Monte Gordo is 62 km from Faro Airport and about 16 km from Ayamonte in Spain, and every route in this guide is toll-free: the A22 motorway has cost nothing since 1 January 2025 and the bridge over the Guadiana is free. Below are five scenic drives from Monte Gordo, from a 10-minute hop to the castle of Castro Marim to a full day in the hills behind Loulé, with distances, driving times and what to check before taking a rental car into Spain.
Monte Gordo is a beach resort at the eastern end of the Algarve, next to Vila Real de Santo António and the Guadiana, the river that forms the border with Spain. That position is what makes it a good base for a car: the salt pans and castle of Castro Marim are ten minutes away, Spain is twenty, and the A22 motorway starts practically at the door. The A22 has been toll-free since 1 January 2025, the bridge over the Guadiana is free and so is the Spanish A-49 towards Huelva and Seville, so none of the routes below costs a cent in tolls.
Flying in? Faro Airport is the nearest airport, about 62 km and 50 minutes from Monte Gordo on the toll-free A22. We compare the rental desks there with DiscoverCars; most offers can be cancelled free of charge. There is also a small choice of cars in Monte Gordo itself, and our Faro Airport car rental guide explains deposits, fuel policies and insurance.
Compare car rental at Faro Airport →| Route from Monte Gordo | Distance (one way) | Driving time | Tolls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castro Marim (castle and salt pans) | about 8 km | 10–12 minutes | €0 |
| Cacela Velha | about 11 km | 15 minutes | €0 |
| Ayamonte, Spain | about 16 km | 20 minutes | €0 (bridge is free) |
| Tavira | about 23 km | 25–30 minutes | €0 |
| Isla Cristina, Spain | about 28 km | 30 minutes | €0 |
| Alcoutim | about 44 km | 40–45 minutes | €0 |
| Faro Airport | about 62 km | 50 minutes | €0 (A22) |
| Loulé | about 62 km | 45–50 minutes | €0 (A22) |
| Querença (Serra do Caldeirão) | about 72 km | 1 hour | €0 (A22) |
| Huelva, Spain | about 63 km | 50–55 minutes | €0 (A-49) |
| Seville, Spain | about 152 km | 1 hour 50 minutes | €0 (A-49) |
Distances are measured from the centre of Monte Gordo with a route planner; times assume normal traffic. In July and August allow more for the N125 and for the bridge on Saturday mornings.
The average price of 95-octane petrol in Portugal was about €2.08 per litre in the week of 5–11 October 2026 (DGEG figures). In Spain the national average was about €1.82–1.85 per litre at the start of October, so filling up in Ayamonte saves roughly 20–25 cents a litre, or about €10–12 on a 50-litre tank. Prices move every week; check the pump before you plan a detour.
The classic coastal drive. Follow the N125 west and, after about 11 km, turn off for Cacela Velha, a tiny whitewashed village with a church and a small fort on a bluff above the eastern end of the Ria Formosa lagoon. The view over the sandbanks is one of the best in the Algarve. Tavira, with its old bridge over the Gilão (known locally as the Roman bridge), its castle garden and its many churches, is another 12 km on.
In Tavira, street parking in the centre is paid on weekdays from 09:00 to 19:00 and on Saturdays from 09:00 to 14:00, at about €0.70 an hour, with a limit of two or four hours depending on the street. The open-air car park beside the municipal market, on the river, is free. Our Tavira parking guide has the details.
Castro Marim is about 8 km north of Monte Gordo. Its medieval castle was the first seat of the Order of Christ, the successor of the Knights Templar in Portugal, from 1319 until the order moved to Tomar in 1356. From the walls you look over the salt pans of the Sapal nature reserve, the Guadiana and the bridge to Spain. Flamingos feed in the pans for much of the year, and the town holds its medieval fair, the Dias Medievais, at the end of August.
The opening hours come from the municipality’s visitor leaflet. We could not confirm the current entrance fee with the town council, so ask at the gate (tel. 281 510 746). The salt works around the town sell flor de sal directly.
Alcoutim is a small river town about 44 km north of Monte Gordo, facing the Spanish village of Sanlúcar de Guadiana across the water. The fast way is the IC27 (40–45 minutes). The slower and prettier way leaves the IC27 near Odeleite and follows the river through Foz de Odeleite and Guerreiros do Rio; take one on the way up and the other on the way back.
The well-known Límite Zero zip line crosses the border here: 720 metres over the Guadiana, starting on the Spanish side in Sanlúcar and landing in Alcoutim. It costs from €25 per person; the boat across the river is not included. Outside the high season (1 July to mid-September) it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and the times on its website are Spanish time. A small passenger boat links the two villages; we could not confirm its current fare.
From Monte Gordo you join the A22 behind Vila Real de Santo António and cross the Guadiana International Bridge; Ayamonte is about 16 km and 20 minutes away. There is no toll on the bridge and no border control, as both countries are in the Schengen area, but carry your passport or ID card and the rental papers. Ayamonte has a pleasant centre around the Plaza de la Laguna and plenty of tapas bars; the beaches and fishing port of Isla Cristina are another 15 minutes east.
Mind the clock: when it is 13:00 in Monte Gordo it is 14:00 in Ayamonte, which matters for lunch, shops and anything you have booked. If you would rather leave the car, a passenger ferry also crosses the river from Vila Real de Santo António to Ayamonte.
For a full day away from the coast, take the A22 west to Loulé (about 62 km, 45–50 minutes), known for its covered market and the big Saturday-morning market. From there small roads climb into the cork-oak hills of the Serra do Caldeirão: Querença, a white village around a hilltop church, is about 10 km north of Loulé, and Salir and the limestone ridge of Rocha da Pena, with a marked circular walk, are a little further.
The hill roads are narrow and winding but paved, and any small rental car copes with them. There are few petrol stations in the hills, so fill up before leaving the A22.
The A22 (Via do Infante) has been free for all vehicles, including foreign-registered and rental cars, since 1 January 2025, so you do not need a transponder for anything in this guide. Other Portuguese motorways, such as the A2 to Lisbon, are still tolled: see tolls in Portugal explained or work out a route with our Portugal toll calculator.
In Portugal: 50 km/h in built-up areas, 90 km/h on other roads and 120 km/h on motorways. In Spain: 50 km/h or less in towns, 90 km/h on ordinary roads and 120 km/h on the A-49 motorway.
Castro Marim, Cacela Velha, Alcoutim and Querença are small places where you simply park at the edge of the village and walk; in summer the few spaces at Cacela Velha fill early. Tavira has paid streets in the centre and a free car park by the market. If you combine a route with Faro, see our guide to parking in Faro, and for Spain parking in Huelva.
Faro Airport rental budget calculator
Enter the daily rate from your own quote: rental prices change a lot with the season. The add-on prices are typical examples, not offers. The A22 to and from Faro Airport is toll-free.
Disclosure: Auto Jardim participates in the DiscoverCars affiliate programme. When you book a car through our links we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Fact-checked on 11 October 2026. Sources: Límite Zero (zip line), Câmara Municipal de Castro Marim (castle opening hours), Câmara Municipal de Tavira (paid parking), DGEG weekly fuel averages for Portugal and the Spanish fuel-price geoportal figures for early October, and a route planner for distances and times. Distances and driving times are approximate; prices and opening hours change, so check before you travel.
