When you arrive to new country, the most challenging part is often the first step – getting from the airport to the city. In this post, we will explore how to reach the city center from Lisbon Airport and how much it costs.
Bolt, Uber or Taxi
The easiest way is to call for a ride using the Bolt or Uber app. It's advisable to download the app before your journey so that it's ready for use upon arrival. The airport provides free Wi-Fi, allowing you to order your ride right in the terminal building. Note that the designated pickup points for ordered Bolt and Uber drivers are specific, and they cannot pick you up just anywhere. They are limited to predefined pickup locations and cannot transfer from one location to another. You can identify the ordered cars by their type and license plate number. All arriving passengers come to Terminal 1, even those passengers of airlines using Terminal 2 for departures. There is also a Bolt/Uber point in front of Terminal 2 for departures. In the case of Terminal 1, there are two pickup points:
Terminal 1 – Departures – Kiss&Fly
Terminal 1 – Arrivals – P2 parking
My experience is that it is much more challenging to find drivers at the P2 parking pickup point than at the Kiss & Fly pickup point.
Locating the Kiss & Fly pickup point at the airport: After collecting your luggage and passing through the customs corridor, turn right in the arrivals hall and look for exits 3 or 4. These doors will be towards the "Departures" signs, and you need to go up one floor using an escalator (or elevator). The Kiss & Fly point is located behind the free shuttle bus stop that operates between terminals. Once you have exited the terminal building through door 3 or 4, cross the road, go through the bus stop, and you will arrive at the Kiss & Fly point.
An Uber or Bolt ride to the city center typically costs between 5-10 EUR. The map indicates the approximate location of the Kiss & Fly pickup point.
Official taxis are slightly more expensive, with a city center ride ranging between 10-20 EUR. The taxi stand is right in front of the arrivals hall but outside the building. You can expect to queue up, and they will direct you to a specific taxi, so you won't be able to choose. The line usually moves quickly. Never travel with service providers offering themselves inside the hall, as many of them are scammers. Taxis are paid based on the meter, not a pre-arranged price. Anyone claiming otherwise is likely a scammer.
Metro and bus
The airport is served by the Red (Vermelha) metro line, whose terminal station is located here. To use public transportation, you need either a Lisboa Card or a ticket. Tickets can be purchased from the vending machines, most of which can display information in English. To do this, typically, you need to press a button that is completely separate from the screen. You don't just buy a ticket but also a rechargeable paper card to load your ticket onto. The card costs 0.50 EUR. Different types of tickets can be loaded onto the card, including a single journey ticket (multiple tickets of the same type can be loaded), a daily pass, or Zapping. Zapping means loading a certain amount onto the card in advance, and the system deducts from this amount for each journey. The single journey ticket costs 1.80 EUR, Zapping costs 1.61 EUR, and daily passes are available at prices ranging from 6.80 to 10.80 EUR, depending on the valid modes of transport.
The Lisboa Card can be obtained at the information desk in the arrivals hall. Approaching the metro, you will find several machines where people are queuing. If you go a bit further into the underpass, you will find some machines where hardly anyone is present.
The Red line does not directly reach the city center, so you will likely have to change at Alameda station to the Green (Verde) line towards Cais do Sodré. The Green line already passes through the city center. Another option is to go to the other terminal of the Red line, Sao Sebastiao station, where you can transfer to the Blue (Azul) line towards Santa Apollonia.
Attention! In Lisbon metro stations, it is quite common that there are no elevators or they do not work, several stations do not even have escalators. With many luggage, this can be a problem.
Looking at the metro network map, you will notice that the Red metro takes a considerable detour. However, it is often faster in terms of time. Nevertheless, some locations can be easily reached by bus. Due to one-way streets, the placement of bus stops is not very logical. From Exit 5 and near the metro, you can take the following buses:
Bus 783 serves the following locations: Entrecampos, Campo Pequeno, Marques de Pombal, Amoreiras
Buses 705 and 722 serve the following locations: Areeiro (Roma-Areeiro)
Night and dawn: night bus
Approximately between midnight and 4 am, the night bus 208 stops here. During this time, the metro is not operational. The purpose of Lisbon's night public transportation is to reach everywhere, not necessarily in a logical manner. Although this bus covers the locations listed later, it does so with unimaginable detours. For example, the bus 705 touches seven stops until Areeiro, while the 208 covers more than 20. Important locations served include: Areeiro, Martim Moniz, Pc. Comercio, Cais do Sodré.
Assistance in getting to the city
Most hotels offer assistance in getting to the city. Drivers usually wait in a designated area just beyond the customs corridor in the arrival hall. If you've booked a tour guide for sightseeing, it's worth asking if they can meet you at the airport. If you haven't booked one yet but would like to, you can request a quote here.
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