The Savvy Backpacker
The best way to get around Portugal depends on your trip’s goals. Sticking to urban destinations? A train ticket may be all you need. Exploring mountainous national parks and nature reserves? A car will be more useful.
Renting a car is simple enough in Portugal, with outfitters based at airports and major cities. Driving conditions can be tricky, however, with narrow cobbled streets liable to shake your teeth loose if you don’t have fat tires. And the country’s infamous one-way systems can make navigation frustrating and confusing at times.
Traveling by train is a convenient and comfortable option. Whether you’re hopping between Lisbon and Porto or exploring the white sand beaches of Algarve, high-speed Alfa Pendular trains offer modern onboard amenities and multiple travel classes to choose from. Tickets are typically cheapest if purchased in advance from the official Portugal Rail website or through third-party reseller Omio (Comboios de Portugal’s site has some translation issues and some international users might have trouble making credit card payments so I recommend sticking with Omio).
A direct train journey between Lisbon and Tramagal takes 1h 45m to cover a distance of 77 miles. It is operated by Comboios De Portugal and costs $8 – $12. You can also take a bus, with Rede Expressos, which departs from Lisboa-Santa Apolonia and arrives at Tramagal. This route is a total of 2h 25m long and cost $11 – $15. The journey generates 1.568kg of CO2 emissions.
