Normally the public transport around Ericeira isn’t great and to the local beaches its non-existent. But during the summer this changes. From the 15th of June until the 15th of September the Ericeira beach bus starts to run.
Stops and Price of the Ericeira Beach Bus
The bus runs hourly from 9.10 am to 8.10 pm. It stops in the bus terminal just above Ericeira. From there it frequents all the local beaches from Foz do Lizandro in the south to Riberia Dilhas in the north. Making a total out of 38 stops on the way. Here you can see the route:
Worth to note is that it does not reach São Julião or the beaches and surf breaks north of Ribeira.
The price for the beach bus is a mere 1 Eur one way. And if you know that you are going to be using it frequently, you can even get a 10 pass or monthly pass. The bus has free wifi and a special trailer for carrying your surf board free of charge.
Time Table of the Bus
Here you have the time table of the Ericeira beach bus:
If you want to know the time of the bus even more exactly you can use the beach bus app (unfortunately only available for apple users at the moment): Ericeira beach bus. The app tracks the bus through a GPS system and will give you the exact location of the bus.
As traffic in Ericeira can be a bit busy during summertime, this can affect the time schedule of the bus. Thus if you’re planning to use the bus a lot (or just are stuck waiting somewhere and wondering what the hell is up with this bus), this is a great app to have. Although the application is only available in Portuguese it’s quite easy to use for non-Portuguese speakers.
Alternatives to the Ericeira Beach Bus
If you are planning to visit Ericeira during a time of the year when the bus doesn’t run, your best option to get to all the breaks is a rental car. Due to the oversupply of rental cars during the low season, you can score a really cheap rental car at the airport if you’re lucky.
Another great option for rental cars is to use the applications Uber and Bolt. Bolt is the cheaper of the two but doesn’t have that many drivers. However, for getting around Ericeira both are really affordable. 6-8 Eur from Ericeira to Ribamar (7 km). Usually, the drivers are happy to let you bring your board.
