Train "Madrid-Lisbon" - Night Train-Hotel. How to get to Portugal Transport links between Portugal and Spain
Portugal is a country famous for its rich history, delicious and original cuisine and an excellent selection of all kinds of wines. During the holiday season, thousands of scuba diving enthusiasts, nightlife enthusiasts and numerous gourmets come to the local beaches. We will tell you how to get to Portugal on your own.
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The fastest and easiest way to get to distant lands is by air. Today, numerous European and domestic companies offer their services to passengers. Until recently, the best option for a flight was the offer of the Turkish air carrier Turkish Airlines, whose planes made daily flights from Moscow to Lisbon. Of course, this path cannot be called fast. After all, we had to make one transfer in Istanbul.
The journey takes on average 12 hours 45 minutes, and the ticket price is quite modest - the flight will cost only 11 thousand 250 rubles. But there are some nuances. Firstly, you will have to take off from Sheremetyevo very early - the aircraft enters the airspace at 5:30 am. Secondly, in connection with recent events, Russia is considering the issue of suspending air traffic with Ankara. Therefore, it is worth having a backup option in case the specified flight is canceled.
Companies such as Ryanair, Iberia, British Airlines and many others are ready to please tourists with alternative offers that differ slightly in price. On the planes of these air carriers, you can get from Moscow International Airport to Lisbon for only 17,900-18,500 rubles, and the flight will take from 14.30 hours to 18 hours 20 minutes, depending on the chosen route. Accordingly, you will have to come to terms with the need to make one or even two transfers at airports in European countries.
If you don’t have that much time, we recommend taking a closer look at the offers of the Russian company Aeroflot and the German carrier Lufthansa, whose planes will fly you to sunny Portugal in just 7 hours 10 minutes! In this case, you only have to make one transfer. The cost of a ticket for planes of a German company starts from 46,700 rubles, and a flight on a Russian carrier’s aircraft will cost at least 1,000 rubles more.
The list of low-cost airlines flying from Moscow to Europe is in our article.
As you can see, it is quite expensive to fly directly from Russia. Therefore, we advise you to use the appropriate sites to search for more budget offers that belong to low-cost airlines. Although the road will include several transfers, and you will need to spend a little more time on the way, the price will pleasantly surprise you. One of the most popular low-cost airlines is easyJet, whose planes fly between Moscow and the countries of mainland Europe, from the airport of which you can easily get to Lisbon without spending a lot of money.
Train
Today, there are no direct trains departing from the capital's railway station, the route of which runs straight to the Côte d'Azur of Portugal. Therefore, if you prefer this particular method of traveling around Europe, we recommend choosing a route with transfers. The most optimal routes will be those that run through Spain and France. It is with these countries that Portugal has close railway connections.
How to travel around Europe cheaply by train - a useful life hack.
In particular, you can get to Paris by train, which starts from Moscow and passes through Berlin. The cost of a one-way trip will be:
- in a first class carriage – 210-419 euros per person
- in a 2nd class carriage – 190-298 euros
- in a luxury carriage from 960 to 1100 euros per person
You can get to Madrid in a similar way. Travel time from the Russian capital will be 33 hours, the route will run through Paris. The cost of tickets, depending on the type of carriage, will range from 17,900 to 54,800 rubles per person one way.
Upon arrival in Madrid, you need to purchase a ticket for the night train Lusitania Comboio, which leaves the platform at 22.25 hours daily.
Bus
You can choose a similar route that will run through the territory of European countries along highways. There is no direct bus connection with Portuguese cities from Russia. Therefore, you have to travel with transfers. In particular, from Madrid you can easily get to Lisbon bus station using Avanza Bus. From the Spanish capital, buses depart twice a day - at 12 o'clock and 21 o'clock, and the journey will take no more than 8.5 hours.
Read about all the advantages and disadvantages of bus tours in our article.
Now you know how to get to Portugal and can choose the best route for your trip.
In April-May 2016 we were on vacation in Portugal. But, while planning the route, it became clear that going to Portugal is many times cheaper through Spain (that is, flying to Madrid, renting a car there and driving through half of Spain to Portugal). Renting a car at Madrid airport also turned out to be 3 times cheaper than renting it at the airport in Lisbon or Porto.
Thus, it was decided to go through Spain and at the same time visit Andalusia. We rent a car (click on the link): select the city, dates and requirements for the car and compare prices. Basic requirements that you should pay attention to: mileage included, where the car is provided (for example, right at the airport, or someone will meet you and take you to the office), what insurance is included, automatic or manual transmission, number of people seated, number doors. Everything else is highly variable, especially the make of the selected car. It will almost never correspond to what was ordered)))
And we look at the best tickets to Madrid using this wonderful calendar (of course, the prices are the most pleasant; by the way, the weather in Seville in January is very comfortable):
So, the main points of our route:
1. We arrive in Madrid. We immediately take a car and go to a hotel located along the route of our trip. This is not the first time we have stayed in the Getafe area. In general, there are decent hotels in this area at very economical prices. This time we stop at Holiday Inn Express Madrid-Getafe and for 50 euros/night we get a decent room with breakfast, free parking and a Carrefour hypermarket around the corner. By the way, there is also a good shopping center called Getafe The Style Outlets, where only locals live. We there too either buy something essential like T-shirts or socks for every day, and definitely a SIM card in Orange with unlimited Internet throughout Spain and 2 GB in Europe (Mundo tariff).
Since this is Spain, it is necessary to purchase, firstly, baby supplies and food, and secondly, water and snacks. This is not the first time we have been traveling and we understand that with their siesta and real weekends (even hypermarkets are not open on Sunday and Monday or Saturday, it varies), it is easy to stay hungry.
2. We stop by Toledo. We have already been to this city and, to our misfortune, tried local marzipans and macaroons. And now we can’t eat them anywhere, anywhere in the world, except Toledo. So, of course, we stop by for some tasty treats.
Goodies are sold in the Old Town, in the Mazapan shop (link to Google maps). It’s also worth taking a walk in the Old Town - the Cathedral there is incredibly beautiful and of incredible size.
It is one of the largest in Spain. It houses many masterpieces - from paintings by El Greco, Caravaggio, Titian and other famous artists to outstanding examples of medieval jewelry.
3. Let's go to Cordoba and stay there for a couple of nights. We chose a hotel in the very center, from the windows of the room you could practically touch the walls of the Mezquita - Hotel Mezquita.
The hotel has simple rooms, but the lobby looks no more modest than the halls of the Hermitage or the Vatican Museum.
But along with the proximity to history - noisy celebrations under the windows until 3 am, the inability to get to the hotel (in a couple of places, and we were driving using Google navigator, we touched the walls of houses with both ears in a WV Polo car), it seems that we got into the camera and We are waiting for a fine. Accordingly, public paid expensive parking is a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel with suitcases.
Cordoba is an incredible city and we loved it. Here you must visit: the Mezquita, the Alcazar, the Roman Bridge (which has stood for 2100 years), the Old Town. We arrived on the eve of the Courtyard Festival, which takes place in May, so the whole city was charmingly decorated.
Not far from Cordoba (27 km) there is a very beautiful Spanish castle - Almodovar (Castillo de Almodovar del Rio). Follow the link for its location on Google Maps.
4. On the way to Seville we stop in a town Setenil de Las Bodegas. This is a town built in the mountains, or rather right in the rocks. There are several famous photos on the Internet where the roofs of houses are made of stones. That's where we went. The town is charming. It took us 2-3 hours to completely get around it (including the ascent and descent in the rocks). But, in principle, you can stay there for the night:
5. Rhonda- also passing through. Although it is worth staying overnight in this city. True, there are not a lot of budget hotels here. The city, hovering over an abyss in the mountains, was built at an altitude of 740 meters above sea level, and is very popular among tourists. The most famous and worthwhile attractions:
One of the oldest and largest bullfighting stadiums Plaza de Toros
Puente Nuevo- an 18th-century bridge 98 m high across the Guadalevin River, dividing the city into 2 parts, Old and New.
Arab baths (Baños Árabes)- a monument of the Moorish period in Ronda, which never belonged to the Moors. This is a Romanesque structure that imitated Arabic architecture.
6. Seville- here we stay for 2 days. Although the city is already large, touristy and even dirty. We are staying at the Pasarela Hotel across the street from the charming Plaza de España. Parking is free, breakfast is included. And on the square you can walk on warm Spanish evenings:
Also worth visiting in Seville:
Seville Cathedral and Alcazar. The famous Game of Thrones was filmed in the Alcázar de Sevilla. And on the dates of our stay in the city, they just started showing the new season. Twice we tried to get into the Alcazar gardens, but the queues were unbearable. I really regret that we didn’t get there:
A structure made of concrete and wood that stands out from its general surroundings, the Metropol Parasol ( Metropol Parasol) or Seville Mushrooms. At the bottom of this structure is a museum containing Roman and Moorish remains discovered during the construction of the site. And on the top (4th floor) there is a panoramic platform with a view of the whole of Seville:
7. Huelva) is a historical city almost on the very border with Portugal. It is notable for the fact that it was from here that Christopher Columbus went to America. This is where the Columbus Museum is located. (Muelle de las Carabelas) with a huge park, a monastery, and all kinds of entertainment. But on Mondays the museum is closed, we were only able to photograph the prototypes of the legendary sailing ships from afar. I was surprised how small they really are:
Well, that’s all, we’re driving across the long bridge into Portugal. The measured Spanish rhythm of life is replaced by a bustle similar to Russian. The roads are much worse, so there are tolls. Fuel is 25% more expensive than in Spain (30 euro cents). But supermarkets are almost always open and nutritional establishments are also open. This is the cry of the soul of a hungry independent tourist in Spain.
The south of Portugal is, first of all, incredibly beautiful beaches. We traveled the entire coast, and most of all we liked Portimão and Lagos for vacation. Both in terms of access to beautiful pictures and service in these cities
8. Portimao - we lived here for a couple of days and rode along the coast. There are many hotels and apartments along the beach. There are more interesting ones, but what is on booking.com is mediocre in terms of service (very reminiscent of Soviet sanatoriums), but at a reasonable price. We lived in an apartment on the first line, with windows overlooking the ocean, with parking for 5,000 rubles for two days. These sentences are most often spoken by Moldovans, or Russians, or Ukrainians. A lot of Russian speech. The locals are friendly and welcoming. And these are the pictures from the window:
The beaches are wide, the ocean is cool in May, but you can swim. There are a large number of sports grounds and, in principle, sports people. Again, very much in contrast to Spain, which is hooked on almost 24-hour fast food.
These areas are more expensive, but there are many delicious restaurants here. Russian speakers serve again. It’s almost like being at home, only the portions of the dishes are such that you couldn’t eat them alone:
9. We walk around Lagos and neighboring beaches. Clean, tidy city:
Beaches nearby:
10. Then we go to Lisbon - the city that everyone falls in love with. The Old Town is interesting here, where you can walk for hours, zigzagging around each block on foot. There are a lot of tourists here. There are many hotels to suit every taste, color and budget. We lived right next to the 25th of April Bridge - in this area parking is easier and it is easier to travel further to the north of Portugal.
It's worth staying in Lisbon for 3-4 days. We didn't visit much. We just walked around the city, despite the rain.
With children, you should definitely visit the Lisbon Aquarium in the Parc des Nations. There are also a lot of excellent reviews about the Lisbon Zoo, but we didn’t have time to go there.
11. Let's go to Sintra. This city is also a must visit. It is also a must to stay there for 2-3 days. Our mistake - we were passing through.
On the way to Cape Roca we pass very windy beaches and real Atlantic dunes:
Cape Roca is a significant place - the westernmost point of Europe. But from the picture, in our easternmost Russian places it’s exactly the same, only the transport and souvenir infrastructure is worse.
We hung out for 2-3 hours in Massona Monteiro's Quinta da Regaleira palace park. An interesting palace in the neo-Gothic style, a Catholic chapel and a huge park with fountains, grottoes, and lakes were built here. All sorts of riddles and Masonic symbols are scattered throughout the park.
I now have the famous photo of the well. Here you need to go through the grotto and climb through this well from “Hell to Heaven”. But for some reason, Russian guides lead Russians from top to bottom, interfering with the oncoming flow:
The famous Pena Palace, which we didn’t have time to visit because we took a walk in the Masonic Park:
Also worth a visit Moors Castle Castelo dos Mouros, built in the 9th century.
12. Let's go to Aveiro), where we stop for the night. And in the morning we walk around a very interesting city with mosaic houses:
This is the Portuguese Venice, where you can also ride gondolas. But after lunch, because in the morning there is no water in the canals.
The place to stay is the excellent Hotel Aveiro Palace with views of the canal and gondolas and a wonderful interior in a cozy English style:
When staying in Aveiro, you can’t help but stop in Praia da Costa Nova- this is a place with these cute striped houses. Initially, fishermen painted their houses this way. Later, this corporate style was supported by all the houses in the town:
And we are leaving Portugal. Few? Yes. But it’s enough to get to know the country.
What I collected from Portugal, but was not able to visit, I am attaching links to Google maps to make it easier to include these points in your routes:
- Évora - the city is interesting for its architecture. Here are the Catholic Cathedral and the preserved columns of the Roman Temple. There is also a Chapel of Bones, the interior walls of which are covered with human bones and skulls. In principle, you can route from Madrid to Lisbon through Évora.
Towns Estoril And Cascais-located 25 km from Lisbon. The party scene doesn't stop here: nice sandy beaches, cafes, restaurants (there are Michelin-starred ones), casinos, shopping. We drove past them. Nice towns. This is the Portuguese Riviera - many wealthy Europeans have villas and mansions here.
Also not far from Sintra (30 km) and simply a must visit - the city of Mafra and Mafra National Palace. This is a monastery, the largest palace and altar of the Portuguese kings. Next to the palace there is a nature reserve and a royal garden. They are also worth a visit.
Ericeira International Nature Reserve with the ten best beaches for this sport. They say Ericeira is second only to Malibu.
Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitoria ( Mosteiro da Batalha) is a Dominican monastery in the Gothic style, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The village of Monsanto - where residents have been living in houses built in boulders for the last centuries. The walls or roofs are made of stones. About the same as in Setenil in Spain. We really wanted to capture this point on our route. But they did not fit into the standard two-week vacation.
- Porto- does not require my description. Many people say that this city is much more interesting than Lisbon. I think we will definitely get there again.
- or stone house, which is present in all ratings of the most unusual houses. It was built from two boulders in 1974. It is located in the north of Portugal, you need to go there specifically, because there is nothing interesting nearby. The house is two-story, with stone furniture inside. The residents abandoned it because the idea of living in solitude did not justify itself - curious tourists were constantly breaking into the house.
And we cross the border with Spain, running into a queue at a gas station with fuel 25% cheaper. And to closed cafes and shops. There's nowhere to even buy coffee. Eh, Portugal relaxed.
13. We arrive at Salamanca. This is the highest capital of the Spanish provinces, located at an altitude of 1128 meters above sea level. It is surrounded by a fortress wall, erected in the 11th-14th centuries on the site of Roman and Arab fortifications. The length of the wall is 2.5 km. And inside the Old Town with the Cathedral, churches, cozy restaurants and cafes
15. Let's go to Madrid, spend the night and fly home the next day. This time we rented a hotel in the city center. And they realized that this was stupidity. Questionable service, dirty rooms, parties and noise under the windows all night, expensive parking (35 euros per day, barely found for 18 euros) a 10-minute walk with suitcases and a stroller from the hotel. I don't like Madrid. We are already old for him and are not ready to party like young people do. For us, this is exclusively the starting or ending point of our route.
In total, the entire route was 2365 km, 13 days of travel, visited 22 cities and plunged into 2 such different countries.
I think we will combine the north of Portugal (from Porto and everything north) with a trip to the north of Spain. Also worth a separate trip is Andalusia: Malaga, Cadiz, Granada and Almeria, with a visit to Gibraltar and possibly a trip to Morocco by ferry. By the way, do you know that there are Spanish cities in Morocco? The EU territory in Africa is Melilla and Ceuta. I really want to visit.
Lots of links about Spain
Of course, I was already tired of Europe, but the thought of seeing the ocean outweighed everything else. We are about to go to Portugal, the country of port and green wine. However, tickets from Moscow to Lisbon in the time period we chose (mid-April) turned out to be expensive, so it was decided to go to Spain (Moscow-Barcelona), and from there make a trip to the Portuguese-Ocean coast.
There was little time, but I wanted to see a lot of things, so the trip turned out to be very eventful. In a week we traveled along the route Barcelona-Figueres-Madrid-Lisbon-Sintra-Porto-Madrid-Barcelona. At the same time, we spent three nights in tents (once in a city park in the center of Barcelona, another on the ocean shore in a small resort town near Porto, the third in a small picturesque cove on the Mediterranean coast in the Costa Brava), and spent another three nights in intercity buses, and only spent the remaining time in hostel hotels. We managed to see all the main attractions, visit a bunch of legendary places, see the creations of the great crazy Gaudi and Dali, appreciate the beauty of nature and feel the local flavor.
Barcelona greeted us with palm trees, sea air, floral freshness and crowds of young people hanging out. The feeling (air, warmth) is as if you are arriving in some eastern country, but before your eyes is a real Europe. The combination is unexpected and pleasant. The city itself is very beautiful and interesting. The narrow winding streets of the Old City, the ancient buildings of the Gothic Quarter, the diamond-shaped squares of the Eixample, lined with incredible precision, and, of course, the crowded embankment with a crazy number of white yachts and long sandy beaches are worthy of attention. Naturally, having visited Barcelona, you cannot help but see the world-famous modernist buildings of Gaudi - the Sagrada Familia, Pedrera, as well as admire other buildings in the same style, of which there are quite a few in the city.
On weekends, especially on Saturday evenings, there are very few places in hotels and hostels in the city. It’s almost impossible to find something, even out of season. But now we know a very cozy small park next to the bus station, where we pitched tents and spent a wonderful night at the very beginning of the journey. For two more nights, at the end of the trip, when we got back to Barcelona, we slept in a hotel (50 euros) and a hostel (15 euros). In general, plan your overnight stay in Barcelona in advance and book your place in the sun ahead of time, especially if you plan to visit this beautiful city on the weekend. Well, if things don’t work out, the wonderful park is always open to travelers.
From Barcelona we went to Figueres (about 2 hours by train), where we visited the house-museum of Salvador Dali. From the creations of a madman, I expected a little more madness than what I saw. But it’s still worth looking at the flight of surreal thoughts. The city itself is quite picturesque and you can wander around it with pleasure. There is also a fortress in Figueres where you can climb some catacombs, although we limited ourselves to drinking wine near the fortress walls.
As for “hotel Spain”, all the towns along the Costa Brava make an extremely bad impression: the hotels are small, somewhat uncomfortable in appearance, and in general, you can’t expect anything good from the tourist centers. But there we found a nice little lagoon-cove, surrounded on three sides by boulders and overlooking the sea. There we set up camp, spending the night almost at the very edge of the water the penultimate night. The sea was cold, but the air was warm and there was complete calm. Only the sound of the waves, the hiss of a gas burner on which mulled wine is being prepared from delicious Spanish wine, and the songs of six tired but satisfied travelers broke the silence of that night.
By the way, you can ride the metro in Barcelona completely free, if you show a little ingenuity and stock up on arrogance. It is easy to step over the turnstiles, climb over them or crawl under them. Moreover, this can be done even in front of the cashiers - 90% of them will still not pay any attention to you. As for electric trains, there are sometimes controllers, but only where there are no turnstiles at the stations. Where there are turnstiles, you can again ride like a hare completely calmly. You can have a meal (drink coffee with buns, eat paella or pizza) in any of the many Barcelona cafes, and the prices in them do not depend on the location of the cafe, that is, they are approximately the same both at train stations and near the main attractions, and even in the wildest slums . There are also many supermarkets and shops where you can buy all sorts of seafood, cheeses, wine and have a snack in some park.
The second famous Spanish city, and even the capital, Madrid, somehow didn’t appeal to me. Maybe it was because it was raining the day we were there, maybe it was because of the half-sleepless night on the Barcelona-Madrid bus (25 euros, 34 euros - 1st class), or maybe the city really is not as beautiful as they say about it. But in any case, we walked around Madrid all day, looked at palaces, parks with peacocks, cathedrals, architectural wonders in the form of a small Egyptian temple, supposedly given to Spain by the Egyptians, admired the monuments (for example, the monument to Cervantes - Don Quixote and Sancho Panzo, but especially the donkey was a success in this monument). In general, the city is just like a city, there is nothing super interesting or mind-blowing there.
If you travel from Madrid to Barcelona by train, you will first come across the unremarkable town of Guadalajara, where in the station cafe you can eat an awesome Spanish set lunch for 8 euros (soup, main course, wine, mineral water, dessert). In this same Guadalajara you can look into the mini-zoo and admire all kinds of horned goats, timid deer, groaning ostriches and other living creatures. And further along the path to the sea lies a mythical city with the beautiful name Zaragoza (Zaragoza in Spanish). We never got there, but this city left an indelible mark on our souls and gave rise to a bunch of legends and fables. If you’re in those parts, be sure to check out Zaragoza, you won’t regret it!
And now about the most interesting thing - about Portugal. The country really made a strong impression, although it is very difficult to express what is so attractive about it. In general, absolutely everything is attractive - from the unusual architecture of the houses, the walls of which are tiled, to the incredibly tasty Portuguese paella, from the narrow winding streets running sharply up and down, to the fantastic beauty of the fairytale Pena Castle in Sintra. , from the amazing similarity of the local population to us, to real tropical jungles, completely different from our pine forests.
Lisbon is more like a large port village, nice, almost rural. It’s interesting to just walk the streets here, looking at the patterns on the tiles of houses, studying the contents of local shops, which are in no way similar to ordinary European boutiques, but rather reminiscent of our tents, where everything is sold for 10 rubles. Here you can ride like a breeze through the narrow streets on a crazy tram, almost touching the walls of the houses with your hands hanging out of the windows. From the well-preserved fortress, located on the highest hill, there is an excellent view of the city, with its pile of red tiled roofs, with its wide squares, with its monument to Jesus Christ, who greets everyone entering the city.
Portuguese paella deserves a separate story, although I still can’t describe the taste of this delicacy. I will only say that a portion for one person should be taken for 2, or even 3, otherwise you will have to leave the dish uneaten. You can wash this whole thing down with green wine, slightly reminiscent of champagne, or port. Both of them are national drinks, and I think it would be unnecessary to admire their taste. And it is clear that in the homeland of port there can be neither bad wine nor unsuccessful port. In addition, you should definitely enjoy Portuguese coffee. Here they know how to prepare it correctly, so that after visiting Portugal you will no longer want to drink regular coffee, even if it is three times ground and aromatic.
The most stunning, unimaginable, amazing castle that I, and not only me, managed to see is Pena Castle in Sintra (half an hour by train from Lisbon). There is no style here, which only adds sophistication to the building. You can find something from oriental tales, from Moorish buildings, from Gothic techniques and medieval elements. But it’s better to just enjoy the incredible beauty of the castle, looking at the fantastic views of the mountains from its carved verandas and pretty turrets. The interior of Pena is interesting primarily for its carved furniture, which is presented in large quantities in the rooms of the castle. And when leaving the chambers, a pleasant surprise awaits you - a piece of cake, cookies or chocolate from the castle workers.
There are several other castles in Sintra that are worth visiting, but we had too little time. A special bus takes you to all the sights. Having paid 4 euros once, you can ride it as much as you want, however, it is better to use it as a means of entering the mountain where the castles are (it’s very difficult to go up), and go down on foot. Moreover, I don’t recommend going down just along the road (it’s uncomfortable for your legs); it’s much more interesting to turn onto one of the many paths that go straight into the real jungle, with vines and everything required for a jungle. The walk will be truly exciting. And breathe more and more deeply - the air in Sintra is amazing!
For our first acquaintance with the ocean, we chose the westernmost point of Europe - Capa da Roca. You can get here from Sintra in half an hour by bus, but not everyone can handle the journey - those who are not very good at the vestibular system are better off avoiding such a trip. The bus rushes at breakneck speed along the road, which will be steeper than the Crimean serpentine, and sharp accelerations and equally sharp braking are the order of the day here. However, torment for some is entertainment for others. Somehow this trip looks like a cool attraction. Either way, the cape is worth it. Cliffs falling sharply into the ocean, covered with a carpet of some large white flowers. Fresh ocean wind in your face. Waves crashing against the rocks with lots of splashes. This is the end of Europe. Only distant Brazil lies ahead.
And the ocean is so big, so gentle and cruel at the same time, so all-encompassing, so exciting, so exciting. The ocean gives me an incomprehensible melancholy. Perhaps the longing that I am not the ocean. There is something about him that cannot be expressed in words, cannot be described, or even simply cannot be understood. I don’t want to leave Capa da Roca. The ocean sparkles in the rays of the setting sun and makes an inviting noise in farewell. But we'll be back!
What could be better than spending the night on the ocean? On the way from Lisbon to Porto (about 3 hours by train) we got off in a small town that was probably very touristy during the season. Its streets are empty, as are the few hotels. Only local residents stroll along the neat embankment. Meanwhile, there are beautiful long sandy beaches and very close to the main port wine factory. Not a bad place to set up a tent camp. So what if the townspeople will go for a morning jog near us in the morning. It's night now, and there's only the ocean next to us. We cook mulled wine from delicious Portuguese wine on a gas burner (5 liters for 3 euros), set the table with all kinds of cheeses and sea creatures. Another hour - and we are dancing on the sand, running from the ocean waves, rushing with wild screams along the night beach...
Porto, the second city in Portugal that gives its name to the entire country, is more like a capital than Lisbon. Perhaps due to the more massive and monumental architecture and the presence of a main street completely filled with boutiques. However, the city is beautiful and incredibly picturesque. There was a light drizzle and there were road works everywhere, but this did not spoil the charm of Porto. There are many ancient monuments, interesting facades of houses, cathedrals completely tiled with white and blue tiles. From the train window, the three main bridges across the Dauro River look amazing, and the panorama of the city is simply amazing. Even the inside of the station is of interest here - I have never seen such beautiful interior walls in a public building.
Well, that's all - the journey to the ocean is over. It’s sad to say goodbye, but new discoveries, new countries and new paths await us ahead. And interesting Barcelona and wonderful Portugal will forever remain in our memories.
Our route (Spain-Portugal):
Day 0 – overnight arrival in Barcelona, overnight in tents in a city park
Day 1 – walks around Barcelona, trip to Figueres, transfer by night bus to Madrid
Day 2 – walks around Madrid, transfer by night bus to Lisbon
Day 3 – walks around Lisbon, trip to Sintra and Capa da Roca, overnight at a hotel
Day 4 – walks around Lisbon, train towards Porto, overnight on the ocean
Day 5 – transfer to Porto, walk around Porto, transfer by night bus to Madrid
Day 6 – by train to Guadalajara, walk around Guadalajara, by bus to Barcelona, overnight at a hotel
Day 7 – walks around Barcelona, overnight on the seashore in the southern part of the Costa Brava
Day 8 – walks around Barcelona, visit to the aquarium, overnight in a hostel
Day 9 – walk around Barcelona, flight to Moscow
I turn to the luminaries. The essence of the issue: Direct flights to Portugal and back are expensive. Will it be cheaper if you fly to Barca, and then go (fly) to Portugal on something (I don’t know what else). Will there be problems with border guards? Or if Schengen, then how many times do you want to enter and leave the same number? I'm only interested in relaxing as a savage. And the most budget-friendly.
I would like to add: I have no rights, only planes/trains/buses are considered as transport from Spain. Perhaps I got carried away when I wrote to Barça, I might also consider Madrid. It’s just that tickets to Barca are initially cheaper, and that’s what attracts people.
I wouldn’t limit myself to Spain either - Portugal is located in such a way that transit through most European countries makes sense. When we were choosing in August (although only from flights of one airline with a through ticket), the cheapest flight for our dates was a flight via Helsinki with FinnAir; based on convenience, we chose Swiss via Zurich.
I don’t know, Tamara, where you are planning to fly from.
In September we took the following route: Tampere-Frankfurt-Madrid, from there by car via Salamanca to Porto-Lisbon-Algarve, the same route back. Rainair Airlines. Tickets cost 170 USD.
There were very inexpensive tickets directly to Porto (Tampere-Frankfurt-Porto), but we refused this option only because we had to fly back from Madrid, and if you take a car in one country and return it to another, its cost increases by 1.5 times -2.
Dear forum users, thank you for not ignoring my post. I live in the provinces, the salary is appropriate, so I’m only interested in a budget holiday. It’s more convenient for me to fly through Moscow; I’ll have to make a long detour to St. Petersburg. I only have 2 weeks of vacation, every day is precious. Flying through Europe and spending the night there doesn’t sound like an option. I looked at a thread where they looked at the cheapest options to Portugal through European countries. I understand that the savings are not very big, which is covered by physical and nervous costs. The M-B-M flight is by far the most economical in price, and if KD-avia recovers from its losses, it means there will be even cheaper options, and even from my city directly. Is it possible to get from Barça to Portugal by public transport? What does this mean? Has anyone gone? I haven't had time to look at your links yet. Thank you.
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To date, the cheapest flight has been announced as 35 euros, and of this has increased by 50.
I have a lot of questions for Nastya about Ryanair.
1. How did you get to Tampere? If you have your own car, where did you leave it and how much does it cost?
2. Ticket 170 euros.
Is this what the Ryanair website gave you with all the fees and taxes?
Were there any other surcharges at the airport itself when checking in for a flight?
3. Regarding flight connections. Did it work out well in one day or did you have to spend the night in Hahn?
4. If you had a successful connection, were you checked in immediately in Tampere for the Frankfurt-Madrid flight or did you have to collect your luggage and check in again?
5. Ryanair provides food during the flight or only for an additional fee. fee?
If possible, in more detail, please. And then I found it. cheap tickets via Frankfurt (HHN) and now in deep thought.
Lidia SPb, although I’m not Nastya, I will answer you!
1) You can get to Tampere in several ways:
a.taxi. The asking price is 50 euros from the nose. Call companies that offer “to-location” delivery. I once bargained for 35. True, there were 8 of us.
b. buses: go to Helsinki 10-12 euros, change to a regular bus to Tampere 27 euros. There, a bus to the airport costs 5 euros. That is, it’s not a particularly big difference, especially considering that having traveled such a long way, you’ll want to eat and so on...
2) I can’t answer this question, but how it was for us:
When buying an e-ticket, you usually pay:
a. the cost of the ticket (i.e. the fare, which is often 1 cent)
b. TAX
V. luggage (if needed! we usually only order in the return direction, because we carry almost nothing there)
d. fee for check-in (if you are a citizen of Russia, then this point is inevitable. But if you have a passport of one of the Schengen countries, then you can check-in online and not pay for check-in at the airport)
d. transaction fee
e. insurance (of course, if you don’t have an extra 15 euros, you can leave it, but we always uncheck this box)
and. priority boarding. This is something like business class. Joke. You can just be the first to board. First those with “priority boarding” coupons, then everyone else. Costs about 5 euros. We usually uncheck this box too and always sit where we want.
This is how the total price comes up.
3. I won’t say anything for sure. Although no, I will say. We wanted to fly through Frankfurt many times, but we always changed our minds, and whenever possible we fly through Bremen for the reason that the airport there is 10 minutes away by tram. (In most cases it's free by the way). and the arrival time in Frankfurt, as far as I remember, is inconvenient. Finding a hotel near the airport is not a problem, but do you want to spend money on it?
4. If you are flying with some connections on Ryanair, then no one knows about it except you. Thus, you need to arrive, get your luggage, then go with the others and check in for another flight, check in your luggage, etc. If the plane is late and you don’t have time to change planes, then Ryanair doesn’t care about that either. such low cost.
5. Feeds for an additional fee. And it's tasteless.
Where, if it’s not a secret, did you find the tickets?
I'll try in order...
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We got there on our own in our own car. The flight was at 16.50, we left in the morning at 9 o'clock. The car was left in the parking lot directly opposite the entrance; when you check in, there is a machine that issues tickets indicating the date and time of arrival. When we arrived back, we got into the car and when leaving the parking lot, we put a piece of paper into the machine, it showed the cost, and the money was withdrawn there. If in cash, then with this coupon in the airport building (if you can call a small building with one entrance/exit that way:) you can pay in cash.
Parking cost 60 USD. For two weeks.
We were just in a hurry, but they say that there is cheaper parking a little further away.
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This is me writing the total cost with all surcharges and fees.
Tickets were cheaper, but we paid 15 USD. per flight - it's 10 USD. luggage 5 USD for check-in for the flight.
Those. if you don't pay 10 USD for luggage, you can only take 10 kg of things into the cabin, and of a certain size. If you pay, you can check in another 15 kg as luggage.
As for registration, only citizens of the European Union can register via the Internet. So you have to pay 5 USD for one flight.
In general, in addition to the ticket price of 110 USD. we paid 60 USD. = so it came out to 170 USD
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We were unable to connect flights on the same day. There are many flights from Hana in the morning once a day, but from Tampere on the required dates there were only flights in the late afternoon.
On the way there, we arrived in Hahn at about 6 pm and spent the night in a hotel directly opposite the entrance to the airport B&B Hotel Frankfurt Hahn-Airport, the room cost 54 USD. The next day at 14:00 we flew to Madrid.
On the way back, we arrived in Hahn at 15:00 and immediately left by bus to Frankfurt, the journey takes 1 hour and 45 minutes, the bus arrives at the central station. We spent the night there in a simple hotel 5 minutes from the station, the room cost 45 USD. In the morning we took the same bus back to the airport.
We checked in for every flight and received/checked in luggage all the time. But with Rainair it’s so simple and fast that there’s no hassle or long waits - it’s like in a minibus, you hand over your things, get on, fly, get it and you’re free)))
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During the flight, food is provided only for an additional fee. We took coffee, tea, broth, wine, and sandwiches a couple of times. Hot food is available, but most of the menu is out of stock. And so, we ate very well before the flight, when we were waiting for boarding in the same Hana and on the plane during the 2-hour flight we didn’t feel like eating at all
If you write general impressions - I liked it, Rainair did not disappoint. The planes are clean and tidy. All flights without a single delay. Luggage is unloaded within 10 minutes, which is convenient, you don’t have to wait for it and waste time. In short, they work clearly and harmoniously. And even the fact that they don’t give you a specific seat on the plane was not a problem. Whoever wanted stood at the exits for about 30 minutes and ran first to the plane to take their seats. We were usually one of the last to crawl up and sat down normally, well, maybe not all of us nearby (there were 6 of us), but two of us next to each other.
If space is important, then you can pay 10 USD. It seems like you will sit exactly in the first 3 rows.
I hope I was able to help you and wrote everything clearly enough.
If you have any more questions, I will be happy to answer!
Rail transport in Portugal is well developed. There are excellent high-speed trains with soft seats, which are always clean and air-conditioned.
The railway network is quite extensive and covers all major cities throughout the country. You can download it here. Often these routes are duplicated by comfortable buses, so you can always choose different ways to travel. The main carrier is the company.
Portugal is a fairly small country and can be crossed from north to south in about six hours. If you have a seat by the window, you can admire beautiful views of the mountains and ocean.
Popular routes
High-speed trains. They follow the route Lisbon-Porto Braga and Porto Lisbon-Faro. There are first and second class carriages. There is free Wi-Fi in all carriages. There is a cafeteria and minibar, snacks and drinks are served by stewards.
In first class, they treat you to drinks, give you the latest newspapers, and have the opportunity to watch videos and listen to music. Some seats are equipped with tables. In the second class there are fewer services, but in terms of comfort they do not differ significantly.
Intercidades (IC)
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There are first and second class carriages. They move at essentially the same speed as the AP, but make more stops. There is a cafeteria and minibar. There are practically no differences between the first and second class.
Regional®;
Only the second, that is, tourist class. They move short distances, connecting small cities. Also very comfortable trains.
Doors open on Portuguese trains
using a special button at the entrance and exit.
International trains in Portugal
Sud Expresso
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These trains once connected Lisbon and Paris, but now they only run along the southern part of the legendary route. This is an overnight train that goes to the Spanish city of Irun or the French city of Hendaye on the border with Spain.
Travel time: approximately 14 hours 30 minutes. Ticket price in second class: 69 €. Trains depart from Santa Apolonia Station.
In Irun and Hendaye it is possible to change to the TGV train to Paris.
Travel time: approximately 8 hours 30 minutes.
Lusitania
Night train from Lisbon to Madrid. Travel time: about 11 hours. Ticket price: 61 €. Trains depart from Santa Apolonia Station.
The train has: second class seating, a sleeper compartment for 4 people with a washbasin, a compartment for 1 or 2 people with a washbasin, a suite for 1 or 2 people, lockable with a key, with a bathroom.
Train tickets in Portugal
Train tickets are sold at ticket offices and vending machines at train stations. The machines accept coins, bills and cards. You can also buy a ticket on the official website. Tickets can be purchased 30 days before train departure.
There is almost no difference between AP and IC in comfort and speed, the difference in price is about 5 €.
AP and IC tickets are only valid for a specific train, carriage number and seat. Tickets for regional and commuter trains are valid for 24 hours for one trip and any place.
- Children from 4 to 12: 50% discount
- Return tickets are cheaper
- Bicycles can be carried free of charge.