Portugal
Getting there
BY AIR
From the UK and Ireland to Lisbon:
Lisbon is served by various charter and scheduled airlines from the
UK, including: British Airways from
London Heathrow; easyJet from
London Luton, London Gatwick, Edinburgh, Bristol and Liverpool;
TAP from Heathrow and Gatwick;
bmibaby from Manchester;
Aer Lingus from Dublin (and
from Cork between April - October).
From the rest of the world to Lisbon:
Try the following airlines: Air
France from Bordeaux and Paris Charles de Gaulle;
Air Nostrum from Valencia;
Lufthansa from Frankfurt and
Munich; germanwings from
Cologne. easyJet,
Iberia,
PGA Portugal and
TAP fly from various European hubs
to Lisbon. Royal Air Maroc
flies from Casablanca, Continental
Airlines flies from Newark and Sata
International flies from various North American hubs.
From Lisbon Airport:
Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS) is located 7km (4.3 miles) north of
the city. Most people take a taxi into Lisbon or pick up a hire car
at the airport.
From the UK and Ireland to Faro:
Large numbers of charter airlines fly into Faro, especially in the
summer months. Some of the scheduled services are as follows:
easyJet from Belfast, Bristol,
East Midlands, Glasgow, Liverpool, London Gatwick, Stansted,
Doncaster, Luton and Newcastle; British
Airways from Gatwick; Flybe
from Exeter and Southampton;
bmibaby from Cardiff, East
Midlands; Monarch from
Birmingham, Gatwick, Luton and Manchester;
Jet2 from Blackpool, Leeds/Bradford
and Manchester; TAP from Dublin
and Heathrow; Aer Lingus from
Dublin and Cork; Ryanair from
Bournemouth, Derry, Dublin and Shannon.
From the rest of the world to Faro:
Try the following airlines: Air
Berlin from Dusseldorf, Cologne, Dresden, Hamburg,
Munster/Osnabruck, Munich, Nuremburg and Palma de Mallorca;
Iberia from Madrid;
Lufthansa from Frankfurt;
Ryanair from Brussels-Charleroi,
Girona and Madrid; easyJet from
Geneva; TAP from Lisbon and Paris
Charles de Gaulle; Sata International
from Toronto-Pearson.
From Faro Airport
Faro Airport (FAO) is located 2.6km (1.6 miles) to the west of
Faro. Most people take a taxi into town or pick up a hire car at
the airport.
From the UK and Ireland to Porto:
Porto (Oporto) is served by a couple of scheduled airlines from the
UK: easyJet,
TAP and
Ryanair fly there from London
Gatwick, and TAP also fly from London Heathrow.
From the rest of the world to Porto:
Try the following airlines:
Ryanair from Paris, Bordeaux,
Marseille, Lille, Lyon and St Etienne, as well as Frankfurt,
Dusseldorf, Pisa, Rome Ciampino; Air
Berlin from Graz, Vienna, Salzburg and Innsbruck; and
TAP from New York or
Condor from San Diego, San
Francisco and Portland.
From Porto (Oporto) Airport
Porto Airport (OPO). Most people take a taxi into town or pick up a
hire car at the airport.
From the UK to Madeira
easyJet flies from Gatwick,
London Standsted and Bristol and
TAP flies from Gatwick to Madeira.
Thomsonfly goes from London
Gatwick, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Exeter, Manchester and
Glasgow.
From the rest of the world to Madeira
Madeira is served by flights from most international hubs,
including: Air Berlin from
Berlin, Dresden, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, Nuremburg,
Vienna and Zurich; Austrian
Airlines from Vienna; Binter
Canarias from the Canaries;
TAP from Lisbon, Porto, Amsterdam,
Barcelona, Caracas, Frankfurt, Madrid, Paris Orly, Vienna and
Zurich; Transavia from
Amsterdam.
From Madeira Airport
Madeira’s Funchal Airport (FNC) is set on the eastern end of
the island, about 30 minutes' drive from Funchal. Most people take
a taxi into town or pick up a hire car at the airport.
By train to Lisbon
London to Lisbon via the Channel Tunnel and riding the French TGV
takes over 24 hours. There are 2 main rail routes into Portugal:
from Paris via Bordeaux, Biarritz, Irún, San Sebastian and
Guarda to Lisbon (change at Guarda for Coimbra & Porto) and
from Irún to Madrid crossing into Portugal at
Marvão-Beirã and then on to Lisbon. For journeys on
to the Algarve change at Lisbon. Try
Seat 61 or
Rail Europe for schedules and
tickets.
By sea to Madeira
There is no regular ferry service from mainland Europe to Madeira,
though it is possible (with some determination) to travel on a
weekly cargo ship from Oporto or Lisbon. Or of course there are
many cruise companies which stop at Madeira, and it is occasionally
possible to book a passage without signing up for the entire cruise
(ask at a good travel agent). These dock directly in Funchal's
beautiful natural harbour, on the south side of the island.
back to topGetting Around
LISBON & FARO BY CAR
Out of Lisbon and Faro you either pay to use the motorway or keep
to the single carriageways of the national roads. It is not hugely
expensive to drive on motorways and if you want to get anywhere
quickly, this is the only option. The east/west motorway in the
Algarve can get busy around Faro, especially in summer, but the
north/south motorway up to Lisbon is fast, reliable and often
empty. The motorways that run through Lisbon are clogged with
traffic and you will crawl most of the way through town. Avoid them
if at all possible. The motorway north from Lisbon to Porto is the
busiest in Portugal, but the motorway that heads east from Lisbon
to Spain is the emptiest by some distance, making it quick and easy
to head into the Alentejo.
Other than the motorways you’ll find very little dual
carriageway. In the south and the east you’re out in the
country and will find very little traffic, you can potter about at
90kmh. If you hug the west coast heading north from Lisbon,
you’ll find the going slow. In general, the condition of
country roads is only adequate.
Car hire is available at both Lisbon and Faro airports and in the
bigger towns.
Holiday
Autos has outlets in all major airports and cities and is
competitive on price.
Lisbon is a big city, terrifically tricky to navigate by car if you
don’t know where you’re going. While several of the
hotels we feature have private parking, we advise you do not take
cars into the city unless it is unavoidable. If you do, it might be
worth following a taxi in.
BY TRAIN
The Portuguese national rail company CP
operates all trains in Portugal. Faro, Lisbon, Coimbra and Porto
are all connected by high-speed trains.
Rápidos - the fastest, most expensive service on the Lisbon,
Coimbra, Porto main run. Known as alfa.
Intercidades - inter-city services; advanced booking
necessary.
Inter-regional - these trains stop at the main stations.
Regional - slow, local services.
There are also car-train services available on the main routes
where you can take your car on the train.
AROUND LISBON
Lisbon’s public transport network is made up of trams, buses
and a small metro. Travel cards can be bought from Carris, who run
the transport system. They have a small number of yellow booths
around town where you can get tickets. Otherwise try metro stations
or tram/rail termini. Travel cards are not expensive. As Lisbon is
built on seven hills, you will thank yourself for buying one.
Tram
By far the loveliest way to get around town. Some are old, some are
new. The old ones, with pitched pine interiors, clatter about in
great style and are to Lisbon what the Route Master was to London.
The famous Number 28 will take you up to the castle, while the 15E
follows the River Tejo west all the way to Belém.
Bus
Buses clog the streets of Lisbon, but you’re above ground and
get the view and if you can get a direct service, it’s worth
jumping on. Travel cards are valid on all city buses.
Metro
This is more for commuters, with four lines which rarely intersect,
two heading north and one each heading west and east, but it can be
useful if it’s heading in your direction and you can use a
travel card to travel on it.
Taxi
Not expensive but do make sure your taxi has a meter. Those that
don’t – and there are quite a few of them – will
charge you double.
On foot
It is inevitable that you will plod about the city. The central
areas are pretty close together and you’ll want to stroll.
But Lisbon is hilly and the hills are steep. Your travel card is
worth it simply to get you up to the top. The walk down is
altogether more pleasant and you get great views of the city thrown
in. There’s a free map available from all hotels, enough for
a tourist to survive on, though it lacks detail, so if you want
something more comprehensive, you’ll have to but it.
By Ferry
The River Tejo cuts a wide swathe through Lisbon, its banks a
couple of kilometres apart. Ferries whiz across. You may like to
take one over to Almada simply to get onto the water and glimpse
the extremely impressive suspension bridge.
AROUND FARO
Faro's city centre isn't very big, and most sights are within a
20-minute walk.
MADEIRA BY CAR
Most people hire cars for the duration of their visit. There are
several rent-a-car companies outside the airport arrival lounge, in
downtown Funchal and at the port. We recommend
Holiday
Autos which offers competitive prices and discounts for
internet bookings.
AROUND MADEIRA
By Taxi
Taxis are pretty frequent and are yellow with blue stripes and a
taxi sign on top. Outside the city, taxis work on a km basis
without a taximeter.
When To Go
The Algarve is popular all year round. Temperatures don’t
drop too low in winter and much of the tourist industry stays open.
Retired couples from Northern Europe come for mild winters and to
escape the short days and biting winds of home. But note, it can be
wet too: the majority of the annual rainfall arrives between
November and March. Temperatures start to rise in March and stay
high through October. July and August may be too hot for many, with
temperatures in excess of 35 degrees common. The beach/swimming
season runs from June to mid-September - but out of these periods
beaches are unlikely to be manned and swimming pools in some hotels
may be closed.
The Alentejo is deeply rural and mostly free of tourists, while its
seasons are governed by ancient rituals with festivals to celebrate
everything -from the grape harvest in autumn to the slaughtering of
pigs in spring. It’s hot and dry in summer, wet and wild in
winter. Come in spring for lush savannah and wild flowers or in
autumn for the last heat of the year.
Lisbon and its hinterland Estremadura has a year-round tourist
season that lags slightly in January and February, then picks up
again with the advance of spring. Most hotels have high and low
season prices and there are good deals to be had in November and
December, so come to do your Christmas shopping. Carnival passes
though in February or March, and street parties and fireworks are
the order of the day in June (Santos Populares: St Anthony on 13th,
St John on 24th and St Peter on 29th). Portugal celebrates its
maritime history in August with the festival of the ocean, the
motorbike Grand Prix at Estoril takes place in the second week in
October and November sees the Festival of Wine when the grape
harvest is celebrated with the odd tipple.
The Madeira archipelago, discovered by the Portuguese in 1418,
consists of Madeira, Porto Santo and a scattering of uninhabited
islands. Mountainous Madeira lies only 723km west of Morocco, so
its winters are mild and its summers are warm. The climate is not
unlike that of coastal California, but the ocean waters moderate
the temperature so that the island never suffers extremes of heat
or cold. Winter months are pretty wet, particularly up in the
mountains, though there are often spells of fine settled weather
too. The clouds disappear almost entirely from May until September,
but you get occasional drizzle, even fog, especially in the hills.
In general this verdant, almost tropical island is blessed with
sunshine: 5-6 hours a day in winter, and 7-8 hours in summer.