freeloader

I'm taking a trip to the iberian peninsula this summer. I'm trying to get from Lisbon to Seville. It seems as if all trains go thru madrid (which wouldn't work for me); so it appears as if bus is our best option.

Any advice for the bus routes?

Thanks for any help!!

GBM.flights

ALSA does Lisbon-Seville directly for 35€, 7h15 duration one way.

You can also give EVA (Algarve Bus company) a try.
The website is a tad weird as it doesn't generate the pdf's in english once you search for a route, but the info is there.
Anyway the route would be:
Lisbon-Faro up to 6 daily frequencies in the summer for 19€, duration 3h15, approx 270km.
Faro-Sevilla 2 daily in the winter (i guess summer would have more;16€; 3h40; approx 175 km.

You can also take a train from Lisbon to Vila Real de Santo Antσnio, cross by ferry to Ayamonte, Spain, which is fun and breaks the routine (~15 minutes), and then take a bus to Seville. I'll try to give you a few links for this.

EDIT: just found this very good link with plenty of detail of travel between Portugal and Spain by rail/bus. Quite a few similar suggestions

If your travel permits I'd spend a few days on Algarve's coast before going to the scoarching heat of inland Seville. There are quite a few semi hidden gems around this east Algarve Coast. Cacela-a-velha being one of them. The seafood, fish and wine in this stretch of coast are just amazing.

GBM

freeloader

awesome, thanks so much for your help and advice!!

GBM.flights

You're welcome.
Let me know if you need more suggestions for that Eastern Algarve coast. I used to spend 2 months at the time in the summer, every summer there as a kid.

Must eat advice: bean clams.

They are called conquilhas in Portugal and coquinas in Spain. That and a few beers under the sun and your Iberian experience is done
Even towards Sevilla you should be able to get some


GBM

Duqjohn20

Made this trip a few years back. It actually is a fantastic drive if you feel like renting a car. Great towns to stop and visit off the beaten path.

Diplomatico

+1. This is an easy drive (4-5 hours) that you could break up even more by stopping in the the Algarve for a couple of days. The highway in Portugal is relatively new and in terrific condition.

freeloader

thanks so much for the suggestions guys, i'll also have to look into the car rental.

GBM - i may be in touch with you as the trip gets a little closer if i have a couple of questions.

i appreciate all the help! thanks guys!

BahrainLad

We drive Lisbon Airport - Algarve regularly to our house in the Monchique. With a...ahem...'following wind' and no traffic (there never is) we can do house-LIS in about 2h15 which is not that much longer than house-FAO and of course LIS has better flights and frequencies for us. The A2 is really a great road and if you're going to/from LIS itself, taking the Ponte Vasco de Gama means you don't get caught in traffic in the city.

We have also driven from our house along the A22 (coastal motorway) into Spain and on to Seville, again it's a very good road apart from a rough part across the border where the border posts used to be: it's as if the Portugeuse and Spanish can't decided who is responsible for maintaining the road in this 'no man's land' so no-one does it!

PUCCI GALORE

Darling - how much is the toll nowadays LIS to the end (Loule?) and the toll on the VDG bridge? Now I know why you are always flying to LIS! Why not FAO?

GBM.flights

Hi Pucci,

not your darling, (yet), but I can try to offer the answer:
assuming a regular car (not SUV or van as it's a class higher):

• vdg bridge 2.40€
• A12 Pinhal Novo I 0.90€
• A12 onto end of A2 (from Pinhal Novo II all the way to the end of the A2motorway in Paderne): 18.25€

Here is the calculator for the motorway dracula company for the 2 last points with map included.

GBM

Shantanu

I used to drive from Lisbon-Oporto-Jerez de la Frontera quite often....and then back to Lisbon!

It's not a bad drive, but it's fine for us because we return the hire car in Portugal. If you need to go one way, from Portugal to Spain, it can get rather expensive.

I toyed with the idea of doing a one way rental from Portugal to Spain recently. For a two day rental with Europcar from Lisbon to Jerez, it was €554 as opposed to €174 for a one way to Lisbon to Faro (and then a bus to Sevilla for €16, which takes two hours from Faro). And then another cheap rental in Spain.

As I was still married at the time, and we had children with us, we didn't bother and returned to Lisbon after Jerez, so it worked out to be rather cheap as we took the rental car from Lisbon, and returned it to the same place!

I do suggest the drive though, especially if you can stop on the way. Once you have arrived in Sevilla, I would also suggest a trip to Jerez and her bodegas, and also a trip to Arcos de la Frontera - the parador there has a stunning view.....regrettably, you cannot find this view on any website, not even on the parador website. I wouldn't stay there....just eat or drink there for the view.

Also, if you like Jerez, there is a lovely hotel there which has been created in an old bodega. I won't advertise the name of it, but if you are interested, PM me. I go to Jerez very often.

Enjoy your trip!

PUCCI GALORE

and for that piece of help you just became Big Darling and you get a XXXXXXX

Thank you!

Have the Portuguese imposed any new speed limits as have the Spanish?

Palal

The Portuguese speed limits are as they were, 120km/h or 140km/h on the motorways, depending on where you are.

As far as one-way rentals, check-out Hertz Transfer to see if there's a Spanish car waiting to go home (there usually is).