Transportation: Porto to Lisbon

I’d suggest taking the train back to Lisbon the day before your flight back to the USA.

You can check train schedules and book your tickets in advance and save money here: www.cp.pt

Enjoy your tour!

We are taking the train from Porto to Lisbon during our May/June trip. However, we are flying into Porto (via Amsterdam) and flying home from Lisbon. When I booked our tickets a few months ago, it was actually cheaper to fly into Porto and out of Lisbon than round trip to and from Lisbon. Worth a check!

Yes, take the train. The fast trains take you from Porto to Lisbon in less than 3 hours, and if you book in advance you can get a ticket for as little as €11.50 for the less popular departures.

Seat 61 is a good resource regarding trains.
https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/lisbon-to-porto-by-train.htm

I took the trains between Lisbon and Porto on my trip there in 2018. I didn't travel directly. Yes, there are different types of trains. You can see the travel times of each option when you book and compare that to the price. Unlike in other countries, while it saves money to book the fast trains in advance, it doesn't save that much. (Some Italian or French trains are super expensive if you book them at the last minute, but the Portuguese trains are not that much more.)

The main thing to keep mind is that the fast trains in Portugal usually don't go through the city centers - you have to connect from a smaller train station e.g. in Porto to get to the fast train. Lisbon has several big train stations and they are not always well connected, so pay attention to which station you want there. Sometimes it's easier to get to/from your lodgings in Lisbon using the subway to get from one of the train stations vs. trying to connect to different trains within the city.

Thanks Gail, I've been using both Seat 61 and cp.pt.

One thing that I'm noticing, is that if you want to start at Sao Bento, close to my Porto inn, the first train seems to be at about 9:20. The train to Lisbon leaves at about 9:30 from Campanha. The transfer time is about 8 minutes. That's probably enough time, but if the 9:20 is late, you are waiting about an hour for the next intercidades train and two hours for the Alfa train.

I think I'll get a ticket from the Campanha station and it looks like its about a 5 minute taxi ride from Sao Bento. Relaying this in case, the timing is important to you.

It looks like the advance ticket is about half of the day of tickets, FYI.

Jules, there are many daily trains between Sao Bento and Campanha stations - they run about every 10-15 minutes. You can simply take an earlier train if you are worried about the connection time. I'd guess you allowed to take any train to Campanha, not just the one included with your ticket, but check on that. At worst, just pay an extra 1.45 euros for the short ride on an earlier train instead of taking a taxi.

@Andrew, there are also Urbano trains that go between the stations. Depending on how the search is done on cp.pt, they may or may not get combined in a ticket with the alfa trains in a search. My inn's opinion was that travelers are better off buying the Urbano tickets day of and to purchase the ticket from Campanha to Lisbon, or in my case, Evora, in advance.

There's no reason not to buy the ticket originating at Sao Bento if that's where you will start out. It's not any cheaper. If you decide to take an earlier train from Sao Bento, you can still use Campanha portion you've bought.

I think I'll get a ticket from the Campanha station and it looks like
its about a 5 minute taxi ride from Sao Bento.

If your trip starts at São Bento, not buying a ticket from São Bento would just make things more complicated. If you do that, your connection at Campanha will be protected. 8 minutes is plenty of time, but as mentioned, you can always take an earlier train from São Bento if you are worried that it might not be enough. Also, there is no way a taxi will be able to make it in 5 minutes between the stations at that time in the morning.

Badger, if the train the train at 9:20 at Sao Bento is late, I'll miss the train leaving from Campanha. The next train leaves about an hour later, and I would probably need to book a new ticket. Now, if the trains in Portugal run like the trains in Switzerland, I won't have a problem.

Andrew, I'm not trying to save money. I just want to make sure I make the train out of Campanha.

I'm not sure if the urbano portion of the ticket can be used at any time, regardless what the ticket says? When I go to book Sao Bento to Evora, it is not showing many time options. When I look at the time table for Sao Bento to Campanha, yes, you're right, they leave every 10-15 minutes, but those options do not show up for the combined ticket.

Seems to be that the easiest way to book it is to book Campanha to Evora and purchase the Sao Bento to Campanha separately.

The reason I bought this up, is that if folks buy the ticket from Sao Bento to Lisbon, they need to know that the connection time is tight which is likely only a problem if the first train is late.

Andrew, I'm not trying to save money. I just want to make sure I make the train out of Campanha.

I'm not sure if the urbano portion of the ticket can be used at any time, regardless what the ticket says?

Then spend 1.45 Euros and take an earlier Urbano train to get to Campanha ten minutes earlier.

But I'm guessing the one you can book at 9:20 with the connection at Campanha at 9:32 is timed explicitly to connect to your AP train - it's not some random train that happens to have a short connection time. They picked the times to make for an optimal connection, just long enough for everyone to change trains but not too long (that would waste everyone's time). Likely this connection has been running for years that way. The AP and IC trains can't go through Sao Bento - they have to connect this way. I would even guess that the AP train would wait if the Sao Bento train is late, since a lot of passengers would be using this connection.

AFAIK, you can take an earlier local train from São Bento using the same ticket. So if you are worried about the connection, just take an earlier train. They are frequent.

I have been on the website (cp.pt). When you put in the route Sao Bento to Lisbon/Evora, they do not give an option for an earlier Urbano train. I've checked quite a few times. The website is quite straight forward and is available in English. When you put in Sao Bento to Campanha you do see all the Urbano trains, every 10 -15 minutes. I do not have experience with trains in Portugal, however, I do for many other countries in Europe, and unless Portugal is like Switzerland, trains can run late. People can do whatever they want, but I if they buy a ticket to Sao Bento to Lisbon, they may not notice the tight connection, and if the train is late, they could miss their train to Lisbon. Maybe the train company would hold the train to Lisbon or maybe the train between the stations is never late, I have no idea, but it is not a big deal to me to show up to the Sao Bento train station 15 minutes earlier to take the earlier train, especially when the risk is I'd have to go and rebook the ticket and wait 1-2 hours.

Badger, are you sure that I can use an earlier Urbano train than what is printed on the ticket?

Jules, just buy a ticket for the Urbano train when you get to Sao Bento. It's like buying a ticket for a commuter train. People don't buy them months in advance.

Thanks, everyone. Great advice and much appreciated

Probably not necessary for me to chime in at this point, but in case it can help someone- we took the train between Porto & Lisbon in December. The trip between Sao Bento and Campanha stations is included in the fare so you don’t need a separate ticket. You just hop on the next train heading there. If worried about the connection catch one 15 minutes or so before.

Andrew, yes, that was the plan. It's the ticket from Campanha to Evora that I will buy in advance. I'll be taking the train a few other times, and for those rides, purchasing in advance makes little sense since it doesn't save much.

The Urbano ticket is just over $1, but even if just for convenience, I will check to see if Sao Benho to Campanha is included.

Yes, it is included for sure if you take your scheduled train, not the Urbano. What I'm not sure about is whether you would be allowed to take an earlier Urbano train without having to buy a separate ticket. There is no downside to buying the ticket from Sao Bento to Evora - it costs the same.