Any locals out there who can help me with figuring out the local bus routes? I'm a pretty experienced traveller but I have to admit the local Albufeira bus service certainly has me very confused! Any idea how to get from Cerro Mar Garden to Modelo???

Obrigado
Professor Plum

I'm not a local, but a regular. It will be useful to look at this bus map Albufeira Bus Maps and notice the tiny arrows. The regular busses (maybe every half an hour) run in large circles, not back and forth. You want to get from R. Malpique or Cerro Malpique Norte to Rot. Relogios. It is a 5 minute cab ride, or a 20 minute walk, but it will take far longer by bus as there is nothing direct, and most everything will require a change at the central bus station, and then it's still a circuitous pathway to get to Modelo - - and then a completely different labyrinth to get back.

Thank you so much for the very useful info! Looks like taxi & walking will be my best options.!

Your bus option from Cerro is to walk northeast to Avenida dos Descobrimentos (the main east - west road), walk east to the bus stop, take bus line number 4 from Giro bus ( the little buses that go around town) get of at stop near Rua das Marés ( that's the stop near the watch roundabout) and walk to modelo.
At the modelo location the bus route is one way ( don't go the opposite side of the street ) you can get back on at the same stop and go all way around to get back.
I would either walk or take a taxi if carrying shopping.

Since that bus stop is a 13 minute walk from Cerro, and it's only another 7 minute walk to Modelo from there, aulop's walk/cab recommendation sounds like a good one.

Obrigado! I'll take your advice. I'll probably walk and the taxi home with groceries.

Any advice on bussing it from Albufeira to Loule for the market and then back to Albufeira?

Looks like the one 45-minute direct service getting you there at 1130am, which is enough time to get a real feel for he market atmosphere till it closes at 1pm (on market day there are additional booths that open up down the street, so it's still a pleasant scene even when the central market starts to shut down). The one return is at 245pm (see schedule info below). I don't know how much demand there is for that bus - - I would imagine quite a bit. If it were me, I would go to the Terminal Rodoviario a couple days prior and see if it's possible to make a booking for that Saturday round-trip (this schedule from AlgarveBus is not guaranteed, and may be subject to change):
Bus timetable Albufeira - Loulé - Faro via IKEA and Mar Shopping

The alternative is to take the bus to the Faro bus terminal then the bus to Loule', but that will eat up many hours:
Bus timetables Faro - Albufeira - Armação de Pera - Lagoa - Portimão - Lagos summary
Bus timetable Faro - Loulé