Lisbon Airport to Santa Apolonia Train Station w/ Bike Box's

[torreyjames]

Hello again Margaret ;>}.
I feel confident that you will be the guide to my camino... you have answered every question that I have asked so far!
You are indeed a generous and kind soul... my pleasure to make your acquaintance!
My Question:
I will be traveling on a weekday from Lisbon Airport to Saint Apolonia Train Station to catch the SUD expresso to Hendaye in the evening. What is the best way to travel directly to this station with 2 bicycles, or possibly 2 large bike box's.
Buen Camino,
James.
P.S. A silly question... how do you dial out of the U.S. to Portugal?

 

[mspath]

James,

From airport to station the distance is approximately 8 k. Look at the various routes drawn on this Google map. I have been in Lisbon but never biked there; biking should be a vibrant experience! Have you inquired about bike boxes on the train? I do not believe that they are required. To call Portugal from the US dial 011 + 351 + local Portuguese telephone number.

Bom caminho,

Margaret Meredith

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, James,

I think the quickest way to get to Santa Apolonia from the airport would be by metro. The Lisbon metro now goes to the airport, and though it would be a long-ish ride, and would have two changes, the Lisbon metro is very user friendly (as are the Portuguese people), so I think you would be fine. Bikes are allowed on the metro, no more than two per person. (I've attached a metro map).

I know you asked about Santa Apolonia, but trains also go through the Oriente station, which is a lot closer to the airport. You should check the schedule to see what time you could get it at Oriente.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[peregrina2000]

A quick p.s.

I just checked the Comboio Portugal website for train schedules for the Sud Expresso to Hendaye. It leaves Santa Apolonia at 21:18 and Oriente at 21:27.

If you are going to have a lot of time to kill between arrival into Lisbon and departure on the train, both train stations have luggage storage (what I don't know is whether they will be able to take something as big as a bike or a bike box). If you went straight to Oriente, you could spend the day along the river, going to the oceanarium, eating, sitting at a café, etc. (The Oriente train station is at the Parque das Nacoes, the site of the Lisbon Expo in the 90s, and it is now a huge riverfront park). If you decided you'd rather spend the day in the city, you'd be better advised to take the metro into Santa Apolonia, leave your bikes there, and then hop back on the metro and go two stops to Baixa-Chiado. From there you can visit a lot of Old Lisbon over the course of a few hour stroll, lots of ups and downs, beautiful views, old buildings, castles, etc.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[torreyjames]

Dear Margaret and Laurie...
Thank you for your great 411 on traveling to the "French Way" from Lisbon. I feel confidant that my travels will be greatly easier with help from my newest found friends! Margaret, I've been checking on bringing bike's on the SUD expresso during my free time the last few days (not very much free time) ;>}. And still have no definite answers; I asked the question to "CP" and their answer was ..."We inform that, in the Sud Expresso train, bikes are carried for free, but can only be taken in sleeping cars and no more than two per compartment, so long as the compartments are sold to a single family and the bikes are properly packed and does not exceed 1.2 m x 0.9m." This info helps, however it does not adequately answer my question. The "properly packed" part of the answer leaves me a little concerned, and the dimensions given are about 6" shorter than the bike box's used for Airline travel.
So... I checked with EuroRail; The reply was that I could bring my bikes into the sleeping cars, as long as I could slide them under the bottom 2 bunks. However again they did not know any more information than that. So I will continue on with my inquiries when I can.
I will be posting more questions as I get closer to my June camino... Look forward to hearing from both of you kindred souls.
buen camino,
James Torrey Warner.
P.S. Laurie, I love your idea of a fabulous way to spend a day in Portugal as I smile from ear to ear! I will be looking at those options as well.