corbs315

I've seen the other posts about this but this is a little different. My itinerary has my flying IAH>LHR>LIS>RAK (Marrakech). The layover in Lisbon is overnight, which is fine - lands at 4pm and leaves early the next morning. Several questions about this:

1) I can leave the airport and stay at an airport hotel, yes? What happens to my checked bag? Is it checked through to Marrakech?
2) What security do I have to clear going out and back into the Lisbon airport, having just flown in from the US through the UK to an EU country before going on to Africa? Sounds complicated!
3) Will I be able to get to the airport at 5am without a problem on a Sunday?

These be the nervous ramblings of a traveler. Thanks!

IAN-UK

1) Of course you can leave the airport! It's a shame you can't get to see something of Lisbon, but it might be better to stay close to the airport. There are threads about airport hotels. If you'd prefer to be in the city centre, it's a short and cheap taxi ride from the airport.

If you are on one ticket your bags SHOULD get checked through: though there i'm going on my own experience of Europe to Brasil via Lisbon, and your journey is more complex. A lot might depend on the IAH agent: if things don't go as you wish, it's worth speaking to a supervisor.

2) The LHR transfer is likely to be the most challenging part of your journey.
Non-EU passports sometimes lead to a longer wait at LIS, but it's straightforward: your exit to Morocco the next day will pose no problems (I'm assuming you have no nationalty/visa complications).

3) No problem with early morning taxis. Though give yourself time for security and a bit of a hike to the non-EU/non-Schengen departure area.

corbs315

Thanks for the help. No visa problems. My heathrow layover will only be 1:40. Is that enough? United to TAP should be in the same terminal. I can book a different one but that's a 7 hour heathrow stop :/

No worries about not seeing Lisbon. I'm going back after morocco and spending the next weekend in Lisbon then flying back.

IAN-UK

I'm sure you'll be fine: just that the transfers process at LHR an be a bit of a zoo. And if for some reason you don't make the connection, you'll simply find yourself on that later flight

Palal

1. You can leave assuming you have a passport that allows you to enter schengen countries. Don't limit yourself to just airport hotels. City center ones are a 15-20 minute taxi/Uber ride away. Taxi will cost you 10-15 EUR, uberX 6-8 EUR. Bags should be checked all the way through, but check the tag in IAH to make sure.

2. You'll go through security at LHR and inbound passport control in LIS. next morning it will be security and outbound paper control. If you have *G you have priority security and lounge access (after security, before passport control). Give yourself enough time to go through passport control.

3. Yes. Uber or taxi. If Uber is not available for whatever reason, have your hotel call a cab. With no traffic, it will take at most 20 min to get to the airport. What time is your flight?

corbs315

Flight is early that Sunday. 710 am. I'll have a pretty relaxed Saturday though so no worries.

I just looked at the United page and it's listed as two different trips, so I guess I'll be getting my luggage anyway!

IAN-UK

Sometimes a single-ticketed trip on more than one carrier is split across separate PNRs to cope with each airlines reservation system. But even if the trip is on two tickets, there's every chance a helpful and switched-on agent will be able to book your bags through.

There's a new(ish) TRYP (Melia) hotel at the airport. It's an easy 5 minute, couple of hundred yards' walk gently downhill from the terminal building (OK - that's uphill coming back in the morning!): you can see the place from the terminal. Once installed, and if you want to go out, downtown is easily accessible by bus, metro or cab.

Enjoy Marrakech - i'm just back from Essaouira via RAK. Totally recommend Essa if you fancy a sea-side retreat from Marrakech (about 120 miles).

Palal

A 7:10am arrival will require you ot get to the airport by 6AM if you need to check bags. Otherwise, getting there an hour beforehand will be fine.

The number of PNRs is irrelevant with regards to how bags get checked. If all of your layovers are under 24 hours, the bags should go straight through to RAK.

Assuming that happens, and you have your boarding passes in hand, you want to leave your city center hotel at 5:45AM if you're taking a cab.

The metro doesn't open until 6:30, so that's not an option. There are night buses, but it's not worth the hassle.