Giro Bus users

"Is the route from the likes of Lidl and the new Aldi straight forward enough from the Marina, from memory is is fairly direct in one direction but a bit of a tour on the return."

The Giro 1 from the marina will drop you at the secondary school stop near the footbridge across the main road. That's about 100 metres from ALDI and 200 metres from LIDL.

Unfortunately there is no sensible alternative (unless you enjoy walking 300 yards or so with shopping bags) to getting on the same stop and going the pretty way round via the Cámara, Bus station (10 minutes wait), Camping Albufeira, Old Town and Páteo.

The un-sensible alternative is to come out of ALDI or LIDL, walk along Rua Baden-Powell to the end, turn left and wait for the bus at the stop outside the café a little way along. You still get a tour of Camping, Old Town and Páteo but at 1.40 (or 80 cents if pre-paid) is a nice tour if you are not in a hurry.

Or I suppose you could walk down the main road and into the old town Avenida Liberdade and pick up the GIRO 1 there. Bags had better not be too heavy though or invest in one of those shopping bag trolleys with wheels.

Or you get the Linha Verde from the stop near the entrance to ALDI to the bus station., You can use the same ticket to transfer to GIRO 1 there. Still very round the houses though.

About times for buses : I once asked for them at the bus station and the lady shrugged her shoulders and told me that "they come". 

Many of the bus stops in Lisbon have electronic displays but I haven't seen them elsewhere on Portugal. The local councils in Lagos, Portimao and Faro see for to publish actul timetables. it is bizarre that Albufeira, one of the biggest destinations for tourists, does not. I and others have written to the Camara and the local opposition party made quite a mention of the GIRO situation in a recent newsletter. They conceded that it is good and that the council has done well to maintain the level of service, but much more can be done at little cost to make the service more user friendly.

And yes at the Town Hall stop (where there no information at all about where any bus goes or wnat time it comes) even locals are confused, often stopping buses to ask where they are going!

It was a great idea to publicise it all over town, what a great success... Oh, err hang on a minute...

They don't get any smarter do they.

That is brilliant news, thanks for tha

The council has spent some money on nice shiny new buses for the GIRO routes. They are 32 seaters that will replace some of the clapped out vehicles that have been running since the service began. They have the same centre ramp for wheelchairs as those already in service.

I will try to get a picture later.

Now if they would only tell people where and when they ran!

The information at bus stops has still not been updated following the February changes.

They look very bright and smart. Not sure about the need for curtains though?

Coming out in March. and will be using the Giro buses.  So that I can have the cash ready could you tell me if the fare is still €1.40 for an hour?