Anybody know the best way to get a train from the Algarve to Bilbao or Santander?

Got a friend visiting next month who's afraid of flying and I ain't driving the bugger back there

Although I'm bringing him down by car in case your wondering.

Or maybe there is a coach?

I do not know from Algarve but you can certainly travel by train from Seville to both.

http://www.cp.pt/cp/displayPage.do?v...007b01a8c0RCRD

http://www.bahn.de/i/view/GBR/en/index.shtml

the above is the best rail planning site in the world.

Try London to Peking for fun

From experience anywhere leaving Portugal on the train is bad news.

Bilbao or Santander is about 26 hours from Faro, personally i'd hitch-hike its probably faster.

Best of luck

I wonder where it starts to go wrong then, I have done Porto to Lisbon a few times (3 or 3 & a half hours depending on train and it was excellent!) Apparently Porto-Algarve can be done in 5 hours... so the problem must be Spain or the Portugal-Spain transfer?

Yes, and it's a lot quicker than using the Portuguese route (around 8-10 hours as opposed to 24+ hours) and there is a regular bus from the Algarve to Seville. Best to book everything well in advance though. as reservations are often required.

Thanks all