Portugal

The following information is based on our personal experiences. We don’t guarantee for correctness and completeness of the information. If you made any contrary experience please let us know, so we can update the information for the future.

For travels between Lisbon and Lagos, Faro and Porto the Portuguese train system is quite convenient. From our rental station in Lisbon it’s 5 minutes walking to the train station where the trains to Porto arrive and leave and 20 minutes on the cycling lane to the trains to the Algarve.

Find the schedule directly at the national railway company. Bike transportation in InterCitys (IC) and Regional Trains (R) is free of charge, but limited in capacity. Specially in the summer season it’s recommended to make reservations in advance. Contact us if you need any assistance.

Rede Expressos, a national wide operating bus company allows bike transportation with a ticket which must be purchased online together with your own ticket. Please be aware that Rede Expressos is quite restrictive with the wrapping of the bikes. Theoretically the whole bike must be packed in a box, in praxis at least every dirty part of the bikes (chain, transmission, wheels) must fully be covered. Rede Expressos will refuse the bike transportation otherwise!

Flixbus officially allows only fully wrapped folding bikes. In practice they allow bikes when ever they want, but we also experienced several cases where bikes where refused also with a valid reservation.

Lisbon

Direct rains from Lisbon to Sintra are leaving 2 times per hour from trainstation Lisboa Rossio and take 45min. Trains to Cascais are leaving 3 times per hour from train station Lisboa Cais do Sodre. Both tickets coast2,45. Bike transportation is free of charge. Find the schedule directly at national railway company.

It’s convenient to catch the train to Sintra in the morning and return from from the ocean side in Cascais after your ride. Be careful both trains can be very crowded during the high season. Best to be at the station early to make sure that you find place for the bike.

To cross the river Tejo and leaving Lisbon in direction to Setubal and Alentejo it’s necessary to catch the ferry or a train. It’s not allowed to cross the bridges by foot or bike. We recommend to go on the ferry boat From Cais do Sodre to Barreiro and catch the connecting train at the other side in direction to Setubal.

Porto

The urban trains of Porto also allow to transport bikes free of charge and connect the whole metropole region of Porto. Prices are very affordable too, but vary on every leg according to the distances. Specially in Porto it is recommended to avoid the rush hours, as you might have problems to get your bike into the train. Between other destinations, the urban trains of Porto connect the metropolis of Portugals north with the citys of Braga (perfect start location for rides to Geres National Park) and Aveiro (perfect to shortcut the way between Lisbon and Porto).

Coimbra, Figueira da Foz, Obidos

Due to the strategic location in the middle between Lisbon and Porto, Coimbra got plenty of train connection, Regional and Inctercity. As the region south of Figueira da Foz is not the most exciting, also a train from Coimbra to Leiria during your route is an option. The long distance trains stop at train station “Coimbra B”.

Figueira da Foz got connecting trains frequently to Coimbra and  a few to Caldas da Rainha. Both might be interesting connections as the area directly south of Figueira is one of the more boring parts of the coast and the river valley of Rio Mondego to Coimbra sometimes is challanging due to the wind.

Also Evora, Beja, Caldas da Rainha and Tomar got direct connections with Lisbon, but only a few trains per day. If you decide to get into the train on a smaller station along the way, there might not exist a ticket selling at the station. We recommend to buy your ticket online, but you can also buy in this train.