Street parking around Vilamoura marina is paid every day: from 09:00 to 24:00 between June and September and from 09:00 to 19:00 from October to May, with no maximum stay; outside those hours it is free. The paid zone covers six streets, including Avenida da Marina and Avenida Tivoli, and the municipal Melvin Jones car park adds 159 spaces. This guide covers the Loulé parking rules for Vilamoura, where parking is free, beach parking and the nearest bookable car parks at Faro Airport.
Do you need a car? Not for the marina itself. For Praia da Falésia, the golf courses, Loulé and the rest of the Algarve you do: compare prices for car rental in Vilamoura on DiscoverCars or pick up at Faro Airport, about 25 km away. Our guide to car hire in Vilamoura compares the local options.
Vilamoura belongs to the municipality of Loulé, and the streets around the marina form Loulé’s paid parking zone 04, “Vilamoura (Centro Urbano)”. It covers six streets: Avenida da Marina, Avenida Tivoli, Alameda Praia da Marina, Praça Tivoli, Rua da Botelha and Rua do Clube Náutico. Under the municipal regulation you pay there every day from 09:00 to 24:00 between 1 June and 30 September, and from 09:00 to 19:00 for the rest of the year. Outside those hours parking is free and has no time limit. The rest of Vilamoura is a resort of hotels, apartment complexes and golf courses, where most parking belongs to the hotels and private developments.
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| Option | When you pay | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Zone 04 street parking, June–September | Every day 09:00–24:00 | Marina streets; price shown on the meter |
| Zone 04 street parking, October–May | Every day 09:00–19:00 | Free after 19:00; in October 2026 this is the timetable that applies |
| Zone 04 outside paid hours | Free | No time limit |
| Melvin Jones car park (municipal) | No tariff published | 159 spaces, by Rua Melvin Jones and the Quarteira road |
| Hotel and apartment car parks | Set by each hotel | Ask when you book; some charge guests per day |
| Faro Airport, Park & Fly (Parclick) | From €15 for 1 day | For leaving a car at the airport, about 25 km away |
The six marina streets listed above are the only ones in Vilamoura covered by Loulé’s zone 04 regulation. The regulation does not set a maximum stay: you can stay as long as you keep paying. If you leave the car without a valid ticket, the regulation allows the council to charge the maximum daily rate instead of the normal fee.
| Season | Dates | Paid hours |
|---|---|---|
| High season | 1 June – 30 September | Every day, 09:00–24:00 |
| Low season | 1 October – 31 May | Every day, 09:00–19:00 |
The rates come from Loulé’s municipal table of fees, which the council did not publish online in a form we could check today, so we do not quote an hourly price. The meter shows it before you pay. The hours are those of the 2011 regulation; the council may change them by resolution, so read the sign on the meter as well.
Vilamoura has no car parks bookable online: Parclick lists none in Vilamoura, Quarteira or Loulé. These are the options we could confirm today.
A public car park built by Loulé council and opened in March 2019 next to Rua Melvin Jones and the Estrada de Quarteira, with 159 spaces, five of them for disabled drivers, and bicycle racks. The council built it to relieve parking pressure in Vilamoura in summer. No tariff is published online, so check the sign at the entrance.
Avenida da Marina, Avenida Tivoli, Alameda Praia da Marina, Praça Tivoli, Rua da Botelha and Rua do Clube Náutico. Closest to the marina restaurants, the casino and Praia da Marina. Paid every day; free after 19:00 from October to May and after midnight in summer.
Most large hotels in Vilamoura have their own car park, but terms differ: some include parking, others charge per day. Check with your hotel when you book rather than relying on a general rule.
Street parking in the marina zone is free outside the paid hours: after 19:00 from October to May and between midnight and 09:00 in summer. Streets outside the six zone 04 streets are not part of the municipal paid zone, so parking there is free where it is allowed, but many roads in the resort belong to private developments and hotels, so follow the signs. For the beaches east of the marina, such as Praia da Falésia, there are parking areas at the beach accesses; no official information on their capacity or charges is published, and in July and August they fill up early.
Faro Airport, the nearest airport to Vilamoura, has bookable car parks on Parclick. Park & Fly on the EN125 starts at €15 for one day, and the valet services start at €20 for two days. See Park & Fly Faro Airport on Parclick or Skypark valet.
Vilamoura parking cost estimator
Airport parking in Faro on Parclick →Example rate only: Loulé does not publish the Vilamoura hourly rate online, so enter the price shown on the meter. Remember that zone 04 is free after 19:00 from October to May.
Partly. The six marina streets of Loulé’s zone 04 are paid every day: 09:00–24:00 from June to September and 09:00–19:00 from October to May. Outside those hours, and in streets outside the zone where parking is allowed, it is free.
On the zone 04 streets around the marina, such as Avenida da Marina, Avenida Tivoli and Praça Tivoli, which are paid, or at the municipal Melvin Jones car park (159 spaces). Hotel guests can usually use their hotel’s car park.
The hourly rate is set in Loulé’s municipal table of fees and shown on the meters. We could not confirm a current official figure online, so we do not quote one.
Until midnight from 1 June to 30 September and until 19:00 from 1 October to 31 May, every day of the week.
No. The zone 04 regulation sets no maximum stay as long as you pay for the time. Parking without a ticket can be charged at the maximum daily rate.
Not on Parclick, which has no car parks in Vilamoura, Quarteira or Loulé. The nearest bookable car parks are in Faro, including Faro Airport from €15 a day.
For the marina and the beach next to it, no. For Praia da Falésia, the golf courses, Loulé market, Albufeira or the rest of the Algarve, a car is the practical choice. Faro Airport is about 25 km away.
