While backpacking in Seville, I made a day trip to Portugal just for fun, as you do.
How to get the ferry from Ayamonte in Spain to Vila Real de Santo António in Portugal.
I took the 7.30 am bus out of Seville to Ayamonte, then crossed the Guadiana Estuary to Vila Real de Santo António, Spain, to Portugal.
Arrival time at the Ayamonte bus station was 10 am. Then it’s a 17-minute walk to the boat.
Here’s the Vila Real de Santo António to Ayamonte ferry timetable, as of June 2024:
The tickets cost €2.50 each way as of June 24, 2024:
You buy the tickets at the small office across the road:
Portugal is one hour behind Spain, so remember that for when you are retracing your steps.
The schedule of the bus/ferry wasn’t so practical. If I took the 1:30 ferry back, with the time difference, that was 2.30 Spanish time. The ferry ride took 12 minutes, and the walk to the bus station took 17 minutes. There was no margin for a delay in trying to make the 3 pm bus back to Seville.
The arrival time in Portugal was 10.11 am and the departure time from Portugal was 12.30. I explored Vila Real de Santo António for two hours and 19 minutes.
My main focus was to go to the railway station in Vila Real de Santo António, from where you can embark on the World’s Longest Railway Journey. Portugal to Singapore.
I also needed to check out the Novo Banco ATM, as they have free withdrawals.
The day in the life of Nomadic Backpacker.
Having a Super Bock beer in the last minutes before the ferry:
Buying a ticket for the ferry back from Vila Real to Ayamonte:
In the end, the 3 pm bus didn’t turn up. Waited with other frustrated passengers until 5 pm and took the slow bus to Huelva, and of course, we missed the 6 pm bus to Seville, but those with direct tickets already, like me, were ushered into a taxi. Way to go, eh!
