Faro International Airport is Portugal's third airport after Lisbon and Porto, with about 10 million passengers in 2024. It has always been the airport for tourists heading to the beaches of the Algarve, such as those of Albufeira, and its traffic has grown enormously since it became a base for many low-cost airlines, such as Ryanair, easyJet and Jet2, used not only to visit Portugal but also nearby southern Spain, such as western Andalusia, just over an hour away. Traffic is highly seasonal, peaking between spring and autumn, especially from the UK, Ireland and northern Europe. The airport has been expanded and renovated several times.
Getting to Faro and the coastal resorts
The airport is about 4 kilometres from the centre of Faro.
- City buses: lines 14 and 16 link the airport with the centre and Faro's bus and train stations in about 20 minutes, for a few euros. From Faro, regional buses and trains run to the rest of the Algarve.
- Direct buses: some lines link the airport with the main resorts, especially in summer.
- Taxi: taxis wait outside arrivals; given the short distance, a taxi to Faro is cheap.
- Transfers: private and shared transfers are very common, at fixed prices booked in advance, convenient for resorts far from stations.
- Car hire: the most practical way to explore the region; rental desks are in the terminal or nearby car parks. Watch out for the electronic tolls on the A22 motorway.
Approximate journey times by car or taxi
| Destination | Time |
|---|---|
| Faro centre | 10 minutes |
| Almancil, Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo | 15-20 minutes |
| Vilamoura | 25-30 minutes |
| Albufeira | 30-35 minutes |
| Tavira | 30 minutes |
| Portimão | 50-60 minutes |
| Lagos | 1 hour |
| Sagres | 1 hour 15 |
For the rest of the region see our guides to Vilamoura, Tavira, Lagos and Sagres, and for other airports the page on Portuguese airports.