toinky4

Hello!

We are a group of 7(4adults, 3 kids(12-16 yrs)) traveling to Spain/Portugal in 3rd week of March for 12 days.

This is our itinerary, all our stay is at apartments already booked.

Mar 23-26 Barcelona 3 nites
Mar 26-28 Valencia 2 nites
Mar 28-31 Seville 3 nites
Mar 31-Apr 3 Lisbon 3 nites

We plan on renting a car on the 26th to drive to Valencia and keep it till the end of out stay in Seville

Here is our confusion:
What is the best way to travel from Seville to Lisbon? We fly out from Lisbon on April 3.
We plan to use public transportation in Lisbon to explore the area


1. Keep the car and drop it off in Lisbon on the 31st, the cost is significantly higher to return the car in a different country (also, what is the realistic driving time?)

2. Take the Alsa bus from Seville to Lisbon (departs 3 pm and arrives 9.30 pm)

3. Drop the rental car to a city closer to the Portugal border so as to not incur big fees and take a bus to a city in Portugal and then get on a train to get to Lisbon, from Faro perhaps?

We have not booked any surface transportation yet and are looking for advice in doing so

Thank you!

thursdaysd

You've pretty much covered the options. If you don't want to fly the only other possibility is a train or drive to Madrid and the night train to Lisbon.

toinky4

@ thursdaysd, night train from Madrid is not an option because we have already paid for all lodging and don't want to pay for an overnight train.

I just want to know from a local or someone who has travelled between Seville and Lisbon , what according to them is the best option?

Robert2533

There's no direct rail connection from Sevilla to Lisbon, but you can take the bus from Sevilla to Faro for 20€/person (www.damas-sa.es) and the train from there. There are two buses a day on that route.

The cost of the train is about 30€/person for a 1st class ticket (www.cp.pt/).

Robert2533

Your other option would be to arrange a private transfer from Sevilla to Faro. It's a little over a two-hour drive instead of the 3-1/2 hours on the bus.

Check with Rosabus (http://rosabus.com/en) or Seville Services (http://sevilleservices.com).

PalenQ

I am not a local but I have traveled that route in reverse - by train to the Spanish border - ferry cross the river - bus to Huelva and train to Seville - but you may want to drive the car to the Spanish border town and return it there if possible - cross the ferry to the Portuguese train and onto Lisbon - should arrive before the Seville-Faro bus and train to Lisbon option. There used to be a morning bus Seville to Faro but you say now only leaves at 3 pm so really get to Lisbon late that way.

For more on trains and that itinerary check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. IME you can always get on Portuguese trains and the realtively little extra for first class is highly recommended IME.

Maybe there's a better border town with car return and buses to Lison - check www.Rome2rio.com for all possible routes.

toinky4

@ Robert2533, the Seville-Faro bus and Faro- Lisbon train itinerary does not line up unless we take a 9 am bus, which is too early.

At this point we are trying to decide between taking an Alsa bus directly to Lisbon from Seville or driving and returning the rental car at Lisbon

Any suggestion for the above two choices?

Robert2533

If you want to drive, you can drop the rental car off before crossing into Portugal and arrange to pick up another rental car in Portugal. Check Europcar locations and book the car through Auto Europe. You'll save a little money.

As noted, you can also take the train once you cross over into Portugal and forget about another car rental.

Dropping your Spanish rental off in Portugal can be very expensive (400€?) and not worth it unless you can write the whole thing off as a business expense.

barlaventoexpert

Depending on your route there are three main options for driving from Sevilla to Lisbon.

1) Seville - Ayamonte - Paderne - Lisbon (Toll Motorway from Ayamonte)
2) Sevilla - Merida - Badajoz - Elvas - Lisbon. (Toll Motorway from Elvas)
3) Sevilla - Aracena - Rosal de la Frontera - Serpa - Beja - Grandola Sul - Lisbon (Part Toll Motorway) - The most scenic in my opinion.

Unfortunately, as you have noted the cost of one-way drop-off in Europe is very expensive.

As also noted there is no easy train option.

That leaves the long-distance coach alsa.es or flying. Flytap.com operate the route twice daily.

The one landa option that might work is the alsa.es 15:00 bus departure from Sevilla ( Plaza de Armas )arriving Faro at 17:15 (local time), walk 200 metres to the train station and then catch the Portuguese Railways www.cp.pt train departure at 17h56 arriving Lisbon Entrecampos at 21h17.

toinky4

'The one landa option that might work is the alsa.es 15:00 bus departure from Sevilla ( Plaza de Armas )arriving Faro at 17:15 (local time), walk 200 metres to the train station and then catch the Portuguese Railways www.cp.pt train departure at 17h56 arriving Lisbon Entrecampos at 21h17.'

Are the buses punctual? Is there a chance it would get delayed and we can miss the train?

Robert2533

The buses normally run on time, like the trains, but you don't want to cut it too close. I'd drop the car off before crossing into Portugal and take the train from Monte Gordo to Lisbon. The trains depart at 12h43, 13h37 and 16h39. One should work.

PalenQ

OP - have you inquired about drop-off fees for keeping the car? Sometimes cheaper than the alternatives and much more convenient.

toinky4

We are still crunching the numbers on the options. When you travel in a group( we are 7), its sometimes easier to go for convenience v/s price.

toinky4

Monte Gordo is in Spain or Portugal?

Robert2533

Monte Gordo is in Portugal.

PalenQ

flying probably makes the best sense over an all-day trip via different modes of transit - or keeping the car and driving all the way- or cars - 7 people would need a mini-van at least. flying would give you much of a day in Lisbon.

toinky4

We decided to rent a taxi(Mercedes taxi for 7) from Seville Airport to Lisbon for €475. Should take 4-5 hours

Thank you for all the responses

PalenQ

certainly the easiest way to go - and per person that is a good deal!

toinky4

Just wanted to update

The taxi from Seville to Lisbon worked out fine.

We paid €475 for 7 people. It took about 4-5 hours

We were picked up from Seville airport at the rental car location where we returned our cars and dropped at our apartment in Lisbon.

The driver was courteous. The van however was old and outdated.