Has anyone recently taken Aerobus # 1 from Lisbon airport ? RS book says the 1st bus departs at 7AM but some other websites says 8AM first departure. We will be arriving ~5:40AM. Please let me know.
Also, for visiting the palaces in Sintra - how crowded the bus lines are if we arrive around 8:45AM ?
Thank you all for your help.
The bus web site says they start from 5:35 in that direction:http://www.aerobusbcn.com/en/timetable.
The website is for Barcelona. I am looking for Lisbon, Portugal. Thank you.
Like RS, the Lonely Planet book also says 7 am, but I would expect the website, which definitely does say 8 am, is probably correct. Two weeks ago, it took me more than 90 minutes in lines to get through customs upon arriving in Lisbon mid morning. So you might not have to wait long for the first Aerobus. even if it is at 8.
If you don't have too much or too heavy luggage, I found the metro very easy and convenient getting to and from the airport, even with one transfer each way. The metro starts at 6:30 am.
I went to Sintra on a Wednesday mid-June and there were not the crowds I expected at all. I arrived in Sintra by train around 8:45 am. I bought tickets online the day before for the Palaces. The only line I had was the one for people with tickets waiting for the Pena Palace to open. It was an overcast day with some rain -- I don't know if that keeps away the crowds.
I also took the metro from Lisbon airport to Rossio Square, close to where I was staying. I did have to change metro lines once, but it was not a big inconvenience for me - I am used to public transportation.
I visited Sintra on a Friday in May. According to Rick's book (I think?), weekends are busy in Sintra with locals and that Mondays are busy because museums in Lisbon are closed. I took the train from Rossio to Sintra, and yes, it was pretty crowded on the 434 bus from the train station going up the hill to the palaces, but I was able to get right on the 434 just after I got off the train, so no waiting. You could always hire a "tuk tuk" little 3-wheeled taxi to take you up the hill instead - can't cost that much.
I had not planned well and did not buy my Pena Palace park tickets online ahead of time, so I had to wait a long time in a ticket line at the gates. Besides buying them online, I later learned that I could have bought them at the Moorish Castle too (much less crowded than Pena Palace) - so I would have done better to visit the Moorish Castle first visit and buy tickets to Pena Palace, then go on to the Pena Palace park and walk right in.
Thank you both for all the help.
Sorry that I misread that, Sampa.
