Faro Airport

Faro airport is the gateway for a huge and lovely tourist destination the Algarve. I would like to share one thing with anyone using this airport. Do not use the ground floor catering establishments if you are on a budget. There is a lovely clean spacious canteen up on the first floor above the arrivals area. Unfortunately nothing similar in the departures area ! Go to the extreme end of the building (turn left on entering) and up the escalators or use the lift or stairs. The prices are reasonable for drinks and snacks. There are two areas you get a good view of the arrivals area from the open balcony bar area and of the baggage area from the rear canteen (when this is open). If you cannot find your tour rep when you arrive they are probably up there ! As regular users of this airport we have seen it at all times of the year and the summer season brings the usual pressures on all facilities from the sheer numbers of people that have to be processed. The toilets are clean the parking close by and a very reasonable cost and the local staff usually extremely helpful. It is one of the few airports I know that has functioning electronic passport readers but this has meant that the queues for the conventional desks can be excessively long and tiresome.

Nice airport prices not too much of a rip off. Check in desks an absolute nightmare. The straff seem to take a sadistic delight in slowing things down so much that enormous queues develop. We only just made it to the plane in time and had no time at all to look at the duty free area. We were warned that they were slow but were unprepared for the levels of deliberate obstructive incompetence. I had always thought that Manchester was bad but it is a model of efficiency now compared to Faro.

For those of you with children make sure you bring a packed lunch with you for them otherwise it could be a seriously expensive end to your holiday. 12 euros for a small burger meal is as close to extortion as I've ever seen! Other drinks and sandwiches are also seriously expensive and there's hardly any choice. What shops there are (no more than 4) are ok but there really is very little here. The airport itself is clean and tidy but that's not much help if you're stuck there for hours.

A nice little airport the check in and security was very quick and easy. However there is not enough option for shopping and the cafes and bars are extremely expensive. I had to pay 2.60 euros for a 330ml can of coke while a sandwich was even more! Good amount of seating by the gates is another plus while the views onto the airfield are wonderful.

A great little airport. My mid-July arrival on a Friday was simplicity itself. Travelling with only hand luggage passport control and customs was a breeze. Baggage hall looked quite busy . Had it not been for a second-rate local car hire company not cancelling my booking upon arrival I would have been out of the airport in ten minutes. Sadly had to use one of the major international firms at a far higher cost though the car and service was probably much better than I would otherwise have received. Upon departure if you only have hand luggage you just walk past the check-in queues straight to security. Very quiet on a Tuesday afternoon and staff were friendly and professional. Boarding gate was comfortable and plenty of seating although many people ignored the seating in favour of trying to jump the queue by hanging around the door. Fortunately they were ignored as gate staff applied Easyjet strict boarding procedure. Excellent shopping airside and plenty of refreshment options.

This is a pretty good airport with plenty of seats although I suspect in peak season it can get very crowded. A bit expensive - 1.80 euros for a small bottle of water and a very steep 3.50 euros for a 500ml bottle of coke!

Faro Airport is clean spacious and facilities are good. Check in and baggage reclaim are a doddle but it can get quite crowded in the peak season. The Winter is the best time to use this facility. Plenty of bars and eateries so a good transit point in general.

Our first time using Faro - arriving was fine it was a Monday and quiet. We were actually going to Isla Canela just over the border into Spain so got a good transfer coach at quite a cheap rate for the trip. Going home however was a different story it was a Friday and quite busy but there was only one person checking passports and the queue went for miles! Apart from that it all seemed OK as airports go.

Having not been to Portugal for 18 years until this summer I was pleasantly surprised at the efficiency of the place considering the number of passengers that it handles. Most of the flights are holiday charters of course but it is comfortable and provides what you need without any fuss.

Travelling on internal flights from Faro was a breeze. Check in was easy security swift easy to find the gate quick to load and baggage reclaim a breeze (15 minutes from plane door to exiting the terminal). My flight out of Faro was in the early morning so no shops were open and food outlets only just before the flight left however the lounge opens very early with a very good selection of drinks. Easy airport to navigate no real problems to moan about!