Meeting Your Trip in PORTO

This page offers help (concrete or informational) on reaching your trip.  Topics include...

1. Where you Join Your Trip (see immediately below).
2. Our “Access Packages,” designed to help you to do so.
3. Suggestions on how to time your trip to the trip, whether you are having us arrange your travel, or doing it yourself.
4. Service information regarding train travel to your trip start location.
5. What we need from you to actually buy your ticket.
6. Suggested pre-trip visits, especially when these are not geographically obvious, but are rendered economical and convenient by direct rail connections.
7. Hopefully helpful hints for those setting up their own travel to the trip.

If you wish to arrange some or all of your travel through us, the information we need to book is below.


1. WHERE and WHEN Do You Join Your Trip?

Your trip assembles at our hotel in Porto (Oporto, in English) in time for dinner on Sunday evening.

We will send you details of meeting time and place with your final itinerary, but can already tell you that an information session will be on offer at 5p, in the hotel's atrium, and you should try to be ready to go out by about 6p.

If you wish to make your own way to the trip (in other words, not to set up your travel arrangements through us), hints on getting to Porto are offered at the bottom of this page.


2. Our ACCESS PACKAGES
as of September 2, 2011 — modified

The closest intercontinental airport is Lisbon.  Our “Access Package” is, essentially, a rail ticket from Lisbon to Porto.  But that is not as simple as it seems.... 

Base (Starting) Access Package Price:  38€.
To see what this means in your currency, look here:  http://www.bluemarble.org/CurrencyConv.html

Availability at this price is reliable until 20 days before departure, and so long as space is available on the train (main line trains in Portugal do not accept standees, so once one is sold out, you cannot board).  

Included:

• A 2nd class train ticket from Lisbon to Porto.
  Tickets are train-specific.  They can be refunded, less 10€, provided they are canceled on line, by you, at least 30 minutes before the train departs its origin station (generally downtown Lisbon).  So, it is important to have a smart phone with you, so that you may cancel (by internet) if your flight is delayed before takeoff, or if customs in Lisbon takes longer than expected.  See our analysis of the different ticket-buying strategies, below.
  A discount of 7€ (2nd cl) or 11€ (1st class) is sometimes available on the 12n train, but you must accept tickets which are not refundable or changeable.  Ask for this if interested.
  
• Ticket shipping charges, if required.
  There aren't any:  our tickets can be sent electronically.
• A printed schedule / itinerary, highlighting any connections.
• Our “Route Sheet to the Trip,” helping you through your journey.
  

Options Offered at an Extra Cost (subject to availability)
Prices are in addition to the “Base” Access Package Price. 
For a general discussion of train upgrades, see here.  Topics include the relative comfort of first versus second class, and different types of accommodation available on overnight trains.

• 1st class train tickets (in lieu of 2nd class):  +16€.
• Extra night(s) in Porto at our trip hotel:  +51€ single, +72€ for a double with a double bed, + 82€ for a room with twin beds.
• Pre-trip nights in Lisbon.  97€ single, 108€ double or twin.
  Prices do not include breakfast, but which is available for 7€, paid directly to the hotel.
  Our trip stays in Lisbon at the end of the ride, for one night.  Several of you have already planned extended stays at that point, but some are also planning on coming in early.  Our hotel is superbly located, and we have negotiated a (slightly) discounted rate on what are typically difficult dates in Lisbon — while space is available.  If you would like us to book a Lisbon hotel for you, and rooms are available, we are happy to do so without any service charge.
  
  

3. TIMING Your Trip

If we may influence your thinking on the topic of timing...  Porto is a fascinating city, and we leave it early Monday morning, to take on a very full day.  If you have only some portion of Sunday to get to know Porto, and Sunday is additionally your arrival (jet-lag) day, you will be sad.  If that is the best you can do, well, plan a return trip some day....

If you are landing in Lisbon and travelling directly to Porto, you have to strategize the plane > train connection.  The cheapest train tickets are not changeable or refundable, so you should plan for a long connection time if you opt for these.  Changeable tickets can be had for a small additional cost, but even with these, you must still cancel your space at the latest 30 minutes before your train departs downtown Lisbon (details on that below), in order to recover any funds for use on a new train. 

The suburban “Oriente” station, through which all trains pass on their way to Porto, is only 2 k from the airport.  Taxi fare would be about 10€ plus tip, or an express bus runs every half hour for 3.50 €. 

With that background in mind, here are your three options.

(1) Live dangerously:   believe the plane will be on time, and you will get to the station efficiently.  Book a train departing as soon as 90 minutes after your plane lands if you plan to go to the station by taxi, 2 hours if you want to make that trip on the bus.
Obviously, you can time-budget for the bus, and then take a cab if you are running late.  Information on the Airbus is here:  Line 2 is the one you would use.  Line 1 goes downtown, line 3 goes nowhere. 
If your flight is badly delayed on take-off, you may cancel your ticket on line (we will tell you how when we send you the ticket).  This lets you recover all but 10€ of its value to use on a later train.  Ticket cancellation must take place by 30 minutes before the train departs Lisbon’s downtown, Santa-Apolonia station, or the entire ticket is lost.  This implies that you have some internet-enabled divice with you during your plane journey, and a means to connect to the Portugese Railways' web site.  Obviously, there is still a risk component here.  What if their site is down, or your ISP goes cranky on you?  Neither we, nor, we presume, the Portuguese Railways will do anything to make you feel better....

(2) Live cheaply, but safely:   book the 12n train, a non-refundable ticket.  If things go smoothly, you can head into the city, and catch the train from the Santa Apolonia station, in the midst of a vibrant urban neighborhood, right on the waterfront.  A great place for a café or for lunch if you have a while before your train.  You can even leave your luggage in a locker, and walk around a bit, to get the cobwebs out.
If you are tight on time by the time you exit the airport, just head for the closer Oriente station, and you can shave most of an hour off of your connection time.  If you do go in to the city to take the train from Santa Apolonia, keep your wits about you.  Groggy tourists are the pick-pocket's bread and butter, and Lisbon is a port city.





4. Service Information
Schedules are approximate – exact timetables can be consulted at
http://www.raileurope.com/index.html
Best trains are mentioned.  Others are slower or have multiple connections.

• From Lisboa.  Trains to Porto operate roughly every hour, though there is a lunchtime gap between noon and 2p.  Trip time ranges from 2'45" to 3'15".
  Trains depart the city center (waterfront) “Santa Apolonia” station, and then stop at the “Oriente” station as they leave town.  If you are coming directly from the airport, Oriente is closer, and you will prefer to board there.  Exception:  if you have allowed extra time for the plane-train connection, and then things go smoothly, you may prefer to head for Santa Apolonia.  A nicer place to wait....
  
  
• From Paris, the Basque Country, Madrid.  Overnight “Hotel Trains” travel to Portugal from these points.  Ask us if interested.
  They all require a connection in Portugal in the morning, since their destination is Lisbon.  But the connections are reasonably timed, and put you in Porto by mid-morning.
  
  

5.  What You Must Tell Us in Order to Have Us Book a ticket from Lisbon to Porto

1. Which train do you wish to book?  If you are spending the previous night in Lisbon, an approximate time will do. Otherwise, consider the travel time from the airport to the Oriente station, and the 2 strategic options outlined above.  Then go to this web site, http://www.raileurope.com/index.html.  Enter your start city, Lisbon, your arrival city, Porto, and your travel date.  Then click the “Check Schedules” button (at the bottom left of the box), and pick your train. 
   Most trains will come up twice:  once with a departure time from the downtown, Santa Apolonia station, and then 9 minutes later, with a departure from the airport-proximate Oriente station.  We book your seats from Santa Apolonia if your train starts there (2 per day do not).  But you may board at either station, with no need to alter the tickets. 
   
2. What class would you like, 1st, or 2nd?  In the absence of a reply, we assume 2nd, but 1st is a modest luxury on this route.  Prices here.
   2-b.  If you are travelling first class, and during a meal hour, you may additionally reserve lunch or dinner aboard.  Just tell us you want to, there is no service charge.  The meal is served at your seat, costs about 15€, and you receive a 10% discount on the cost if you pre-reserve.  You pay the catering staff on board.  You must specify “meat” or “fish” for your main course.  Otherwise, there is a café car for sandwiches and snacks.
3. Would you like discount, non-changeable tickets on the 12n train?  In the absence of a reply, we will assume “no,” and issue regular, changeable tickets, regardless of your train choice.  If you would prefer “lock-ins,” tell us that:  the prices are here.
   Discount tickets are not refundable or changeable for any reason.  If you ask us for one, and then change your mind 5 minutes later, you must buy an entirely new ticket.
4. What is your passport number (needed as an ID check on the train)?

6. Suggested PRE-TRIP VISITS

Madrid, Bilbao, San Sebastian, Santiago de Compostela...  if you have any interest in southern Portugal's Algarve beaches, perhaps go there for a few days pre-trip....  We can arrange effecient rail travel from any of these points.  Three people are already booked on the Saturday night train from Bilbao to Porto.


7. Hints on TRAVELLING INDEPENDENTLY to the Trip
Guests subscribing to an “Access Package” need not read this section.

See also “Timing Your Trip” and “Service Information,” above, as either of these may additionally help.

We gladly provide travel consulting (schedule or routing information) concerning pre-trip individual travel.  In particular, we have invested a great deal to become railway experts.  Our service fees are reasonable: a 20€ charge for all but the most complex projects – or the most simple (for instance, only a 10€ charge applies if the service is limited to the preparation of a routine rail ticket).  You will generally find them well-justified by the time they will save you in research, standing on line, overpaying for your tickets, or all three.

But, for some, this type of research is fun.  So, here are some hints, intended to start off hardened “do-it-yourselfers.”

Trains.  Schedules for all routes can be consulted on this web site:
http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/point_to_point/triprequest.htm
Buying a ticket on this site incurs a shipping cost, however — which you avoid if you buy the ticket through us — and you must still make a separate train reservation when you arrive in Portugal (space not guaranteed). 

Porto is the destination for the country's main fast rail line, from Lisbon.   All trains from Lisbon require reservations, so there is no point in buying an “open” ticket:  you will just have to wait in line at your Portuguese boarding station to make a reservation...  which may or may not be available on the next departing train (hint:  1st class is a better bet than second on the weekend for last-minute space). 

Planes.  Porto has an airport, but with essentially intra-Europe service.  Even intercontinental travellers can find it useful, though:  if your carrier is European (Air France, Lufthansa...) it can probably connect you to Porto instead of Lisbon, saving the train trip.  The nearest airport with non-stop flights to other continents is Lisbon.  Flying into Madrid leaves you with ground logistics you would rather avoid, unless you are spending a night or two there pre-trip (in which case there is a good “Hotel Train” to bring you to Portugal).