My wife and I are going to Portugal in October -- four nights in Lisbon, then take a bus to Lagos for two nights, a bus back to Lisbon to connect to a train to Coimbra for one night, then a train to Porto for three nights, then a train back to Lisbon to catch our flight. My question is -- How reliable are the bus schedules? Should I be able to make a connection from a bus scheduled to arrive in Lisbon Oriente at 13:25 to train that leaves Lisbon Oriente at 14:09? Or would it be better to buy train tickets after we arrive?
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
I have taken buses and trains in Portugal and been to most of these places (not Lagos), but I have not done this connection at Oriente. However, I would probably do it (with that connection time), assuming I verified that the bus stop/station is adjacent to the train station at Oriente.
But I think what you are really asking is, "How likely is the bus to be on time?" A bus could be late for any reason, so you just have to figure out the consequences if you miss the train and have to book the next one last minute. The high speed trains in Portugal are not that much cheaper in advance vs. last minute compared to the high sped trains in other countries, where the prices are usually steep at the last minute. I didn't buy any of my train tickets in advance (though I mostly took regional trains, so the prices on those aren't cheaper in advance.
Checking now, I see that AP (fastest) trains from Oriente to Coimbra are only about 24 euros per person if bought now for tomorrow. Buy them now for October and they are only about 10 Euros each. If you miss that connection, assuming the next train isn't sold out, your total ticket would cost only about 35 euros (two tickets) which is not horrible (try that in Italy or France - much more expensive last minute). If your plans are pretty fixed, I'd buy the advanced tickets now and just know what your backup train would be after that one if you have to take it instead.
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1826 posts
My experience with the bus is limited but it was on time leaving both times. At Oriente, the train station and bus station are adjacent to one another. It will be a matter of walking 3-5 minutes from one to the other. It will likely take more time to find where you need to wait for the bus than walking from the train.
With the low cost of the train tickets, I’d likely do the connection. If you buy the original ones ahead, the cost will be very low, so if you need to buy new ones, it’s not that great a loss.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thanks Andrew and Kathyrn! You are right, there is a small chance of missing the connection if the bus more than 40 minutes late for some reason, but the consequences aren't that serious since train prices are cheap in Portugal.
Posted by
Big Island of Hawaii
759 posts
Actually, the bus station is on the ground level and the train station is one level up. I found signage for both to be lacking, but enough people were around who spoke English so I just asked them.