Lisbon Transportation Tips by acemj Top 5 Page for this destination

Trains Train Review

Lisbon has four major train stations. Santa Apolonia (21 888 4025) is for international service and for northern and central Portugal.

Barreiro is located across the river and services Setubal and all of southern Portugal. You can catch a ferry from the pier at Terreiro do Paco where you'll buy a combination ticket for the ferry ride and your onward train ticket.

Rossio (pictured here) is the station for the Estremadura region as well as Sintra (only 2.50 Euros roundtrip).

Cais do Sodre takes you to Cascais and Estoril.

***UPDATE*** Rossio is closed for renovations due to structural problems in the tunnel leading from the station. It is scheduled to reopen soon. Check the web for updates.

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Type: Train

Incoming! Airport and Air Travel Review

You might want to check on flights into Madrid first. Sometimes you'll find a better deal by flying to Spain and then into Portugal, but not always. I took this photo in front of the Gulbenkian Museum in northern Lisbon. Ever since September 11, 2001 when I was sitting in my highrise office building in Charlotte watching the unfolding of horrible events in New York, I can't help but remember that day when I see a low flying plane. Fortunately, this plane was safely descending into Lisbon on a beautiful, clear day.

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Type: Airplane

Smart Car Driving Review

This is just a photo of a Smart Car that was being given as a prize in Praca da Figueira. Pretty sporty for an econo-car, huh?

Pav looks pretty interested in this one, but we stuck with our trust Fiat Punto when we rented a car.

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Type: Car/Motor Home

Quicksilver Driving Review

Pav and I rented this little Fiat Punto from Ride On rental company at the suggestion of our favorite hostel employee, Ze. When I had difficulty locating the online rental agency that I had previously booked with, Ze stepped up and got us in touch with this company. Within twenty minutes, a man was at our hostel with trusty old Quicksilver parked outside (we American guys like to name our cars!).

With a US license, driving in Portugal is no problem and the rental agency provides all the necessary paperwork and insurance. With Ride On, the price included all of this. Quicksilver was only 25 Euros per day and was very reliable. The man who delivered the car also showed us the interior of the vehicle and made sure we knew the car's basic features. He also provided us with some great maps (for free) and gave us some travel advice (also free :->).

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Other Contact: all major credit cards accepted

Phone: 21 845 2811

Type: Car/Motor Home

Sightseeing Tram Tram Electrico Review

In Praco do Comercio, you can catch this easy to spot, red Sightseeing Tram. I'm not sure where it goes, but there's a tourist information office here where you could inquire about it.

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City of trams Tram Electrico Review

Lisbon's most famous mode of transportation is definitely the tram ("electricos" or "tranvias"). The tram stops are marked by little stop signs ("paragem") and the fares are quite cheap.

Most tourists will take a ride on the #28 tram which clatters its way up through Alfama and gives you a good, cheap tour of the city. You'll also want to take the #15 if you want to visit Belem (it's only 1 Euro). The #15 line to Belem is more modern and has ticket machines right on board. Just be sure you have the right change. When we rode it, we didn't have the right change so we just hoped we wouldn't get caught and never paid!!

Praca de Figueira (adjacent to Rossio) and Praca do Comercio are two good places to catch the tram.

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Aerobus Buses Review

If you fly in on TAP Air Portugal, just go out of the airport and look for the Aerobus, which will take you into the center of town (about a 20-40 minute ride depending on traffic). Present your boarding pass to the driver and the ride is FREE. As you can see by the picture, the bus is very spacious and comfortable and I really enjoyed the sights along the way, which gave me a taste of Lisbon and what I would see over the next week.

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Mercedes Taxis Taxis Review

Taxis in Lisbon are cheap compared to the States and the rest of Europe. I took a cab from Belem to Rossio (about a 20 minute ride) and the meter only read 4.95 Euros! Not bad for a ride in a Mercedes.

I took this picture at the airport, but I wouldn't advise taking a tax from the airport into town as most of the few scams that occur are on this route. Plus, there are other more affordable alternatives. Ask the driver approximately how much it will be before you get in (just say, "Quanto custa para . . . ?")
You can call a cab through Radio Taxis de Lisboa at 21 811 900 or Autocoope at 21 793 2756.

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Type: Car/Motor Home

Upgrades are GOOD! Airport and Air Travel Review

Because of a major ice and snow storm on the east coast of the United States, we were forced to fly from our hometown of Charlotte to MIami instead of to Philadelphia, which was our scheduled route. This change of plans would cause us to arrive late in Madrid, but better late than never!
Because of the inconvenience, we were upgraded on our Iberia flight (US Airways endorsed our ticket on Iberian, a Spanish carrier) to Business Class. The seats were much wider than Coach Class and they reclined to almost horizontal, which enabled me to get some good sleep. When we boarded, the flight attended immediately asked us, "Quiere un jerez?" (she wanted to know if we would like some sherry).
Of course, this was an offer we were not about to refuse, and the drinks and comfortable seats made for a great flight.
On our way to Lisbon, we also had a slight mishap when Pav's luggage was temporarily lost! Fortunately, there are many flights between Madrid and Lisbon each day and his bag arrived in a couple hours.

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Aeroporto de Lisboa Airport and Air Travel Review

Lisbon's airport is the largest and by far the busiest in Portugal and offers connections all over Europe. I flew in on the Portuguese carrier, TAP Air Portugal. When you fly out of Lisbon, there is a tax that is charged, but it will be included in the price of the ticket.

This is a photo of the airport information booth in which you can get all kinds of information, including free street and metro maps and well as hotel and transportation info. The lady that was working when we arrived hooked us up with our hostel and it turned out great!

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Other Contact: airport code: LIS

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