Lisbon - organized tour vs "on your own"?

[OnTheGo100]

Hi there. For those of you who have been in Lisbon, I'd love some advice. We'll be docking in Lisbon in May 2011 from 11am - 7pm. Lisbon looks to be a port city that might easily be done on your own using trams and good old walking. Or, would anyone advise that arranging our own excursion using a local guide be advisable instead. Would love to hear some opinions. Thanks!

 

Tim

[Keith1010]

Tim, if you enjoy walking Lisbon is a fun city to walk on your own. We started at the main entrance to the downtown area and spent hours walking around and up and down many hills. There was a lot to see by foot. If waking is an issue, then a tour might be better.

 

We've been there on two different cruises and the last time was this past April and just enjoyed our time there.

 

Keith

[cruisemom42]

I've been to Lisbon on a land trip, not a cruise, but I would highly recommend doing it on your own. The trams are easy and fun to use. Taxis are inexpensive (although guides do not always speak much English -- good to have the name of your destination written down). There are several distinct neighborhoods, all of them good for walking on foot -- get a Lisbon guidebook and consider Belem, Alfama (my favorite for wandering and gorgeous views) and Bairro Alto.

[lambs2]

We had an absolutrly fabulous private tour of Lisbon arranged by someone from our roll call. Besides all the Lisbon sites it also included a tour of the fabulous Pena Palace in Sintra and then an hour or so of free time in Sintra. If you are interested I have the name of that tour company. This couple had used them on a previous cruise stop in Lisbon and enjoyed the tour, and particularly the Pena Palace (NCL did not offer any tours to this beautiful palace), that this couple organized basically the same tour again for members of our roll call!

[OnTheGo100]

Thanks Keith and Cynthia. We are definately walkers, so doing it on our own sounds great. However, we are travelling with others who might want to consider a private tour.

 

Lambs2, yes, please tell me who you used for your private tour. Thanks so much.

 

Tim

[carlmm]

Even if should to decide to take a private guide, I would highly recommend not to include Sintra or anything else outside Lisbon. The city itself has so much to offer, you can spend weeks here. Even just one small part like for example Belem can easily take more than a day.

 

Yet, like others have said, you can cover everything by tram, bus, walking or the occassinal taxi.

[Naval Aviator]

Can you please provide the name of the company, I am looking for an independent tour in Lisbon. Thanks,

 

Tom

[OnTheGo100]

We had an absolutrly fabulous private tour of Lisbon arranged by someone from our roll call. Besides all the Lisbon sites it also included a tour of the fabulous Pena Palace in Sintra and then an hour or so of free time in Sintra. If you are interested I have the name of that tour company. This couple had used them on a previous cruise stop in Lisbon and enjoyed the tour, and particularly the Pena Palace (NCL did not offer any tours to this beautiful palace), that this couple organized basically the same tour again for members of our roll call!

 

 

Hi again, Lambs2 - would love to get the name of the tour compnay in Lisbon you mentioned. Thanks!

 

Tim

[OnTheGo100]

We had an absolutrly fabulous private tour of Lisbon arranged by someone from our roll call. Besides all the Lisbon sites it also included a tour of the fabulous Pena Palace in Sintra and then an hour or so of free time in Sintra. If you are interested I have the name of that tour company. This couple had used them on a previous cruise stop in Lisbon and enjoyed the tour, and particularly the Pena Palace (NCL did not offer any tours to this beautiful palace), that this couple organized basically the same tour again for members of our roll call!

 

Hi again, Lambs2. You kindly offered to provide the name of your Lisbon tour guide, and then never came back :-(. If you do come back and see this post, I would love the name of your tour guide/company for Lisbon. Thanks!

 

Tim

[Psoque]

Hi. I hope I'm not hijacking this thread, but I wanted to know if anybody can tell us if the tram or bus can pick us up near the ship on the dock. We are planning to check into the ship early, then do some sight seeing off the ship (witout our luggage!!) the day of embarkation in Lisbon. Is it best to just take a cab from the cruise ship terminal? Or is there a tram station nearby?

[JoãoYazalde]

you have the sight seeing bus close to the dock. any questions, contact me.

i know the tour that visit pena palace!

[Sauer-kraut]

I know Lambs hangs out over at the NCL boards, you might want to post something over there for her. :)

[iancal]

You can easily do Lisbon on your own. The streetcars are great. The restaurants are wonderful. Doing Lisbon, Sintra, Estoril etc in one day would be a lot and you would probably need a tour. Lisbon was a surprise for us. We spent four days there and enjoyed every minute.

[Cheesi]

Hi. I hope I'm not hijacking this thread, but I wanted to know if anybody can tell us if the tram or bus can pick us up near the ship on the dock. We are planning to check into the ship early, then do some sight seeing off the ship (witout our luggage!!) the day of embarkation in Lisbon. Is it best to just take a cab from the cruise ship terminal? Or is there a tram station nearby?

 

We just got back (last Sunday 9/5) from our cruise with embarkation in Lisbon. We were there two nights pre-cruise to see some of the sights. There is a metro stop right outside the door (across the street) from the cruise terminal. The cruise terminal is actually right at the foot of the Alfama section of Lisbon. So we dropped our bags on ship and walked that part of Lisbon. Metro is very easy to use and we used it during our pre-stay in Lisbon.

[JoãoYazalde]

cheesi your cruise terminal was santa apolonia, we also have alcantara, that dont have metro close. but have a bus to take you downtown

[OceanDreaming2]

Hi again, Lambs2. You kindly offered to provide the name of your Lisbon tour guide, and then never came back :-(. If you do come back and see this post, I would love the name of your tour guide/company for Lisbon. Thanks!

 

Tim

 

I posted a question for lambs2 on the main NCL board. Her response:

 

Sorry about that! I posted it several other places and must have forgotten that thread. The tour company's website is insidelisbon.com. We had a slightly shortened tour day in Lisbon and the company did a great job getting us to all the highlights of Lisbon plus time in Sintra and a complete tour of the gorgeous Pena Palace where our cruise ship did not even offer a tour when we were in Lisbon!

 

http://insidelisbon.com/walking-tours/original-lisbon-walk

[jwds]

We have done walking tours with Inside Lisbon and with Lisbon Walker, http://www.lisbonwalker.com/

 

Both gave excellent tours.

[Hlitner]

Even if should to decide to take a private guide, I would highly recommend not to include Sintra or anything else outside Lisbon. The city itself has so much to offer, you can spend weeks here. Even just one small part like for example Belem can easily take more than a day.

 

Yet, like others have said, you can cover everything by tram, bus, walking or the occassinal taxi.

 

We must respectfully disagree when it comes to Sintra. We do enjoy being in Lisbon, have been there many times, and hope to again visit in the near future. But Sintra is a totally different experience, an absolute delight (particularly in good weather) and is a UNESCO World Heritage site for good cause. Its also easy to access from Lisbon by train.

 

Hank

[JoãoYazalde]

in sintra you can spent 1 or 2 days for sure. but if you only have 7/8h in lisbon, definitely pick for exemple a private tour. just choose the right one...that takes you where you want, and not where the driver wants

 

john

[OceanDreaming2]

Does anyone have experience with this tour company? THey rent 2 person cars with built-in GPS guidance. Several tours are available. Tripadvisor gives them 5 stars.

 

We thought it would be fun to rent some with our M&G bunch and have a caravan through Lisbon and have lunch on the sea.

[deltatango]

We did Lisbon over 10 years ago, and we got a tram just outside the Port on the main st, we only did the downtown shops, but our next visit in November we want to go higher up for the views, I think you can get tram to there, but for the life of me I cannot remember the name of the view alto something ? anyone know the tram number ?

[JoãoYazalde]

turistic tram 28 - bairo alto, baixa, alfama. tram 15 - baixa - belem

[deltatango]

turistic tram 28 - bairo alto, baixa, alfama. tram 15 - baixa - belem

 

 

Thanks very much

[belleretraite]

We spent a wonderful day in Lisbon 2 years ago by sightseeing Lisbon on our own using the recommandations from Frommers for the walking portion

http://www.frommers.com/images/destinations/maps/jpg-2006/54_walkingtourthealfama.jpg

 

and using tram 28 afterward !

 

If your ship is docking at Alcantara you will have to walk for 15 to 20 minutes for the closest tram/bus station ! Better Google yourself a plan before leaving !

Buy the day pass for the tram ! You could use it for the funiculars and bus or tram to get back to the ship !

[crazy4cruisn]

you have the sight seeing bus close to the dock. any questions, contact me.

i know the tour that visit pena palace!

 

 

Do you have suggestions for a Sintra tour guide?

Nan