PHOTOS: I’ve posted some of my photos on google photos. I knew Portugal would be a very photogenic country and it did not disappoint! For this trip, I upgraded my iphone 13 mini to the 15 pro. Much improved zoom on the new phone. Love it!!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/aenGeKS7vzdAdcCZ6
EXPERIENCE WITH TAP AIR PORTUGAL: I flew nonstop on TAP Air Portugal and found TAP to be comparable with other airlines (Swiss, Austrian, KLM, and United) I have recently flown to Europe. My one complaint though is lack of communication. We had a 41-minute (I checked the flight data) taxi before departing O’Hare. It would have been nice to hear from the pilot. Hey, we’re 73rd in line for take-off or something. I was starting to wonder what was going on. I was already nervous about the flights with all recent airplane trouble. And when we landed in Lisbon, it would have been nice to know that we weren’t parking at a gate. That way we could use the restroom if needed before leaving the plane to be bused to the terminal building.
A final note on TAP: They were doing some spot checks on the carry-on luggage—both size and weight. Be sure to check that you are within limits.
https://www.flytap.com/en-us/baggage
LISBON AIRPORT AND METRO TO CITY CENTER: Upon arrival, as mentioned above, we did not arrive at a gate. We had to be bused to the terminal. Not a big deal, expect we were behind many other buses and had to wait some time before exiting the bus. And the bus was mostly standing room only. They let us in at some side door to terminal 1 and it was a little confusing on where to go for passport control. Just keep following the signs for exit and eventually you’ll find it.
Passport control was a bit of a disaster. US passport holders can use the electronic gates, but no one knew how to use them. There were only 3 gates open with no airport personal to help. It’s not difficult, but if you haven’t used them before, it can take some time to figure out. So, here’s what you do: Place your passport, picture side down, on the glass and hold it there so it’s flat. And don’t move it (this is where most people got goofed up). Keep it pressed on the glass as the little dots show up letting you know it’s being scanned. Then the first gate will open. Take your passport and proceed to the next machine where you will have your face scanned and then that gate will open. Proceed to the person in the little box to get your passport stamped.
From there it was easy to find baggage claim (yes, I’m a suitcase checker). :)
Ok, so you are out of airport, now where do you go? This is a good video explaining your options for getting from the airport to the city center, including easy to follow instructions for buying the transportation card (the yellow navegante card).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-3owFj8xpk&t=616s
I chose the metro and added the €30 to the transport card. I wasn’t sure how much I would use the card and did not want to deal with adding more later. I’m big on convenience over saving a few bucks.
I did not love the metro. I guess I’m more of a train girl. It was easy to find the metro at the airport (as shown in the video linked above). I found the signage to transfer metro lines not as clear as I would have liked. But it’s easy to double check if you are on the correct metro and headed in the correct direction. On the metro, there are electronic boards telling you what the next stop is. So, carry a metro map (or check the one on the metro) and you can follow along. Be prepared for some of the elevators and escalators in the metro stations to not be working.
I did not take the metro back to the airport. I ended up taking the private car service offered through my hotel. And boy, was that a lot quicker and easier. I highly recommend a taxi or ride share service to and from the airport. Make things easy for yourself.