Trail transport

Fishermen's Trail (Trilho dos Pescadores) transport: getting to the start and back from the finish

Lisbon Airport (LIS) is the natural arrival point: metro into central Lisbon, then a Rede Expressos coach to Sines (roughly 2 hours 35 minutes-3h, several departures a day, year-round), then a taxi for the final 10–15 minutes to Sao Torpes, since no scheduled bus covers that last short leg. Rede Expressos also serves Porto Covo and Vila Nova de Milfontes more directly for anyone starting a shortened itinerary further along.

Researched guide Updated 29 Jul 2026 11 cited sources

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Getting to the start

Leaving the finish

Lagos has both a Rede Expressos/Vamus coach terminal (direct coaches to Lisbon, roughly 3 hours 20 minutes-3 hours 50 minutes, and to Faro) and its own CP railway station, the western terminus of the Algarve Line, with trains east to Faro for the airport (FAO).

The one-way journey

This is a linear coastal trail, Sao Torpes/Porto Covo to Lagos, and no dedicated car-relocation or park-and-shuttle package (of the kind found for the Coast to Coast at Kirkby Stephen) was found here. In practice most walkers arrive and leave by public transport at both ends -- Rede Expressos reaches both Sines (near the start) and Lagos (the finish) directly from Lisbon -- rather than driving. Anyone who does drive needs to arrange their own return to the car, since neither end offers a confirmed long-stay parking product .

If you need to leave the trail early

Rede Expressos calls at several of the trail's larger towns (Vila Nova de Milfontes, Odeceixe, Aljezur, Lagos), which act as the realistic escape points. Between them, LOCAL BUS COVERAGE IS THIN AND THIS IS THE TRAIL'S REAL LOGISTICAL PROBLEM: several stretches (for example Zambujeira do Mar to Odeceixe, and Arrifana/Carrapateira to Vila do Bispo) have no confirmed scheduled bus at all, and Rota Vicentina's own site maintains an unusually large directory of small local taxi/transfer firms precisely because of this gap -- a taxi, not a bus, is the honest bail-out plan for most of the trail's middle third. The two stretches with confirmed, named local bus routes are Odeceixe-Aljezur (Eva/Vamus route 79, reasonably frequent) and Vila do Bispo-Sagres-Lagos (Vamus route 47, roughly hourly-ish on weekdays, thinner at weekends) -- both specifically flagged as needing coverage, and both do have it, unlike much of the rest of the route.

Useful access hubs

Airport

Lisbon Airport (Humberto Delgado)

Metro into central Lisbon, then a Rede Expressos long-distance coach to Sines (roughly 2 hours 35 minutes-3h, several times a day, year-round) followed by a 10–15 minutes taxi to Sao Torpes, since no public transport runs the final short leg from Sines. Alternatively Rede Expressos serves Porto Covo and Vila Nova de Milfontes somewhat more directly if starting there instead.

Year-round; the Sines-Sao Torpes gap is permanent, not seasonal -- a taxi is the only option there.

Airport

Faro Airport

Eva/Vamus Algarve bus from Faro to Lagos (roughly 2h), or a taxi. Faro Airport is also a short hop from Faro's own CP railway station, giving a rail alternative (Algarve Line) to Lagos.

Year-round; frequency reduces outside the Apr-Oct season per general Algarve bus patterns (not itemised route-by-route here).

Rail

Lagos railway station (CP)

At the trail finish itself -- the western terminus of the Algarve Line (Linha do Algarve), with Regional/InterRegional trains east to Faro and on towards Vila Real de Santo Antonio.

Year-round.

Coach

Sines coach terminal (Rede Expressos)

Nearest long-distance coach hub to the Sao Torpes start; no bus runs the final ~5km to Sao Torpes itself, so a taxi (10–15 minutes per independent trail guides) closes the gap.

Rede Expressos services run year-round, roughly every 2 hours to/from Lisbon per a third-party aggregator (not independently confirmed on the operator's own site, which returned an access error when checked directly).