How to Get to Salema

The closest airport is in Faro, 95 km from Salema. There are daily flights to Faro with most airlines.

A flight to Lisbon might be the cheaper option, although the capital is about 300 km from Salema. With the money that you save from the cheaper flight, you can rent a car and drive to Salema.

Another advantage is that you can choose more flexible travel dates as there are more frequent flights to Lisbon.

Most car rentals have desks at Faro and Lisbon airport. However, there are also several local car rentals that offer cheaper prices for rental cars. These providers usually have their desks outside the airports and offer shuttle buses.

The highways in Portugal are toll roads. You have different options to pay the tolls:

On most highways you can stop and pay at a toll booth or you can drive through the toll booths without stopping and pay via a ViaVerde toll box that is installed in your car. ViaVerde is the electronic toll system in Portugal.

On some highways, as for example in a large part of the Algarve, there is only an electronic toll system with no possibility to pay at a toll booth. Instead, the toll must be paid later at a post office or via the ViaVerde toll box.

Therefore, we advise you to book a ViaVerde toll box at your car rental. The toll box is installed in the car by the rental company and makes it easier for you to drive longer distances because you don’t have to stop and pay at the toll booths. The toll amount is settled at the end of your trip through the car rental.

A taxi ride from Faro airport to Salema costs around 100.- €. The shuttle buses take longer but are less expensive and can be booked online, for example, at Shuttledirect or v-transfers. During high season we recommend booking the shuttle buses in advance to avoid long queues at Faro airport.

From Faro Airport: Catch a bus to the central bus or train station in Faro, both stations are only around 200 meters apart. From there you can take a bus or a train to Lagos. The travel time by bus is about 2 hours and by train 3 hours. In Lagos city center you will find a bus that takes you to Salema in around 30 minutes.

From Lisbon Airport: The best option is to go by bus to Lagos, which takes about 4 hours. In Lagos city center departs a bus to Salema that takes around 30 minutes.