irishguy28

This is a far safer strategy, and removes all danger of you misconnecting, and then having to buy a new ticket at the walk-up last-minute price (if you miss your flight, the value of the ticket will disappear - unless, perhaps, you happened to buy a really expensive fully flex fare) - or end up staying in Lisbon anyway - which, again, will cost more if you have to book accomodation unexpectedly on the day, rather than in advance.

wco81

Yeah not so bad backtracking to Lisbon. Means paying for extra transfer to LIS.

But if I take that flight through FRA, it would be a full Polaris experience, the lounge at SFO as well as a Polaris flight for the TATL.

It would also push the days in Porto into the later part of the trip, which may improve the chances of good weather up there.

irishguy28

If you are booking a return flight to/from LIS, then you will have to return to LIS anyway to get home. I don't see how being cautious and booking an overnight stop between tickets leads you to a situation where you have to "backtrack" - the idea was you spend a night (or more) in Lisbon on arrival, and then continue on to FAO/OPO on a different day. It doesn't change the sequence or direction or order of any of the flights you were originally contemplating booking - it just means you spread travel out over different days. It also gives you the option to "shop around" and find the cheapest possible onward travel on whichever subsequent day suits, and "waiting" for the onward flight in the form of a proper Lisbon stopover is going to be much more fun that dossing in the (frankly, kinda dull) TAP lounge at LIS!

You may find ground transportation to FAO/OPO to be a better option in that case, though.

If, instead, you are doing an open jaw, you can book one-ways at roughly half the cost of a return.

wco81

I checked open jaws. It's only LIS round-trip that produces the cheap fares.

So do LHR and EDI but not FAO or OPO. Even a round trip through FRA doesn't produce the low fares, even though the outbound would transit through FRA and the return through LHR.

So that means 3 separate TAP flights within Portugal.

Also considered going to LHR and EDI instead but in April/May, Portugal should be sunnier and drier.

jsloan

I second the suggestion just to fly to LIS and take the train around Portugal.

wco81

Are the trains scenic?

Or are they just more convenient, city-center to city-center?

jsloan

That's a better question for the Portugal forum; I'm not familiar with those trains in particular. In general, though, my concerns were for the latter. Total travel time is quite often less on a train for that distance, since you don't have to show up an hour beforehand like you would for a flight. At worst, it'd be a push -- Lisbon is about 170 miles from Porto and about 140 miles from Faro.

irishguy28

Then my understanding was correct - you were flying to/from LIS, and assembling your domestic travel on separate tickets. For me, price is usually the main motivating factor and I therefore had taken the LIS ticket as a given - though it seems that you are still considering other routings that may take you other places.

Of course, given that you are apparently heading both north and south from Lisbon on these separate travels, of course you will find yourself passing through/past Lisbon a few times. But that has nothing to do with the advice of foregoing a 65-minute connection between separate tickets. You will end up pinballing past Lisbon no matter how you actually complete this itinerary.

Or ground transport. You don't have to fly - but depending on when you are travelling, you can pick up cheap one-way fares on TAP. Perhaps you don't know, but Ryanair has direct non-stop services between OPO and FAO, starting from about €17. April/May 2019 is not yet on sale for this route.

irishguy28

The trains are nothing much to look at.

The scenery you pass, however, is quite nice

jasondc

Oh no. I was talking about LH transatlantic J. ABSOLUTELY nothing special. It's fine, but nothing memorable. I'd rather fly into Lisbon direct on United (I understand your concern about the transcon USA flight, but still, I'd rather just get to Portgual directly from the US in th morning). You still have some time. If you havent been, Portugal is fantastic and I'm sure you'll have a great time. Be sure to spend some time in Lisbon too - it's a wonderful city. And there are lots of things to do and see nearby as well.

jasondc

I have taken the trains from Lisbon to Faro. Easy and great scenery.

wco81

I've taken trains in Italy, Spain, Switzerland, so no problems taking trains.

But it looks like trains from Faro to Porto is 6-hours or more so probably fly that one.

Wondering if it's worth driving Lisbon to Faro instead, if there are worthwhile stopovers and useful to have a car around Faro.

pnt1

The Portuguese countryside is very pretty, but it's not like you're going through the Swiss Alps.

You can take the Alfa Pendular train from city center to city center (Lisboa Rossio to Porto Sao Bento) and it'll take 3.5-4h depending on time of departure. I highly recommend the train! The flight from Lisbon to Porto is less than an hour, but given transit + security + potential delays, you might be time ahead taking the train.

wco81

Are there coastal train routes?

jasondc

Yes, Lisbon is roughly the midway point between Porto and Faro, so roughly 6 hours for the entire journey. If you're just going from Porto to Faro and not stopping in Lisbon, it could make sense to fly. Ryanair does it. I've taken them and they're totally fine, just be aware of what it is you're buying. Quick flight and easy.

We had a car in the Faro area. I thought it was useful. I'd recommend going to some of the beaches near Tavira. Those are the best around there - simply gorgeous. There are places to stop on the drive from Lisbon to Faro. Sagres is supposed to be beautiful and worthwhile - I didnt go there but some of the others in my group did and loved it. Portgual is a great country for exploring and it helps to have a car. from Porto you can do excursions into the Douro Valley for wine tasting and a car is useful.