Layover in Lisbon en route to Porto

Unfamiliar with the airport but I do not have to be to tell you this is way too risky;
give yourself at least 3 hours to gamble with.
You would go through passport control and have to retrieve luggage if you checked any upon arriving in Lisbon.

If this is all booked on one TAP ticket and their first flight is delayed, then they have to get you on the next available flight, which might be the one two hours later, or might not if that one gets filled. If all else fails, a train ticket from Lisbon to Porto costs about $45. Sorry, I'm not familiar with the airport, either.

I love trains, so I'd be tempted to book the train vs. building in a 3-hour layover in LIsbon. It's 31.20 Euros for a last-minute AP (fastest train) ticket from Lisbon to Porto - the train takes about three hours. But it is a little more hassle: you would probably take the subway from the LIsbon Airport to Oriente train station, pick up the train north from there to Porto Campanha station, and change again (very quick train ride) to Sao Bento station, most likely. If you fly into Porto, you still have to get into town from there (there's a local train).

Sure, it would be easier to fly for sure and possibly faster. You could book the shortest connection and if you miss it, as Laura says, assuming it's all on one ticket, you'll automatically get put on the next flight to Porto, assuming there's room.

I flew into Lisbon last year (flew out of Porto). Both airports are fine - I understand immigration lines last year at Lisbon were long, but you won't have to deal with that; I flew in from Madrid and didn't have to deal with that either. I stayed in Lisbon and took the train north from there to Porto (eventually).

Thank you Jazz+Travels, Laura, and Andrew. I will definitely give this some thought - as much as I'd like to get to Porto as quickly as possible, I don't want the stress of missing a connecting flight and hoping there are four seats on a later flight. I appreciate your input!

When I traveled in June, the passport control lines at the Lisbon airport for non EU passenger were very, very long and slow. They did let some very stressed looking connecting passengers cut ahead a bit, but I wouldn't risk it unless you can get assurances from the airlines of getting on to the next flight if you miss the first one. As others mentioned, the train is easy and comfortable.

I'll be the dissenting voice here.
- You won't need to go through passport control,
- the airport in Lisbon is small,
- flights from Lisbon to Porto are very frequent so if something happens you'll most likely be able to travel on a later flight that same day. Or the train, at worst.
-My only worry with that tight connection would be the checked luggage, if any.

So, if you travel with cabin luggage I'd bank on the 65-minute layover.

I will add a bit of a different slant to this.

I looked at booking a flight from Lisbon to Sevilla last winter. The TAP flight was really a subsidiary of TAP - White Airways. The reviews were terrible and they use Propeller planes - not jets. The reviews plus this fact made me very anxious. I ended up not taking the flight so I can’t give a first hand review. But, I think I would fly to Madrid from Lisbon, then take the train to Sevilla in the future. So m you might look at doing the same, in the other direction. I’m thinking you could get a flight from Madrid to Porto without much difficulty.

Balso's right. No passport control, since you are remaining in the Schengen zone, Spain to Portugal the same as domestic to domestic in the US. There will be a security check - AFAIK there always is between flights.

Let me add that taking the train from Lisbon airport is a royal pain. You would have to walk through the airport to the metro station, buy tickets, and take the metro to Oriente station. That's a little time consuming, but straightforward. The metro is below ground. There are escalators to street level, but then there are only stairs or a small, hard to find elevator to the upper level where you buy tickets. Then another small elevator or stairs to the train platform. There's virtually no signage. There are multiple ticket booths spread out on the upper floor, each selling tickets to different destinations. If you have to buy tickets there, it can be very confusing and you can waste a lot of time going from booth to booth. The train takes you to Porto-Campanha. From there, it's either wait for a local train into the city center or take a taxi (recommended) to your hotel.

If you decide not to fly the Flix bus from the airport may be faster because you don't have connections. It's certainly easier.

I would not worry about flying on a prop plane. Remember there was a time when everyone had to :-) I flew on one last year in Poland. It was a comfortable ride and the planes are pretty small so boarding and alighting are fast. Because they are small, boarding is by stairs from the tarmac.

Thank you all for weighing in. I think we may just book the flight with a three hour layover in Lisbon, since taking the train or bus if we miss the short connection will end up getting us there later (and with more hassle) anyway. We will just get a bite to eat in the Lisbon airport, stretch our legs, and I won't have to stress about connections.

I would book the flight with the 3-hour layover. Trying to get to downtown Lisbon and then take the train seems very stressful and tiring to me, especially carrying luggage. The 65 minute layover is pushing it, too. We once had a 50-minute layover in Munich (or Frankfurt, don't remember which one). I realize it's a different airport but our arriving flight was late, and we practically ran to catch our flight home to the U.S. We got to the gate 5 minutes before departure. I assume someone notified them we were coming, because the staff at the gate were waiting for us and applauded when they saw us coming! I don't plan these kinds of layovers any more!

We have flown TAP, and we have had layovers in Lisbon. We have no complaints about TAP, and we like the Lisbon airport. There are many nice places to eat; we've had decent food, and nice places to shop.