Quick answer. Use a machine carrying the blue and white Multibanco mark in the arrivals hall. Every genuine Portuguese bank ATM belongs to that shared network, gives the interbank rate and charges you nothing at the machine, which makes Portugal one of the cleanest ATM countries in Europe. The independent machines standing next to them at FAO are not part of it, and they surcharge. The bigger money question at this airport is not cash at all: FAO is overwhelmingly a hire-car airport, and the A22 motorway has no toll booths, so charges are read off your number plate and billed by the rental company later with an administration fee on top. Settle that at the desk before you drive off. Portugal has no Bank of America Global ATM Alliance partner, so a BoA card pays its own 3 percent non-network fee here.
Where to get euro at FAO
Faro is a straightforward airport with one expensive trap and one that arrives later. The trap in front of you is the independent machine dressed up as a bank ATM. The one that arrives later is the toll charge on a hire car. Here is what each route costs on €100.
| Option | Where | Markup | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multibanco ATM at FAO | Arrivals, ground floor | Interbank rate, no machine fee | ~$110 |
| Multibanco ATM + Schwab (fee refunded) | Arrivals | Interbank rate, any fee refunded | ~$110 |
| Any ATM with a BoA card (no Alliance here) | Arrivals | Interbank + BoA 3% non-network fee | ~$107 |
| Independent (non-Multibanco) machine | FAO arrivals and the resort strips | Own surcharge + poor rate + DCC pitch | ~$97-102 |
| Exchange counter in FAO arrivals | Arrivals hall | 5-10% off interbank, plus commission | ~$99-104 |
Finding a Multibanco machine at Faro (FAO), and the ones parked next to it
Faro has a single terminal, so there is no wrong building, and the cash machines are in the arrivals area past baggage reclaim and in the departures hall upstairs. The only thing you need to check is the branding. Portugal runs a genuinely unusual system: virtually every bank ATM in the country, whether it belongs to Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Millennium BCP, Novo Banco or Santander, sits on the shared Multibanco network, gives the same fair rate and takes no operator fee from you. The mark is blue and white and it is on the machine. What has spread across the Algarve, including into this airport, is the independent machine: not on Multibanco, adds its own surcharge, quotes a worse rate and pushes conversion into your home currency. The test is the mark, not the location. For where to withdraw once you are out of the airport, and why the resort strips west of here are the worst place to do it, see our Faro and eastern Algarve money guide.
Arrivals, ground floor
All arrivals: Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2, TUI, TAP, British Airways and the seasonal charter traffic that feeds the whole Algarve
Machines sit past baggage reclaim on the way to the exit, mixed in with the exchange counters and the hire-car desks. Check for the Multibanco mark before you insert a card. Decline any offer to be billed in pounds or dollars and choose euros. Take enough for a few days rather than planning to top up in Albufeira or Lagos, where the independent machines are thickest.
Departures, first floor
Same building, upper level; check-in and security for all departures
There are further machines upstairs and airside. If you are flying home with euros left over, spend them rather than converting back at a counter, where you lose on the spread a second time. Portugal is in the euro and the EU, so there is no duty-free on an intra-EU departure and no VAT refund on ordinary spending.
The hire-car desks, and the toll question
All the major chains plus a large number of Algarve-based local firms
This is where FAO differs from most airports on this site. The A22 Via do Infante, the motorway running the length of the Algarve, has no toll booths: gantries read your plate and the charge is settled electronically afterwards, which means the rental company pays and bills you later, usually with an administration fee per crossing or per day that can exceed the toll. Ask how they charge it, take the cheapest option for your itinerary, and get it written on the agreement. The free alternative is the old N125, which runs parallel the whole way.
Do you actually need cash at Faro (FAO)?
Very little, because the Algarve runs on cards and Faro is a working town rather than a resort. Here is what a contactless card covers on the way out of the airport:
Bus 16 into Faro and on to Praia de Faro (a couple of euros): The single most useful bus in the region, linking the terminal, the town centre and the beach; coins are the reliable option though cards are increasingly accepted.
Taxi into central Faro (~€12-18): A four-kilometre run, with supplements at night and for luggage; most take cards but ask before loading bags.
Pre-booked transfer to Albufeira, Vilamoura or Lagos (varies by distance): Booked and paid by card in advance, and usually cheaper than a metered taxi for the longer runs west.
Hire car (from ~€25 a day in shoulder season): How most people do the Algarve; settle the A22 toll arrangement at the desk before you drive off, because the charge arrives weeks later with an admin fee attached.
⚠ DCC trap. When the ATM or terminal asks if you want to be charged in your home currency instead of the local currency, always decline and choose the local currency. Accepting locks in a 3-13 percent markup that your no-FX-fee card cannot undo. Full DCC explainer →
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need cash to get from Faro (FAO) to Faro?
No. Bus 16 into Faro and out to the beach increasingly takes cards and always takes coins, taxis mostly take cards, and pre-booked transfers are paid in advance. Cash is worth having for the municipal market, the island ferries and tips rather than for getting out of the airport.
Can I order euro before flying?
Optional here, unlike most destinations. Portugal's Multibanco machines charge nothing at the machine, so the usual argument for pre-ordering is weaker. Where CEI Currency Exchange still earns its place is denomination control: order €5 and €10 notes rather than the €50s a cash machine dispenses, because the Faro market stalls, the ferries to Farol and Culatra and the older parking meters all want small money.