Quarteira is one of the easiest towns on the Algarve coast to park in: only two small zones are paid, and one of them only in summer. Parking costs €0.80 per hour, with a daily maximum of €8.80 in high season, and the seafront avenue is free from October to May. This guide gives the official LC Global tariffs and seasons, explains where to park for the beach and the market, and tells you what happens if you forget to pay.
Need a car first? If you are still looking for car rental in Quarteira, our dedicated guide compares the local companies and prices.
Quarteira belongs to the municipality of Loulé, and its paid parking is run by the municipal company Loulé Concelho Global (LC Global). There are only two paid zones: the streets around the market, and the seafront avenue, Avenida Infante de Sagres, which is charged in summer only. Everywhere else, street parking is free, and the town is small enough to walk to the beach from most of it.
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| Zone | Low season (1 October – 30 May) | High season (1 June – 30 September) |
|---|---|---|
| Mercados (Largo do Mercado and Largo das Cortes Reais) | Monday to Friday 09:00–19:00, Saturday 09:00–13:00; Sunday free | Every day 09:00–20:00 |
| Avenida Infante de Sagres (seafront) | Free | Every day 09:00–20:00 |
| Tariff in both zones | €0.20 per 15 minutes, €0.80 per hour; daily maximum €8.00 (€3.20 on Saturdays) | €0.20 per 15 minutes, €0.80 per hour; daily maximum €8.80 |
Tariffs and seasons as published by LC Global. For the seafront avenue an earlier LC Global notice gave a shorter charging period, from 1 July to 15 September, so in June and late September read the sign at the bay.
The avenue runs along the beach promenade (the Calçadão). Outside the summer it is free and by far the most convenient place to park. From June to September it costs €0.80 per hour, up to €8.80 for the day, and fills early.
The bays in Largo do Mercado and Largo das Cortes Reais, at the western end of the seafront by the fishing port, are paid all year. Handy for the market in the morning and for the restaurants around it.
A surface car park with 76 spaces, three of them for drivers with reduced mobility, beside the Centro Autárquico in the centre of town. It was opened by the municipality in 2020 and is managed by LC Global; check the sign at the entrance for the conditions.
Outside the two paid zones, street parking in Quarteira is free. LC Global also refers visitors to free car parks marked by road signs. A few blocks inland from the seafront you will usually find a space, even in August, and the walk to the beach takes five to ten minutes.
Parking on the seafront from 10:00 to 18:00 in July or August costs €6.40. The most you can pay for a day is €8.80. Park a few streets inland and it costs nothing.
Pay at the parking meter, or by phone with one of the three services LC Global lists for Quarteira: Via Verde Estacionar, iParque Driver and W-iParque (through WhatsApp and MB WAY). Via Verde Estacionar and iParque Driver also work in Loulé, Vilamoura, Vale do Lobo and Quinta do Lago, so one app covers the whole municipality.
LC Global does not start with a fine. A car without a valid ticket, or one that has overstayed, receives a payment notice (aviso de regularização de pagamento) for the daily maximum of the zone, less anything already paid – in Quarteira, €8.00 or €8.80. Only if that notice is not paid does it become an offence with a fine of €30 to €150. With a rental car, pay the notice straight away: otherwise it reaches you through the rental company with an administration fee on top.
Vilamoura, the marina resort next door, is stricter and more expensive: in high season street parking around the marina costs €1.20 per hour, up to €18 per day, and is charged until midnight. If you are staying in Quarteira, it is often easier to leave the car and walk or cycle along the seafront, about half an hour on foot.
Parking cost estimator
Pre-book parking at Faro airport →Pre-filled with the hourly rate of both paid zones (€0.80). The daily maximum is €8.80 in high season, so a full day never costs more than that.
Mostly, yes. Only two zones are paid: the market area all year, and the seafront Avenida Infante de Sagres in summer. Streets outside those zones are free.
€0.20 per 15 minutes, or €0.80 per hour, in both paid zones. The daily maximum is €8.00 in the low season (€3.20 on Saturdays) and €8.80 in the high season.
In the high season, which LC Global’s tariff gives as 1 June to 30 September, every day from 09:00 to 20:00. For the rest of the year the avenue is free.
In the low season, yes: the market zone is not charged on Sundays and the seafront is free anyway. From June to September both zones are charged every day, Sundays included.
Via Verde Estacionar, iParque Driver and W-iParque, the three services listed by LC Global. You can also pay at the meter.
You first receive a payment notice for the daily maximum of the zone (€8.00 or €8.80), less what you already paid. If you ignore it, a fine of €30 to €150 follows.
See also: Parking in Portugal (all cities)
