Train travel

Rail connections between Portugal and Spain are sketchy at best. There may not be any way to do this. Not that I can find at any rate.

There is no sleeper train, or even a direct train from Lisbon to Bordeaux. Any journey from Portugal to anyplace in Spain involves changes in trains, and sometimes in stations within a town. From Spain to Bordeaux there are more options.

Flying is about the best option, RyanAir is a decent airline, just realize their bare bones price will not work, so prices in a decent sized checked bag or a cabin bag if you are traveling really light, as well as what other needs you have, the price will still be cheap.

Easyjet also flies that route direct, you might compare, same advice applies, price in a decent sized bag.

There is no easy way to make the journey by train.

The sleeper trains to the French border and to Madrid, from Lisbon were withdrawn during Covid and are not going to return.

There is a complicated rail route with two changes to Madrid, and another involved train/bus route through the Algarve. The third route is a day train to Porto then Vigo then day trains through Spain.
The first two routes you would have to overnight in Madrid then day trains to France. All 3 routes will take 2 days.

By surface transport it would have to be by bus- Flixbus run from Porto, probably other companies, too- but it is a near 18 hour ride from Porto.

Spain and France are larger than many people think.

Check out the budget airlines EasyJet and Ryanair for very inexpensive flights.

Thank you all. I think we will fly.

mary,

I generally prefer trains whenever possible, but sometimes a budget flight is the best option. My preferred airline in Europe is easyJet as they've always provided good service. You may have to adjust the date of your flight, as flights on some days are more costly. Check their schedules for details.

I've found that paying a bit extra for options like Flexi makes for a much more comfortable experience and more generous baggage allowances. Be sure to read their terms carefully so that you're clear on baggage and carry-on limits. You'll have to print your boarding pass before arrival at the airport (or load it on your phone), as if they have to print the pass, there will be a hefty charge.

I'm not aware that EasyJet charges a fee for an airport-printed boarding pass, and I can find no reference to such a fee on the EasyJet website. RyanAir definitely does charge a substantial fee to print the boarding pass for you and an even larger fee for folks on the lowest-cost tickets who check in at the airport (rather than in advance). RyanAir's grotesque cash-grabs are the main reason I avoid the airline if possible.

"I'm not aware that EasyJet charges a fee for an airport-printed boarding pass"

Thanks for the clarification on that. EJ used to follow the same policy as RyanAir, and it's nice to see that they've changed that. Travel these days seems to be configured primarily for mobile phones.