How To Reach Portugal

Portugal, the land itself has been inhabited for nearly 30,000 years. It has seen humans evolve from the Neolithic age to the age of tools and then Christ. Roman Empire has been followed by Moorish, followed by an opulent and rich Portuguese one. Portugals were one of the firsts to set sail to far off shores of the earth, including India (Vasco da Gama). Today this European country is a beautiful beacon of its rich history and serves as a delight for tourists with its long stretches of beaches, ruins, churches and palaces. To reach Portugal, your best bet is a flight. Read on for details on the same and other options at your disposal.

From India, you have the option of flights to Portugal from New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Goa. These flights are one-stop flights and reach one of the following airports in Portugal - Lisbon, Portela, Humberto Delgado, Faro or Madeira. Airlines like Lufthansa, Air France, Air India, British Airways and Jet Airways operate regularly on these routes. Domestically, you can fly budget Portuguese airlines like Aer Lingus, Monarch, Ryanair, easyJet etc.

In Portugal, the main taxi service is centraldetaxis.pt that also offers a hub for nationwide taxi bookings. You can get a list of taxi fares for your travel itinerary, tours, hotel and airport transfers etc from their website. Buses are also an option if you are on budget. The two main bus service providers are ALSA and Auto Res (connect Portugal to Spain) and AnÍbal (connect Portugal to France). For the cities, you have Uber to help you navigate easily.

Portugal is very well connected, internally as well as to other countries, by rail. There are railway lines between the capital Lisbon and Spain’s Madrid and France’s Paris. For domestic rail travel, you will find that Eurail trains will connect some of Portugal’s most important cities starting from the southern-most tip of Faro to Lisbon, Coimbra, Porto and Braga at the northern end of the country. Special passes are also available for a trip across all these cities by train, like a tour. Local trains also run in cities like Lisbon and Porto, and are called urbanos.

Getting around in the cities of Portugal is a pretty easy job, what with taxis that are run by meter as well as those that can be hired from private companies, local trains and buses. Taxis that are marked with ‘A’ are those on hire and use meters, while those marked ’T’ do not use meters and have to be called by dialling the private company they are owned by. The good thing is, big cities like Lisbon and Porto do have Uber as well. If you wish to use the local transport then Lisbon and Porto have local trains called ‘urbanos.’ Lisbon also boasts of trams that give you a unique vintage experience, especially in the interiors of Alfama district. Hitch-hiking from strangers is not advised.