where & when

This year, the 19th Ecotopia will take place between August 4th - 19th in Aljezur, south of Portugal.

Aljezur is 250km south of Lisboa, aljezur map the capital. 110km from Faro, capital of the Algarve region and 30 km from Lagos, the nearest city.

Aljezur, a village with about 2700 inhabitants founded by the Arabs in the 10th century, is situated in the Algarve’s region, in the Alentejo’s Southwest and Vicentina’s Coast Natural Park. Aljezur’s municipality is characterized by people dedicated to traditional agriculture (sweet potato and peanut are typical cultures of this region) and to pasturing bovine cattle. Its landscape is dominated by cliffs, clear sand and dunes. It is also characterized by its archaeological and historical richness.

Interactive Map


 

The directions from the center of aljezur (where the bus stops) till ecotopia's spot.

When backwards to the tourism office (in center Aljezur, near the local market and a bridge) you turn left, where in about 300 m you'll find a roundabout. There you must turn right and take the direction Monchique/Marmelete for about 500 m. Then you turn right - before the gas station – and you go for about 300 m untill you find a crossway. Then you will see 3 roads - two of them dirt tracks - and you have to chose the one in the middle, one of the dirt one, and you go staight ahead untill you find some houses on your left. By this point you'll be in Monte da Barberia, and you'll probably find some tents .. If you'll arrive during the night, it's better if you have a torch!

 

Getting there

Bike

You can join Biketour to Ecotopia!!! See more in the BikeTour website.

Train

Portugal has a reasonable railway network. So depending from the city you are, it's possible to reach Lisbon, Oporto or Coimbra very easily with international trains or slow ones if you have more time. You can check these websites for the timetables: National or International. Using inter-rail ticket can be cheaper. Ask in your train company for the zones and prices.

To reach Algarve, you can use the train! But to Aljezur you'll need a bus, because there is no train station there. The closest train station is Lagos, but Odemira (Amoreiras) or S. Marcos da Serra might be an option. You can see the timetable for which trains go there at CP website.

An idea about the prices:

Bus

Eurolines is the cheapest international bus company. Check Eurolines website for prices and timetables.

We have only one portuguese company that makes Lisbon/Aljezur: Rede Expressos

And these are the timetables and prices:

Buses to Aljezur must be full on the summer, so it's better that you reserve your ticket. You can do it sending a sms to this phone number +351969502050 with this exact text, for Lisbon to Aljezur: RNE R 1 945 DDMM HHMM (you have to substitute de DDMM with day and month and HHMM with hour and minutes that you want)

And you have to buy your ticket on the station half an hour before. Rede Expresso bus station is in Sete Rios (you have metro till there – stop is called “Jardim Zoológico”).

You can also buy your ticket before trough internet at Rede Expressos

Both reserve and buy in this company Rede Expressos, you have to do it 6 days or less before the day that you want the ticket. If you do it with more advance it doesn't work! They will send you a sms back with your reservation code, the one you will use while buying your ticket at the moment.

You also have Lisbon-Lagos in Eva Transportes (around 15€) in case of the bus from Rede Expresso is booked.

Faro/Lagos to Aljezur, you have this options:

From Porto to Aljezur maybe the cheaper option is to buy a direct ticket from Porto to Aljezur with Rede Expressos which will cost 23€.

Other buses companies that make other conections on the south:

Hitchhiking / Autostop

Apart of walking or biking this is probably the most ecological way of traveling, because you're using some place that is going to be free anyway! And for sure, it's the cheapest way of traveling!

Some websites that can help you:

Car

If this is your only way of coming or you'll share it with several people:


Research travel details from your country to Portugal. We can put this information on the website for your compatriots.

The venue for 2007 Ecotopia: Aljezur - Algarve