Anyone on the Portugal tour (or others traveling in Portugal) opt to take a train from Porto to Lisbon in order to take advantage of non-stop round trip flights? The tour ends in Porto and flights back to BOS have a connection, usually in LIS, but others stop elsewhere. With all that's going on with flights and connections, is it wise to go back to the starting city for a direct flight if none are available at the ending city? I'm thinking the flights from Porto to Lisbon would not ordinarily be delayed, but it might be better to book non-stop round trip airfare and do a bit of land transportation?
Posted by
SE Pennsylvania
2369 posts
I'm not going on the Portugal tour till March 2023, so have only glanced at flights from Philadelphia. The train from Porto to Lisbon is about 3 hours, and there is a good chance I will choose that option after the tour.
I would NOT do the train the day of an international flight. If I do this I will go to Lisbon at least the day before.
Posted by
near San Francisco
4587 posts
There is also the risk of a train strike, as is the case this month in Portugal. My friend, who is in Porto now, is glad her flight leaves from Porto, rather than needing to return by train to Lisbon.
One never knows.
Posted by
WA USA
1070 posts
It's a nice train ride. Make sure you are in Lisbon at least the night before. For train strikes, you should have advance warning. If you are impacted, there is always the bus.
Last year, I had multi-city flights, but ended up needing to change to a round trip ticket in/out of Lisbon due to flight cancellations, etc.
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
504 posts
I returned from Portugal this afternoon and flew round-trip into/out of Lisbon. The day I arrived I jumped on a fast train to Porto. The trip was an easy 3 hour trip and I didn’t have any problem getting a last-minute ticket, although first class was my only option, the class of service I wanted anyway. (I didn’t book in advance because of the uncertainty of airline travel—good thing, because I arrived six hours later than scheduled.) My return to Lisbon was just as easy, although I took an intercity train because the time suited my schedule better than the fast trains the day of travel. Still, the trip took only about 30 minutes longer. I chose to travel this way because I wanted direct flights to Portugal (from Boston) and on my return (to JFK). I agree with the others who have advised not to take the train to Lisbon on the same day as your departure from Portugal.
Posted by
OP
NH
42 posts
@Jeff - Thanks for your reply. Very helpful info.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
7514 posts
One advantage of using Lisbon and a non-stop flight, is that the flight will leave at a comfortable time...9:00 AM to Noon.
There is more than one thread on here of people discussing having to get to the Porto Airport at ~3:00 AM to make a 5:00 AM flight, so they can make a connection someplace for their US flight.
Take it easy, give yourself a day in Lisbon and fly out the next day.
Posted by
Houston, TX
242 posts
That’s what I’m doing