Is it possible to catch a train at the Rossio Station and end up in Porto?

I see we can travel from the Oriente Station, but not sure how to get there with luggage and all since we are staying a couple blocks from the Rossio Station. Any suggestions on this topic?

Thanks,

MBW

No, you can't.
Oriente Station is the place where you want to catch the train. Options to get to there are the Metro system (green line + red line) or then a taxi.
The alternatice might be Santa Apolonia station, with the disadvantage of less offer of trains (Oriente is now the main Lisbon station and Santa Apolonia a secondary station).
Rossio only serves the Sintra and (far)West lines.

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en?ld=212.138&seqnr=9&ident=ce.015178138.124758898 7&rt=1&rememberSortType=minDeparture&jumpToDetails =yes&HWAI=CONNECTION$C8-0!id=C8-0!HwaiConId=C8-0!HwaiDetailStatus=details!;CONNECTION$C8-1!id=C8-1!HwaiConId=C8-1!HwaiDetailStatus=details!;CONNECTION$C8-2!id=C8-2!HwaiConId=C8-2!HwaiDetailStatus=details!;CONNECTION$C8-0!id=C8-0!HwaiConId=C8-0!HwaiDetailStatus=details!;CONNECTION$C8-1!id=C8-1!HwaiConId=C8-1!HwaiDetailStatus=details!;CONNECTION$C8-2!id=C8-2!HwaiConId=C8-2!HwaiDetailStatus=details!;

Yes you can - see link above - it involves taking regional trains with one change from Rossio over to Oriente, from where the direct Lisbon-Porto express trains go from.

I rest my case

Hi, MBW,

Depending on how much luggage you have, the option of changing once in between Rossio and Oriente and then again at Oriente to get onto the high speed train might be a bit of a pain.

If it were me, I'd do one of two things. One option is a cab from your hotel to the Santa Apolonia train station, which is a very short distance from Rossio. To take public transportation, you could take the metro a few stops from downtown (Santa Apolonia is the end of the blue line, with stops at Restauradores, Baixa/Chiado/and Praca do Comercio, depdnding on where your hotel is).

I don't know if all of the express trains leave from Santa Apolonia, but on weekdsys, I see on the web that at least ten high speed (Alfa Pendular) and many other regional/slower trains with their origin in Santa Apolonia. I have taken this train at least four times in the past 8 months, and have always left and arrived at Santa Apolonia.

At the other end, you'll arrive in the slightly out of town train station Campanha in Porto. Your ticket will entitle you to get on the next commuter train for the one stop into Sao Bento (the in-town train station) and they run very frequently, at least during working hours.

Good luck with these pesky details, Laurie

I just want to say that there are always taxis lined up around Rossio. Or get your hotel to call one if you are in a hotel.
Also, they are so inexpensive, that taking one to the station for the high speed train probably would not be very costly. An option Laurie suggested.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. They are amazingly helpful. Had no idea that the train station in Porto wasn't in the middle of town. We are heading up to Porto to catch the Uniworld Cruise ship that docks somewhere in Porto.

Thanks again,

Mary Beth

Can I hijack this thread and ask if there is an airport bus or shuttle to Oriente station?

Thanks!

One of the two routes of the airport bus has a stop in Oriente. It's the one that goes to University and the train station at Sete Rios, not the more popular route that goes to the more central areas of downtown. You can find route information here: http://www.golisbon.com/transport/airport-shuttle.html

But I think that a cab is not only going to be much quicker, but also cheaper if there's more than one of you. The Oriente train station is probably no more than 2 1/2 miles from the airport -- it's a very straight shot. Cabs are very cheap in Lisbon. Just follow Lobo's cab advice (given on another post), because foreigners are very frequently targets of less than scrupulous cabbies.

Thanks Laurie! I have not done a lot of research yet although I have stacks of books from the library staring at me. It's only me this trip but for 2.5 miles I will take a cab. Sometimes it's prudent to spend a few more Euros and save time and energy. I was thinking of the bus as this is a very low budget trip.

I've been the subject of unscrupulous cabbies in the past and I hope I am now wiser for my mistakes. I will check Lobo's post.

My plan is to arrive in Lisbon, take the train to Porto and then work my way south back to Lisbon over my 2 week holiday, spending a few days in Lisbon at the end before returning home.

Hi, Adrienne,

I tried to copy and paste Lobo's comments on taxis in this thread, but was unable to figure out how to do that. So here's the link to the post. This is a very long thread, and the taxi comments were posted on July 15 or thereabouts so you should be able to find them.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nside-tips.cfm

your trip sounds like a lot of fun. Happy planning! Laurie

Thanks again Laurie. I found the post you mentioned.

To copy and paste text from another thread it's easier to open the second thread in a new window, highlight the text and use the control key plus the C key together (hold down the control key and then press the C). Go back to the first thread (this one) and press control plus V - that will paste the text.

I'm thinking a cab to Orient Station is the way to go. Does anyone have an idea how much it might cost?

Thanks,

MBW

Looked at the website for the trains, how do you know which are Alfa Pendular? All I see is the notation IC?

Thanks, MBW

A cab from Rossio to Santa Apolonia will probably be under 4 euros. From Rossio to Oriente will probably cost around 8. I'm not sure there's any advantage to getting on the train in Oriente rather than Santa Apolonia, though. It looks to me like there are 8 Alfa Pendular trains a day heading north and all stop in both Santa Apolonia and Oriente.

On the comboio portugal main web page (www.cp.pt), there is a list of train options on the left side -- Alfa Pendular, Intercidades (intercity -- that's the IC, and it's slower), and regional (even slower). Just click on Alfa Pendular and you can find the schedule.

Laurie

Ireynold, with all due respect I remember that there are 2 trains daily in AP's Faro/Porto service that do the way bridge / entrecampos / oriente in each direction. Those trains do not stop in Santa Apolonia. All the other 6 have Santa Apolonia as terminal station.

Just two questions:

Will we need to make an advance reservation on the AP train? If so, the Rossio train station is just blocks from our hotel, can we make reservations at this station?

When we get off at the Porto Campanha train station, the Uniworld people tell us we can take a cab to our Uniworld ship, the Duoro Queen. They tell us it is docked about 10 minutes outside of the center of Porto on the river, of course. Does that sound correct?

Your help is invaluable.

MBW

Lobo, you are right of course, thanks for the correction. If I'm reading the schedule right this time, I see that there are 9 Alfa Pendular trains every day that do stop in Santa Apolonia (morning at 6, 7, 8 and noon, and afternoon at 2, 4, 5, 7 and 8pm), and the two from Faro (one in Oriente at 10:09 a.m., one at 6:09 p.m.).

MBW, I don't know if you can buy AP trains tickets at Rossio, but you will have plenty of time to check it out when you're there. And the Santa Apolonia station is only a couple of metro stops away from your hotel. I have always bought my ticket a short while before departure, and never had a problem. I'm sure there are high demand days that do sell out, but I've been lucky.

I don't know where the boat will dock, but Campanha is on the eastern side of the city, close to the new bridge that the high speed trains use. In either case, the distances are small, so it would be easier to get a cab right at Campanha anyway. A Douro cruise sounds like fun, how many days will it last and where does it stop?

Laurie