Floridacouple

The eternal optimist in me is again planning travel to Portugal. According to the cp.pt website, travelers over age 65 are eligible for 1/2 price tickets. Are US citizens eligible or only EU? Do you need to purchase these discounted tickets in advance or available at time if travel?

I am also looking for information on the viva viagem transit cards. Is this transit card only used in Lisbon or in other cities as well?

My plan is to fly into Lisbon and travel north by train and bus over 2 weeks. Thinking of bases in Lisbon, Coimbra, and Porto with an overnight in Viana do Castelo before heading to NW Spain. Any suggestions of cities/towns for day trips are appreciated. FYI, I have previously visited Lisbon, Sinatra, Obidos, Nazarre, Fatima and Evora and loved them all.

Obrigada

aulop

Hello
Some info you might find helpful.
Instead of the CP seniors discount (50%) I suggest the Promo Ticket Advance Purchase that has discounts up to 65% depending on availability.
https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/en/dis...pra-antecipada

The Viva Viagem card is for Lisbon only. The green card allows use of all participating transit systems in Lisbon the white card excludes the train / metro line to the south of Lisbon ( across the river ).
Don't confuse the Viva Viagem card ( for tourists) with Lisboa Viva card ( for locals).
https://www.metrolisboa.pt/en/buy/viva-viagem-card/

In the city of Porto it's called Andante card - issued by the Porto public transit.
https://www.stcp.pt/en/travel/tariff...istic-tickets/
PORTO.CARD is issued by a tourist company and includes public transit and discounts for some local attractions.
https://www.portocard.city/en/

For day trips I suggest :
- Aveiro - a small coastal town south of Porto, sometimes called the Venice of Portugal.
Accessible by train from Porto. Take a ride on the Moliceiros ( a powered slim long boat ) and try the "ovos moles" a local sweet of egg yok and sugar.https://porto-north-portugal.com/ave...gal-guide.html

- Guimaraes - Where Portugal was born. Home of the first king. East of Porto and accessible by train from Porto. https://porto-north-portugal.com/gui...-portugal.html
While in Guimaraes I use the Hop On Hop Off tourist bus Yellow Bus, i find it a stress free way to go to major attractions in town.https://www.yellowbustours.com/en/guimaraes

- Braga - it has a numbers of interesting religious monuments, the most impressive is the Bom Jesus.
https://porto-north-portugal.com/bra...gal-guide.html
https://www.yellowbustours.com/en/braga

Since you mention Viana do Castelo I suggest you take a taxi from the train station to the Santuario Santa Luzia - chapel with a great view of the surrounding area.There is a stone stairway that goes back down to the train station area - can be slippery though.
https://porto-north-portugal.com/via...-portugal.html

Hope that's helpful
Happy travels

jeffergray

Floridacouple,

I visited Portugal in the spring of 2019 and am in the (leisurely) process of putting together a trip report, which you can find the existing installments of here:

Portugal: A Photographic Trip Album

Since you've been there once previously, the parts about Lisbon may be of less use to you, but it also includes links to a number of photo albums from my Portuguese travels that I have posted on Flickr. From what you've said thus far about your plans, I think you would be interested in my albums from Coimbra, Conimbriga, and Tomar, if you haven't already seen them. At some point, I'll probably post something that covers Mafra, Alcobaca, and Batalha as well.

Here are links to the Coimbra and Tomar albums:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmHwnXH4 (Coimbra)
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmKf9gMo (Tomar)

I loved Portugal, and, like you, look forward to getting back there again someday! I missed the top quarter or so of the country above Coimbra, and am very interested in visiting the Azores and Madeira as well.

Also, there are a lot of excellent videos about travel in Portugal on YouTube by vloggers, of which one series is by a pair of young Danes that I think use the nom de Internet StayClassy. I recall that they did at least one about some Portuguese national park that is north of Coimbra.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions I might be able to answer.

Michael

There is a nice ceramics museum in Viana do Castelo

https://flic.kr/p/7MTmZp

ldatt22

I loved the algarve, the ocean, the cobblestone streets... Lisbon is a bit far from there but you can get there by train. If you go to Lisbon you should go hear fado music. Barcelona was nice, try and squeeze in flamenco dancing if these places are even open.

Enjoy your trip!

Floridacouple

Thank you everyone! You all had great suggestions and information that I will include in my plans. Let’s all hope we can start traveling again soon.