Spain/Portugal/Gibraltar - At last: Metro to LIS airport

LIS was one of the last European capital airports without metro or rail service. That all changes tomorrow, July 17. The Metro is opening inside LIS terminal 1.

This will be done as an extension of the red line from Oriente station to the airport. It's not necessarily the most convenient to get downtown or to the tourist sites, but at least you can get there. The red line intersects all other metro lines, so you can get anywhere on the metro network with at most one train change.

The red line is very convenient to get to the Oriente station for connecting train service to other parts of Portugal (Coimbra, Porto, Faro, Tomar, Sintra, etc.; anywhere really, except Cascais).

Great to hear. We try to get over to LIS at least three times a year, and we don't pay any fancy-pants airport/hotel transfer service, so this is good news.

^

The latest metro diagram, including the "Aeroporto" station, is at http://www.metrolisboa.pt/informacao/planear-a-viagem/diagrama/

LIS airport could be nearly managed by walking straight to the city,
for those well fitted and light packed.

Probably the centremost airport among european capitals (LCY aside).
Now the metro station eases things greatly.

Lisboa is such a lovely city.

Moving to our new Iberian forum. Please continue to follow the thread here.

stut
Co-Moderator
Europe Forum

There is a relatively quick bus service from the airport that is very cheap and taxis are relatively cheap also.
Not sure how an inconvenient metro route will make things better.

Probably the centremost airport among european capitals (LCY aside).

Maybe true if you are a banker (and work in the City or Canary Wharf). But I find central Lisboa to LIS a lot easier and quicker (and cheaper) than going from, let's say, Westminster to LCY. I find that the "proximity" aspect of LCY is much over-hyped, and getting there is as difficult as getting to anywhere else in London, especially compared to other European cities.

Just curious how long it takes to get from LIS to downtown via cab. I have a quick trip coming up and I am trying to do an itinerary. If I arrive at LIS at 10:15 a.m. and I have to clear customs, would I be at the downtown hotel (probably the Clarion) by 11:15 a.m.?

On the trip back, if I have a 6:10 p.m. flight, would I need to leave the downtown hotel by 4:00 p.m., or is that way too early?

Thanks for any input.

Just curious how long it takes to get from LIS to downtown via cab. I have a quick trip coming up and I am trying to do an itinerary. If I arrive at LIS at 10:15 a.m. and I have to clear customs, would I be at the downtown hotel (probably the Clarion) by 11:15 a.m.?

On the trip back, if I have a 6:10 p.m. flight, would I need to leave the downtown hotel by 4:00 p.m., or is that way too early?

Thanks for any input.

I've certainly made it within an hour, but there are a host of complications that could make that a difficult target to achieve.

Taxi is fast, and inexpensive. 15 minutes or so should cover the journey itself, but traffic could screw things up. The taxi queue at arrivals can be long, and the drivers, well, awkward. A handy alternative is to make the short journey up to the depatures level and take a taxi from the rank there.

The walk from non-EU airbridge gates to immigration can be a challenge. And the queues you find for immigration/passport checks can eat up more time, but that depends on your passport as well as the volume of arrivals.

If you have checked baggage, that could mess up your timing. It can take an awful long time to appear on the carousels.

I've certainly made it within an hour, but there are a host of complications that could make that a difficult target to achieve.

Taxi is fast, and inexpensive. 15 minutes or so should cover the journey itself, but traffic could screw things up. The taxi queue at arrivals can be long, and the drivers, well, awkward. A handy alternative is to make the short journey up to the depatures level and take a taxi from the rank there.

The walk from non-EU airbridge gates to immigration can be a challenge. And the queues you find for immigration/passport checks can eat up more time, but that depends on your passport as well as the volume of arrivals.

If you have checked baggage, that could mess up your timing. It can take an awful long time to appear on the carousels.

Thanks! Very helpful information. It is such a short trip I think I can make it without checking bags, although I hate trying to get all the liquids into that little bag. The practical travel advice info on flyertalk is always better than "official" travel sites.

Just curious how long it takes to get from LIS to downtown via cab. I have a quick trip coming up and I am trying to do an itinerary. If I arrive at LIS at 10:15 a.m. and I have to clear customs, would I be at the downtown hotel (probably the Clarion) by 11:15 a.m.?

On the trip back, if I have a 6:10 p.m. flight, would I need to leave the downtown hotel by 4:00 p.m., or is that way too early?

Thanks for any input.

a. Jetway takes forever to get connected up to the plane. If it's not a bus, you'll probably be in the terminal 15 mins after landing.

b. Where are you arriving from? If from outside of Schengen, it's right around this time that many int'l flights from the Americas arrive and Passport control is a nightmare (took about an hour to get through last time around).

c. Bags can take a good 30 mins to come out at any time of the day. Having priority tags helps.

So best case scenario: you arrive in LIS on a Schengen flight that parks at a gate, you don't have bags, walk outside within 10 minutes of landing, catch a cab, which will take 15 mins to get to your hotel.

Worst case scenario: you arrive at a remote stand from a non-Schengen destination, and have to wait in a huge passport control line. (we're 75 minutes into it at this point). Then the taxi will take 15 mins to your hotel... 90 mins total.


On the way back:
You can leave around 4:30 pm and make it with no problems bags or no bags.

a. Jetway takes forever to get connected up to the plane. If it's not a bus, you'll probably be in the terminal 15 mins after landing.

b. Where are you arriving from? If from outside of Schengen, it's right around this time that many int'l flights from the Americas arrive and Passport control is a nightmare (took about an hour to get through last time around).

c. Bags can take a good 30 mins to come out at any time of the day. Having priority tags helps.

So best case scenario: you arrive in LIS on a Schengen flight that parks at a gate, you don't have bags, walk outside within 10 minutes of landing, catch a cab, which will take 15 mins to get to your hotel.

Worst case scenario: you arrive at a remote stand from a non-Schengen destination, and have to wait in a huge passport control line. (we're 75 minutes into it at this point). Then the taxi will take 15 mins to your hotel... 90 mins total.


On the way back:
You can leave around 4:30 pm and make it with no problems bags or no bags.

Thanks for the answers. I go from the US to Lisbon with a connection in Madrid (US Airways to TAP in Madrid). What's a Schengen?

Thanks for the answers. I go from the US to Lisbon with a connection in Madrid (US Airways to TAP in Madrid). What's a Schengen?

A Schengen country is basically any country in the EU except UK & Ireland. Romania and Bulgaria are EU states that will be Schengen but as yet are not.

Confusingly, Iceland, Liechenstein, Norway and Switzerland are not in the EU, yet all are Schengen states.

Schengen countries operate a virtually border-free environment among themselves. Thus arriving in Lisbon from Madrid you do not face the passport rigmarole that passengers from London have to go through: you arrive as a "domestic" passenger. Entering Europe through a Schengen gateway means you can travel easily to and between all other Schengen states.

Schengen is the town in Luxembourg where the treaty defining this regime was signed.

Andy2: so for you, you're looking at a maximum of 30 mins to wait from touchdown if you check bags, or a more realistic 15 mins if you don't check bags. Then it's a 15-min taxi ride to the center. Make sure the taxi driver does not turn on "tarifa 3", but keeps it on "tarifa 1" (2€ starting rate during the day, 2.50€ at night).

With the new subway line to/from LIS, is it better to use the subway, bus or taxi to go from the airport to the Sheraton Lisboa? There will be two of us with just carry-on bags. Our flight is scheduled to land at 6 a.m. on a weekday.

Thanks.

The metro opens at 6:30 (that means the first train from the airport leaves at 6:30). The Sheraton is just south of Saldanha station, which is on the same line as the airport (travel time around 20-25 mins). Price is 1.75€ per person for the one rider or 5.50€ per person if you buy the day pass (including a 0.50€ cost for the card). The taxi will be just a bit quicker and will cost around 8-10€ (including a 1.60€ surcharge for bags).

Rush hour in LIS doesn't start until 8:30AM-9:00AM and if this is in August, there's no rush hour to speak of.

With the new subway line to/from LIS, is it better to use the subway, bus or taxi to go from the airport to the Sheraton Lisboa? There will be two of us with just carry-on bags. Our flight is scheduled to land at 6 a.m. on a weekday.

Thanks.

Subway would be a pain, with a change to Picoas, the station more or less under the Sheraton.

Public bus (745,44,83) take you past the Sheraton for EUR1.75 per person: you are likely not to find seats so not the most comfortable experience. The dedicated airport bus follows the same route but stops less frequently and costs EUR3.50.

Far, far more comfortable to take a taxi. And price-wise at EUR10 or so for two, it's the most cost-time efficient! But see the hint above about taking the taxi from the departure level.

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Forgot to add that friends at the Sheraton were seriously conned by a taxi from the hotel TO the airport, resulting in a nasty scene at departures. I'm sure it's not a Sheraton specific problem; and, yes, they should have made sure the meter was engaged. But perhaps worth taking note for travelling from tourism hot-spots.

Picoas and Saldanha are <300m apart and <250m from the Sheraton. I would not connecting from the red to the yellow line. Just exit towards the front, go up the stairs, turn left, go up the escalator, and walk the 250m to the hotel.

Bus 745 is no longer operating. 44 is now 744 and 83 is 783. Of the buses mentioned above, 744 and 783 will get you to where you need to go. At 6AM there will be plenty of seats, but metro operates much more frequently.
The single bus ticket is 1.75€ if bought on board.

I think it's a toss between the Metro and Taxi, with the metro beating on price and taxi on time. The bus, if it shows up around the same time, will probably be as fast as the metro.

Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it.

I've certainly made it within an hour, but there are a host of complications that could make that a difficult target to achieve.

Taxi is fast, and inexpensive. 15 minutes or so should cover the journey itself, but traffic could screw things up. The taxi queue at arrivals can be long, and the drivers, well, awkward. A handy alternative is to make the short journey up to the depatures level and take a taxi from the rank there.

^ Good news regarding this new option.

I hate the taxi cabal at LIS. I was victimized by it twice and since then have walked/bused it downtown. The bus is however quite strict on its interpretation of allowable luggage sizes - more so than the airlines, I have found. Metro will be easier in this respect.

^ Good news regarding this new option.

I hate the taxi cabal at LIS. I was victimized by it twice and since then have walked/bused it downtown.

What were the taxi problems?

Taxi problems include cabbies using 'tarifa 3' instead of 'tarifa 1', the former to be charged outside city limits at 1.5x the going rate. Tarifa 1 is to be used within the city at all times (2.5€ start on weekends and in the evenings, 2€ at other times), and cabbies being .......s when it comes to going short distances from the airport.

The ticket price from the airport to Oriente or vv is 1.25EUR + 0.5EUR for the card.
- You get the money back for the card only if you present the (paper) receipt. This is handed out by the machines or at ticket counter.
- If you've charged the card there is no refund for outstanding amount on it once you hand it back

Did the trip yesterday from Oriente to the airport. This was really overdue, great to have this option now.
GBM

Bus 91 , airport to sana lisbon 3.5 euro...by sheraton. 20 minutes