Portugal Turistcampo. Days Out by Bus. Sagres and Lagos

 Turistcampo is beautifully placed for bus trips. The bus stop is right outside the site Sagres in one direction and Lagos in the other.

Basically two different bus lines in this part of Portugal, a local bus service Onda and a coach service Vamus. The two services overlap but the bus tickets are not interchangeable. Both bus services operate and have stops outside the campsite and timetables are readily available from reception or online. The buses are not too frequent and are heavily used by tourists, back packers, locals and school kids. Early morning 7am to 10am are most frequent. You do need to check the timetables as sometimes there is a long gap between buses.

Turistcampo to Lagos by bus.

A relatively short journey about 20 mins on the Vamus 47 bus, marked Cabo S. Vincente - Lagos ( por Sagres) A trip to Capo S Vincente ( the most westerly point of Portugal ) is tricky as there are only around 4 buses that go all the way. We opted for a day out in Lagos a very easy journey. We caught 10.28 bus which was only 10 minutes late. The coach driver was very friendly and helpful. A point to remember if you have a dog. Dogs are not allowed on buses in Portugal as a Dutch family in the queue found out. The fair was 5.20 Euros one way for the two of us. It is easy to find the stop as its on the end of the line at the bus terminal  ( Terminal Rodrigues) on the sea front at Lagos. The bus to get back stops at the same place.

Lagos is well worth a day out. You can get an old town map with a walking route, which we didn't do this time. It takes in all the major sites. Lagos is very touristy with loads of stalls selling various boat trips at various prices. For the hardy types you can even do a kayak trip. We opted for a leisurely stroll.

The area around the harbour was very busy.

Loads of places to eat, we opted for a small bar around the back streets which was lovely.

The beach which is very picturesque was also busy but being April I think the sea was rather chilly. We didn't try it!

All in all a lovely day out and perfect use of local buses! Make sure you wait for the bus on the right side of the road, easy to go wrong!

Day out. Turiscampo to Sagres by bus.

Another easy day out. A bit further to Sagres. It took us 35 minutes to get there  but an hour and a half to get back ( the bus stopped at all the small stops to let kids off. We obviously picked the wrong time.

Buses in Portugal do a lot of turning around and doubling back on themselves to cover the small villages so don't panic if you think the bus is going the wrong way. A slightly longer journey this time it cost us 8.40 Euros. We also had to keep our eyes peeled for the bus stop to get off. The best stop is the one by the harbour in Sagres, we didn't know this and got off a bit early. Still it was a nice day for a walk.

Sagres is still a bit of a hippy place, full of surfers with lots of campers. It looks like since we were there 2 years ago the place has been tidied up. The waste ground where campers parked up is now a proper massive car park. I don't think overnighting is allows although it did look like some still ignored this. 

Having visited the fort before, we decided to make for the beach this time and have a stroll around.

The long straight road to the fort. Slightly reconstructed but very imposing!

I think this used to be a wild camping spot. Now a car park. No charge as far as we could see but it did say parking between specific times.

The beach was full of surfers although it was cold in the water. Very wavy!!

Hardy souls. We opted for the beach bar and a cold beer.

View from the beach bar 

After a wander around we found a lovely spot for lunch which just happened to be a local brewery. As he wasn't driving Den managed a few tasters before we found the bus stop home. The journey home with school kids on board was quite interesting as it took in all the villages. Incidentally buses only take cash!

Another great camper free day out and we got to meet the locals.

UK to Portugal. Tunnel or Ferry Cruise? Pros & Cons.

 For the last 4 years we have travelled from England to Portugal or Spain using the tunnel and driving through France. 

The Western route through Bordeaux and across into Spain at Urrugne, has been our favoured route. We used this route as it was relatively easy to find French campsites that were open all year round and we were travelling in January and latterly in late March. We also tend to use Tolled motorways, we just find it quicker and less stressful. We have a toll tag for France, Spain and Portugal, Emovis, so this helps and is so much easier than hanging out of the window.

We have never really been great lovers of Aires although we have used them occasionally. We prefer campsites with decent facilities and EHU, especially if its a bit chilly. Consequentially, our journey to the sunshine has never been a cheap one. If you are on a tight budget, cutting out toll roads, using Aires or wild camping spots and only filling up in supermarkets would considerably reduce the overall costs.

First stop La Source Wissant.  An all year round municipal site.

This year I thought I would try and work out if it would be better and more cost effective to cruise to Santander or drive from Calais. Certainly cruising would cut down on the driving, but we have always felt that the journey was part of the holiday. It's so exciting getting lost down some narrow country track......NOT.

Bearing in mind we live just outside Glastonbury in Somerset, our first drive is to Folkestone and it usually takes in the region of 4 hours ( traffic permitting) We filled up with diesel before we left and I estimate that the full tank cost 109 Euros. Sorry can't be more accurate than that. That's the only bit of guess work!

We always allow a minimum of 5 days for the journey and try not to drive for more that 5 hours each day. We aim to arrive by early afternoon so that we are in with a chance of finding Reception open. We try and have food onboard and usually stop for a drink and sandwich for around 30 mins. We often stop for loo breaks and maybe a coffee. Den does all the driving so if he gets too tired or bored, we stop for a bit. We also try and have a brief stop at least an hour before getting to a campsite, so we are not too cranky when we finally arrive. If we are going to get lost and it can happen, it's usually just before you get to a campsite then it's "grumps" all round!

Fuel stops, we usually do at around half a tank. If a supermarket is handy we use that because fuel is always cheaper! However, we usually stop wherever its handy and even on a motorway, the prices vary. 

This year we paid between 95 and 124 Euros per litre, depending where we stopped. In England we filled up at Costco and paid £1.66 a litre ( obviously a bad fuel day!!)

Second stop. Onlycamp Tours. Brilliant little site open all year. We discovered it by chance last year.

Third stop. Larouletta Urrugne. Open all year. Good facilities. I got ACSI rates here.

Fourth Stop. Olimpia, near Salamanca in Spain. Very nice meal on site for 13 Euros. Clean and just by a very handy fuel station. Closed first two weeks in June!

Fifth Stop. Alentejo near Evora. Lovely tidy clean site.

Usually when we travel we try and bring at least a few easy meals. A bit more tricky this year with food rules for travellers into the EU. We try and eat out if we can but always have a few trusty standbys just in case. We cooked at 4 out of the 5 stops this year, mainly because we had food in the fridge I wanted to use up.

A comfort break just over the border into Spain.

We have a trusty Tesco credit card which I use for everything at home. This gives me a few Tesco points ( reducing by the minute, you can't win them all!) I use the points to reduce the tunnel costs. "Every little helps"

 

Here's a breakdown of costs one way in Euros. If you need it in £, ask a friend!

FUEL:   100                                               MOTORWAY TOLLS: 175.21              CAMPSITES: 23.30

               124.10                                                                                 24.99                                       22.32

               117.83                                                                                                                                  28.50

                94.93                                                                                                                                    21.01

                                                                                                                                                             15.00

   

Total       436.86                                        Total                                 220.20                 Total            109.63

                                                        

 Fuel:                               436.86

 Tolls:                               220.20

 Campsite Fees                109.63

Eurotunnel ( one way)     166.49 ( £147)

GRAND TOTAL ONE WAY! 933.18 EUROS😎

Hope this helps.

Almost the same price as Portsmouth to Santander Ferry.😎 You would also have to factor in one or two overnight stops and a tank of fuel.

Tunnel to Portugal 2023

 Time for the great escape from a cold Spring to a warmer Spring ....we hope!!

This year we have decided to go back to Portugal for an early Spring/Summer break. We have booked two long breaks one for 3 weeks at Turistcampo near Lagos and 4 weeks at Rio Formosa near Tavira, both on The Algarve. 

Being creatures of habit and liking an easy life we plumped once again for the Western route, via Rouen, Bordeaux and across Spain into Portugal. A relatively easy route with 5 stops on the way, though lots of driving. We do use the tolls in France, expensive but much faster and usually quieter than the long slog through the villages.

We took the late afternoon tunnel crossing just making it in time and then a short drive towards Wissant on the coast. No real checks or problems going through customs at Folkestone, although I did get my passport stamped. No food checks, although they did insist we demonstrated our gas was off before we entered the tunnel, by trying to turn the hob on....odd, of course it was off.

Our first stop was Wissant, Camping La Source, a very French municipal. We were going to try the Aire which wasn't that busy but eventually settled on the camp site as it was nearer the village and had facilities.

Actually quite a nice pitch and the facilities were OK. We wandered into the village and found a local restaurant something and chips, but it was fine and filled us up.

Of course we managed some local wine too.

The next morning found us travelling towards Rouen which we navigated pretty smartly, heading for Tours. Madam Satnav performed well. On our last trip we found a campsite at Tours which was pretty handy and ticked all the boxes. Clean , tidy and easy in and out. Only Camp Tours, another good night stop. Nice bottle of local red from the camp shop!

The following morning the weather really perked up and the sun came out. We were heading for the Spanish border and the camp site Larouletta. A place we have been many times before, notable for the weird and somewhat spooky trees. A long drive again, but a bit more cheerful as the sun was shining.

The site was rammed with mainly Dutch and German vans on their way home from winter sun holidays. Never seen it so busy and the restaurant was closed!! Back to home cooking then!

Still we managed a pleasant evening, tomorrow Spain.

At this point of the journey it feels like we are actually making progress although the next bit through Spain is a pretty boring long drive. Eventually we made Salamanca and things took a turn for the better. Our preferred site, Olimpia, a small camping hotel on the outskirts was open! A very cheap and pleasant meal with wine 13.50e with wine for two courses, served with a smile.

Another sweep across the Sierras and we were actually in Portugal. A very nice Dutch site at Evamonte called  Alentejo. Very tidy in a pretty setting for 15E a night. Another place quite busy with travellers mostly staying for a night or two.

Our final stop before Turistcampo near Lagos our home for the next 3 weeks.

The suns up, the wines cooled busy but looks good!!

After a bit of fiddling about, we have a small tent out, ground sheet pegged down and a sunny spot.

Turistcampo is an extremely well kept site. Staff are constantly tidying up, keeping the weeds down and even pruning the trees. We encountered a very friendly bunch of locals who turned out to be English tree surgeons. The girls were vey apt at climbing up the trees and using a chain saw. We made a short video and took some pictures.

Well done to the girls and guys!