Best transportation options from SdC to Lisbon in July

[koilife]

My son and I are walking the CP this summer.

We're looking for the best way to return to Lisbon from SdC in early July, and there no longer appear to be direct flights from SdC. I checked A Coruna and Vigo, and they don't have any direct flights either. Also, even the shortest flights connecting through Madrid are materially more expensive than in times past, with almost nothing under 4 hours.

I assume that this is either due to reduced demand because of COVID, or these flights start filling with shorter windows for advanced purchase.

I'm familiar with the ALSA bus route, but I am hoping to find something shorter than 8 hours.

Any suggestions? Or am I tilting at windmills at this point?

 

[trecile]

Have you already purchased your tickets? If not have you looked into flying home from Santiago or Porto? Or even Madrid might be easier.

 

[JDecay]

Bus to Porto, several per day. Train to Lisbon.
Bus actually has a stop at Porto airport.

 

[koilife]

@trecile, we already have airfare to/from Lisbon. We're exploring the city for a few days, then starting our Camino from Fatima. I explored the notion of roundtripping from Madrid and then taking the hop to Lisbon, but there was no convenient way to make the flights work without losing a day. Since I was flying on miles, my options tended to be limited.

@JDecay, I actually checked that, but it only buys me about 45 minutes and requires everything to be running smoothly as I navigate unfamiliar stations. Good thought, though.

 

[trecile]

I'm also using miles to buy my flights, but on United the mileage flights aren't sold as a round trip. I've bought a flight to Lisbon and will buy my return flight from Porto.

 

[koilife]

I'm also using miles to buy my flights, but on United the mileage flights aren't sold as a round trip. I've bought a flight to Lisbon and will buy my return flight from Porto.

Definitely more convenient.

Bom Caminho!

 

[TrvlDad1]

In 2019, as a group of three, we hired a car and the cost was about $80 each. Very pleasant trip, great driver and several stops for scenery and rest breaks! Just another alternative.

 

[Alex M]

From memory (?), I got a train from SdC to Tuy, then taxi across the border in Valenca in Portugal, thence a train to Porto. I got off there, but I think train continued on to Lisbon. Tuy and Valenca are extremely close, about 5-10 minutes in a taxi.

 

[trecile]

In 2019, as a group of three, we hired a car and the cost was about $80 each. Very pleasant trip, great driver and several stops for scenery and rest breaks! Just another alternative.

All the way to Lisbon??

 

[Richard Smith]

Bus to Porto, several per day. Train to Lisbon.
Bus actually has a stop at Porto airport.

We did this and the Portuguese trains were great (see pic).
Trains between Spain and Portugal were primitive in comparison, which surprised me because I sorta assumed that neighbouring countries in Europe worked together like states in Australia, and don't try to rent a car in one and return it in the other euro country.

 

[MoJoe]

We did this and the Portuguese trains were great (see pic).
Trains between Spain and Portugal were primitive in comparison, which surprised me because I sorta assumed that neighbouring countries in Europe worked together like states in Australia, and don't try to rent a car in one and return it in the other euro country.

I've looked at this site for options - https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Santiago-de-Compostela/Lisbon.

 

[Patrick Shouvlin]

My son and I are walking the CP this summer.

We're looking for the best way to return to Lisbon from SdC in early July, and there no longer appear to be direct flights from SdC. I checked A Coruna and Vigo, and they don't have any direct flights either. Also, even the shortest flights connecting through Madrid are materially more expensive than in times past, with almost nothing under 4 hours.

I assume that this is either due to reduced demand because of COVID, or these flights start filling with shorter windows for advanced purchase.

I'm familiar with the ALSA bus route, but I am hoping to find something shorter than 8 hours.

Any suggestions? Or am I tilting at windmills at this point?

Hire a car and driver or rent a car yourself. The bus ride is excruciatingly slow and long, with no opportunity to see anything on the side, like Lourdes.

 

[alexwalker]

Enjoy the views:

Rome2rio

Discover how to get anywhere by searching plane, train, bus, car and ferry routes

www.rome2rio.com

 

[koilife]

Hire a car and driver or rent a car yourself. The bus ride is excruciatingly slow and long, with no opportunity to see anything on the side, like Lourdes.

That would definitely be a detour.

 

[koilife]

I've looked at this site for options - https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Santiago-de-Compostela/Lisbon.

I find far too many gaps in Rome2rio to trust it as accurate or complete. For instance, the routes shown don't account for differences between weekdays and weekends, which is pretty critical because, for instance, the schedule for the bus from SdC-->Vigo-->Porto with train to Lisbon doesn't actually work on a Saturday (the day I need to do it). Moreover, looking at Alsa website directly, they have an 8 hour bus ride on the same Saturday at a convenient time, but it doesn't show at all in Rome2rio.

Thus, Rome2rio may show me options I haven't considered, and sometimes those options are better, but I still have to independently research it to be confident. In this case, I had already looked at Rome2rio and determined it wasn't particularly helpful on this one.