What to do on Lisbon Disembarkation Day?

[cleobella]

In October we disembark at the end of our cruise in Lisbon, and I am considering hiring a driver to take our bags with us on a tour of Sintas and Lisbon, depositing us at our hotel after.  Of course it is very expensive.  Our hotel is on Avendia, and is close to the train.  I am wondering if we are better to take our bags over to the hotel after disembarking and then take the train to Sintas and Belem?  Then the next day just strolling around Lisbon on our own.  This would be cheaper but maybe not as convienient.  As well the dates are a Sun, Monday and the Monday is a holiday so maybe we are best just to shell out the bucks to ensure that we have no snags?  Any opinions? Also, any recommendations for drivers or companies to use if we go that route?

[riffatsea]

Hi again

Just letting you know that Sintra sights are open on Monday while many things in Lisbon are closed that day

You may be better off spending the day there on Monday

We always go to our hotel to drop bags before doing anything else

[edinburgher]

Trams and buses run frequently from Lisbon centre out to Belem as do trains to and from Sintra.   Timetables and ticket prices can be found online, so I would drop off the luggage first and do both yourselves.  Having said that, without a guide you will need to do some homework first, so you know what you want to see when you get to each destination, (opening hours etc). Not at all difficult as both are hugely popular andt here is  loads of online info

Edited February 23, 2022 by edinburgher

[stonepebble]

Hi Edinburgher,

Sorry to post on this thread! I saw on another thread that you have been to Greenland a couple of times. We are planning to go either this summer or next. 

I have a question about the ports there.

If you don't mind could you reach out to me? 

My email is diamondplusstone@gmail dot com.

Thanks so much! Chris

[edinburgher]

Thanks for thinking I could help on Greenland ports questions, bu I   prefer that you post your questions on a thread on the relevant forum where I will see them and respond- if I can.  The added benefit to yourself would be that others would also  see the thread and could possibly add additional useful info.

 

 

[cruisemom42]

On 2/21/2022 at 3:33 PM, cleobella said:

Our hotel is on Avendia, and is close to the train.  I am wondering if we are better to take our bags over to the hotel after disembarking and then take the train to Sintas and Belem? 

 

There are several train stations in Lisbon, from memory. And I am not sure what area you're referencing -- by "Avendia" do you mean "Avenida" (which is simply Portuguese for "Avenue" and is usually followed by the actual street name.

 

If you are close to the train, I would recommend doing it on your own. The trains (and buses) are easy to use. Train definitely to Sintra. Belem is not that far and you may be better off (depending on your location) taking a bus/tram or even a taxi, which I have found to be fairly well regulated in Lisbon.

[cleobella]

Thanks for such great advise all, please keep it coming! We have tentatively booked the Avenida Palace Hotel, I think Rossio Train Station is a short walk away.  Do you think we can buy tickets to Sintra there?  I think Belem is only about 7 kms away so a taxi or tram ride for sure.   From what I am seeing here the very expensive private driver may not be needed?  I would love the convenience but we also have  a budget. Hopefully the Avenida Palace is nice, it seems to get good reviews and has been mentioned often on CC.  If possible we will drop off our luggage at the hotel and then head out to look around.  We are going to be disembarking on Sun Oct 20 and will also have Monday Nov 1 .  I thought we would be there for the national holiday, All Saints Day, but now see this is actually on the Wed.  So maybe I dont have to worry so much about which day we do some of the sightseeing and shopping. 

Edited February 24, 2022 by cleobella

[edinburgher]

If using public transport, such as trams, buses, metro etc, you should read info on the access card you will need to purchase first.  Costs only a few Ecents. Try searching viva viagem card lisbon  Can also be used on some of the elevators although there are also free ones. .

 

Don't be put off.Transport in Lisbon is easy to use and inexpensive and with such frequent transport to both Belem and Sintra I personally would not feel the need to pay a taxi, but that is a personal choice.

 

We love Lisbon. Over the years, we had visited 5 times on cruise ships but with still more to see and do in and around the city, we returned on a land trip in Feb 2020 just before the world turned topsy turvy. We did not know at the time that it would be our last international city break for a long time.

 

The official  Lisbon Tourist Info site is very helpful, also Tripadvisor and others.

Edited February 24, 2022 by edinburgher

[cleobella]

Thanks Edinburgher!  I will check out the sites you mentioned.  We have also been without international travel for a couple of years now, hopefully we can all get back to travel safely over the next few months. Prior to the shut down we did a UK cruise and got to see your part of the world. We missed our Edinburgh stop due to bad weather so returned  for a land trip  just to see what we missed!  Lovely place!

[riffatsea]

Sunday is Oct 30,Monday 31 and TuesdayNovember1 is the national holiday for all saints day

Some museums and attractions are closed,on Mondays

It's not because it's a holiday

It's just their normal closing day

[erby2283]

We flew to Lisbon for 3 days post cruise from Barcelona back in 2019.  We stayed in a beautiful apartment via VRBO versus paying a hotel and it was perfect.  Right on the main strip on Rua Augusta. It was just me and my bf at the apartment but my best friend and her husband and daughter flew in from Germany to join us for our 3 days in Lisbon.  We took a private tour with Lisbon Riders - https://lisbonriders.com/ . We did the Sintra and Cascais tour. It was slightly more to book a private tour than if we had booked their shared tour but we wanted the flexibility of having the driver and day to ourselves.  For us, it was worth it to pay the extra and just be driven around and not have to worry about anything.  We had a fabulous time! You could always email them to see what their options are and what sites would be open.

Edited March 1, 2022 by erby2283
Add pictures

[edinburgher]

We flew to Lisbon for 3 days post cruise from Barcelona back in 2019.  We stayed in a beautiful apartment via VRBO versus paying a hotel and it was perfect.  Right on the main strip on Rua Augusta.

 

 

 

erby2283.  We were in Lisbon only a few months after you (Feb 2020) and totally agree about the excellent location of accommodation on and around Rua Augusta. We stayed on Rua da Prata,(which runs parallel to your Rua Augusta) close to the junction with R Sao Juliao which connects both streets., It was close to all the transport we needed for our stay (including from and to the airport) with an abundance of eating and shopping options almost on the doorstep, and flat with easy walking to several sites and to the waterfront. 

 

For anyone reading this and interested in Lisbon accommodation we could highly recommend anywhere in that immediate area.

 

Did you find Fabrica de Nata on Rua Augusta?  As we were only 1 minute or so by foot from this place we popped in a few times, not only for the natas, but also for the cheese and ham toasties which were a delicious snack.

Edited March 2, 2022 by edinburgher

[erby2283]

1 hour ago, edinburgher said:

Did you find Fabrica de Nata on Rua Augusta?  As we were only 1 minute or so by foot from this place we popped in a few times, not only for the natas, but also for the cheese and ham toasties which were a delicious snack.

 

Is this the place that had seating upstairs? If so, then yes!!!! We went there the first day and it was delicious.  On our tour we also got to visit the infamous Piriquita. Yum! 

Edited March 2, 2022 by erby2283

[edinburgher]

 If that is the one where you could watch the natas being made and going around on the conveyer belts , then it is the same one. There is another branch (with an outdoor terrace) near Rossio station.

[Janet&Carl]

we did Sintra on our own - used cruise critic for info and tripadvisor for directions on how to get there by ourselves.  We bought the platform pass ( use the whole time your are there to enter metro and train station platforms) costs 50c each then you buy your metro/train tickets - when you get to sintra there is a shuttle to the palace that is free.  I thought it was relatively easy having never been to Portugal before.

[mrobinson]

On 3/1/2022 at 2:59 PM, erby2283 said:

We flew to Lisbon for 3 days post cruise from Barcelona back in 2019.  We stayed in a beautiful apartment via VRBO versus paying a hotel and it was perfect.  Right on the main strip on Rua Augusta. It was just me and my bf at the apartment but my best friend and her husband and daughter flew in from Germany to join us for our 3 days in Lisbon.  We took a private tour with Lisbon Riders - https://lisbonriders.com/ . We did the Sintra and Cascais tour. It was slightly more to book a private tour than if we had booked their shared tour but we wanted the flexibility of having the driver and day to ourselves.  For us, it was worth it to pay the extra and just be driven around and not have to worry about anything.  We had a fabulous time! You could always email them to see what their options are and what sites would be open.

Could you provide link to the Vrbo you rented. We are looking for one also

[erby2283]

On 3/28/2022 at 7:14 AM, mrobinson said:

Could you provide link to the Vrbo you rented. We are looking for one also

Hello! I logged in to VRBO and went to my "past stays." It now says the property we stayed at is no longer available.  Not sure if they just decided to stop using it as a rental income or what.  Maybe the chat feature still works. I can try and send him a message if you'd like me to?

[iancal]

We had three days in Lisbon while on a land trip.  Liked Portugal so much we are going back next month for five weeks.

 

I would get rid of your bags ASAP.  Drop then in storage at your hotel.

 

We had a very nice DIY day out from Lisbon.  We took the train to Sintra.  Did the castle.   Then we took the bus to Cascais/Estoril.   On the way we stopped at Cabo de Rocco for 45 minutes (until the next bus came along).    Spend two hours or so  in Cascais/Estoril, then took the commuter train back to Lisbon.   Got off the train, walked through the restaurant area and finished off with a great seafood meal. 

 

 Left around  9AM,  back in our hotel room about 9:30 PM.  Great day out.

Edited April 4, 2022 by iancal

[wjfan417]

On 2/24/2022 at 10:58 AM, cleobella said:

Thanks for such great advise all, please keep it coming! We have tentatively booked the Avenida Palace Hotel, I think Rossio Train Station is a short walk away.  Do you think we can buy tickets to Sintra there?  I think Belem is only about 7 kms away so a taxi or tram ride for sure.   From what I am seeing here the very expensive private driver may not be needed?  I would love the convenience but we also have  a budget. Hopefully the Avenida Palace is nice, it seems to get good reviews and has been mentioned often on CC.  If possible we will drop off our luggage at the hotel and then head out to look around.  We are going to be disembarking on Sun Oct 20 and will also have Monday Nov 1 .  I thought we would be there for the national holiday, All Saints Day, but now see this is actually on the Wed.  So maybe I dont have to worry so much about which day we do some of the sightseeing and shopping. 

We stayed at Avenida Palace in April-liked in so much we’ve rebooked.

Great location-easy to walk in the area. You can take the train from Rossio Station (next to the hotel)  to Sintra. It’s easy to walk down to the tram that will take you to Belem. We used Uber from the hotel to port. A couple blocks up is the Gloria Elevator that will take you to the Bairro Alto neighborhood.