eva buses in Lisbon is the Sete Rios bus station, GPS 38.74145, -9.16658. This is a large and busy bus station on the northern side of the capital. The bus station is connected to the blue metro line by the Jardim Zoológico metro station.

Monte Gordo Portugal Holiday Guide