Trying to figure out the best way to get from Granada to Lisbon without a car. Any recommendations, flying, train, bus??? Would like to avoid going back into Madrid if possible. Thanks...

Trying to go by land from Spain to Portugal (or v.v.) is an exercise in frustration. The only simple route would be to take the train back to Madrid and either the night train or a flight on to Lisbon. Otherwise you will spend a lot of time changing trains and/or buses, hanging about, and probably going via the Algarve. I recently looked at going from Lisbon to Seville, and then further south to catch a ferry to Morocco, and gave up and flew instead.

Option a- get to Madrid and then take the overnight train, bus or plane.

Option b- get to Sevilla and then take a bus (via Faro) or plane (very expensive)

Option c- get to Sevilla, then to Faro then train or bus to Lisboa.

Useful information about connections between south of Spain and Portugal

http://thomasallen.home.sapo.pt/travel/001.htm

Thanks for that website...this doesn't look promising...didn't realize it was so difficult to get to Lisbon from Spain leaving from someplace other than Madrid or Barcelona...oh well, back to the drawing board...

It's not actualy difficult. It's actually easy and quick - you just need to rent a car.

AlREady2Go,
The drive from Granada to Lisbon would take at least 7 1/2 hours, and the distance is 643 km. If you rent in Spain and drop off in Portugal, in almost all cases you'll be paying a very, very hefty drop off charge, unless you're able to get a special deal without that customary drop off fee.

You can always take Iberia from Granada to Lisbon via Madrid. Yet the costs of appr. €500 for a one-way ticket (€250 for a return saver) should be prohibitive.
If you were in Sevilla, you could fly to Lisbon with Air Berlin via Palma for appr. €100 incl. taxes/fees, but that probably does not help much since you would have to add the travel time from Granada to Sevilla airport on top.
Maybe a rearrangement of your trip will be the best idea.

Used to be a Eurolines MotorCoach several days a week Malaga-Lisbon via Sevilla, operated by Viajes Juliá out of Barcelona. When I took it, I made e-mail reservation.
The Bus was full!

You may find Eva-Bus (Portuguese) that serves routes across southern Iberia.

Until recently the transport system aimed more to prevent people from crossing the border, than to facilitate it.
Things are changing at a slow pace (opened borders within the Shengen space) but I advise you to wait a few more years until the fast speed trains run between the 2 countries.

hey,I found this post, because I have the same problem. And I think I found a solution. Its not the most comfortable one, but its surely the cheapest.

Go with alsa.es - BUS to madrid (ida y vuelta for 30 euros)-not directly to the airport, because this is much more expensive...

and from Madrid with KAYAK -airplane to lisboa. costs about 40 euros..

guess this is quite okay.