Portimao - Shuttle? Bus? Taxis?

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

We'll be docking in Portimao, Portugal.  I've been unable to figure out if a shuttle might be offered to get us to either center city Portimao or the beach below.  We'll be there on a Sunday in the spring, which may make things a little slower/less easier than normal.  If there's no shuttle, are taxis likely to be waiting near the port (container/cruise port up a little north)?  What about a public bus?  Google shows a bus stop not far away, but I wasn't sure if 1) that's accurate and 2) that it would be walkable, both in terms of how far it is, whether port allows people to walk out, etc. 

[Hlitner]

Whenever we have been to Portimao we simply walked into town.  There is a very nice promanade and if you keep walking along the water there are a few cafes (on the far side of the town) that usually have wonderful fresh sardines (right off the boat).  On one visit we took a local tour (easily booked in town) in a small boat that took us along the base of the cliffs where many birds nest.  There was a large beach within walking distance (we have never been there when it was hot enough to do a beach day) and have been told there are some better beaches a short distance from town.  As you walk along the promanade in town you will see several tour booths that sell all kinds of local tours.  But no need for a tour within the town which is very walkable.

 

Hank

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

On 11/13/2022 at 5:56 PM, Hlitner said:

Whenever we have been to Portimao we simply walked into town.  There is a very nice promanade and if you keep walking along the water there are a few cafes (on the far side of the town) that usually have wonderful fresh sardines (right off the boat).  On one visit we took a local tour (easily booked in town) in a small boat that took us along the base of the cliffs where many birds nest.  There was a large beach within walking distance (we have never been there when it was hot enough to do a beach day) and have been told there are some better beaches a short distance from town.  As you walk along the promanade in town you will see several tour booths that sell all kinds of local tours.  But no need for a tour within the town which is very walkable.

 

Hank

Thank you for that info.  Can I assume that you walked along with the water to your left, which I believe is south, with the beach area (Praia da Rocha mostly likely) beyond?  There apparently is a little bit of activity north of the port as well, though I don't think that's as interesting.  

 

[Hlitner]

32 minutes ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Thank you for that info.  Can I assume that you walked along with the water to your left, which I believe is south, with the beach area (Praia da Rocha mostly likely) beyond?  There apparently is a little bit of activity north of the port as well, though I don't think that's as interesting.  

 

You are stressing this ole memory :).  I do recall that walking with the water to your right takes you right into town.   There was a beach visible from near the ship, but I do not recall if it was towards the left or more straight ahead (looking up the coast.  Although Praia Da Rocha is not far, keep in mind that there are quite a few other beaches (which we did not see) within easy transportation of town.  If we were going to do a beach day (it was too cold when we visited) we would spend some time doing online research on the best beaches.  

 

DW just reminded me that we really enjoyed the port.  Not only did we have a terrific lunch (we love fresh sardines) but we walked into the heart of town (moving away from the water) where there was some kind of outdoor festival/market.  Speaking of sardines, most of us in the USA think of sardines as something we get out of a can.  Fresh sardines are quite delicious although eating them is a challenge because of all the tiny bones.  

 

Hank

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

On 11/15/2022 at 10:03 AM, Hlitner said:

You are stressing this ole memory :).  I do recall that walking with the water to your right takes you right into town.   There was a beach visible from near the ship, but I do not recall if it was towards the left or more straight ahead (looking up the coast.  Although Praia Da Rocha is not far, keep in mind that there are quite a few other beaches (which we did not see) within easy transportation of town.  If we were going to do a beach day (it was too cold when we visited) we would spend some time doing online research on the best beaches.  

 

DW just reminded me that we really enjoyed the port.  Not only did we have a terrific lunch (we love fresh sardines) but we walked into the heart of town (moving away from the water) where there was some kind of outdoor festival/market.  Speaking of sardines, most of us in the USA think of sardines as something we get out of a can.  Fresh sardines are quite delicious although eating them is a challenge because of all the tiny bones.  

 

Hank

Thank you.  Any info is helpful at this point.  We're considering renting a car for maybe 4 hours, but I'm also interested in taking a boat trip up to Benagil Cave.  So I've been curious about where to rent that car and where to find that boat trip.  The boat trips seem to be in various locations along the waterfront, plus in several other cities nearby.  The car rental places seem mostly to be in Praia Da Rocha.  But there also seem to be some places I may want to walk to a little north of the cruise port area.  But I don't leave for the cruise soon.  I'll figure it all out by then, I'm sure. 

 

As for the sardines, I know they're big around there.  But I just don't know if I'm up for trying them.  We'll see!