Hi. A friend and I are doing the first Rick Steves tour in 2020, the first 12 days of April. The tour starts in Lisbon and ends in Porto. We decided to go back to Lisbon at the end of the tour to fly back to the US. My question is about the train from Porto to Lisbon. Do we need to buy tickets in advance? Is it easy to access? Roughly how many trips a day are available? It would be easiest to purchase the tickets once we get to Porto, but if that is putting it off too late, we could buy them in Lisbon, I assume?
Posted by
Indiana
931 posts
You should be able to purchase your tickets at the station. Buying your tickets ahead of time will allow you to save a bit of money with a promotional fare. There are numerous types of trains and times available depending on your date of travel. https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/en/train-times
Posted by
Pacific Northwest
898 posts
By my count, there are 18 trains scheduled on April 12th from Porto (Campanha Station) to Lisbon (Oriente Station) starting as early as 5:40 a.m. (and as late as 20:40) with an average ticket price for the three hour trip (+ or -) of around $30/person. Here's the site I checked:
https://rail.ninja/trains/order/16603172e0d1d9c6002fa1d5416ba8d4/timetable
Posted by
374 posts
Hi
The best option for train between Lisbon and Porto is called "Alfa Pendular" it's their bullet train.
https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/en/how-to-travel/alfa
Your other option is to fly from Porto to Lisbon ( about 30 minutes as opposed to 3 hours on the train).
Happy travels
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
I trained from Lisbon to Porto (with stops for a few nights) in 2018. The trains don't quite go to the center of each town, so you do have to change at least once, maybe twice. E.g. in Porto, you have to change from Sao Bento station at the center to
Campanha station (just a quick ride) and from there the much longer fast train down to Lisbon. Lisbon has several "main" train stations that are not well connected unfortunately. I wound up using Santa Apolonia station in Lisbon and taking the subway to the center from there. (I stayed near Rossio Square in Lisbon.)
There are fast trains as mentioned taking you most of the way between Porto and Lisbon, however. There are two fast trains the AP and the IC which is a little cheaper but only a little slower. Check the schedules to see the times for various trains. I took IC and regional trains in Portugal, never had a chance to ride the AP. I booked all of my tickets at the last minute and had no trouble getting tickets (May). Unlike other countries like France and Italy, even the last-minute prices for the fast trains aren't bad in Portugal, so you aren't going to save a ton of money buying in advance. For example, check prices now for travel say tomorrow.
Posted by
OP
Charlottesville, VA, USA
24 posts
Thank you, all. This is helpful info!