The Lisbon metro is easy to find and a good ride. We found several escalators and elevators out of service so that's a consideration. Lots of stairs. Apple Pay makes using the metro very easy. Around 1.80 euro each RT.
We took cabs to/from the airport when we were hauling luggage. Cab fair arriving was 30 euro cash (no option) and leaving 13.60 euro credit card. The first cab driver delivered us right to our apartment in the old city so it was worth it for the most part.
Question just to be clear. Cab from airport was 30 euro? And only bill no CC? We rarely arrive with local currency in hand.
Yes, that's euros. We offered our cc and the taxi driver responded he would only take cash. So, it's something you might ask before you get in thr cab.
Water under the bridge so to speak, but for the benefit of others, 30 euro to the city center is very high, your 13.60 euro you paid, from presumably the same apartment, would be typical. Maybe if they charged a bit for bags, still should maybe be 20 euro at most. Cabs should also readily accept credit card, and start the meter. If a cab insists on cash, I would pass and go to the next one.
Also, both Uber and Bolt are popular in Lisbon, price displayed up front, paid via app, driver has your destination via GPS, so no confusion.
I haven't been to Lisbon in four years, and, of course, things do change - but I think your 30 Euro taxi ride reenforces the reputation Lisbon's taxis have. That's about triple what I paid.
Yes - Lisbon's metro (and other forms of public transportation) impressed me, too.
Of the European cities I have visited, Lisbon is among my favorites.
A suggestion for next time, or for other folks heading to Lisbon: As OP said, the metro is easy to find and a good ride. There is a metro station just out the door of the airport, with an easy trip to the city center. This might not be practical if you have a lot of bags, but it's worth checking out before you arrive.
Yes, Lisbon has wonderful public transportation.
I was able to get to Sintra and Belem using public transportaton.
However, it can also be confusing until you get used to it. There is a train, tram, bus and metro. There are different stations and different ways of paying.
I took public transportation to the airport and at some point, you will probably have to go up or down several to many stairs. No way to avoid the stairs getting from Point A to Point B.
We were relatively near to the Metro at our hotel in Lisbon (Marriott Moxy close to Picoas station), but we wanted to do a bunch of stuff in the AM before our afternoon flight, so we ended up collecting our luggage and calling an Uber just to be safe & quick rather than making going by mass transit (our normal option). Uber - hotel to airport - was just 7 Euros (without tip). 2 passengers with our luggage. Mass transit is cheap and effective, by it is hard not to justify the 7 Euros trip which saved us a heap of time and we got a pleasant chat to the airport. No cash or CC needed - just the app.
In general, I find using the mass transit option to be a good idea and a good "deal", but it does pay to consider all options at our disposal so time, cost, and convenience can be weighed.
A good idea for almost any airport, Lisbon included, is to visit the airport's website ahead of time and click on their "transportation" options (Lisbon's site it is: "Access & Parking"). Knowing where you can pick up the train/taxi/shuttle/uber after you land and maybe play through the options available is pretty useful.
We usually use public transportation when we travel. Lisbon has a great Metro and we used the trains easily to go to Sintra and Cascais. (Nice scenery along the coast on the latter too.) The old trams are really fun. Don't miss a ride or two on No. 28. But, with that said, we found Uber in Lisbon so surprisingly inexpensive that we ended up using it a lot. Agree that 30 euros from the airport to downtown is way too high.
