I have no easy means to check or update so please confirm through sources given below.
GUARDA (pop.42,000, urban area 55,000) is a city of Northeastern Portugal. It is not in the Algarve - I was visiting! The city is about 197 miles / 316 km by road from Lisbon and 126 miles /202km from Porto.
If you are not planning to spend time in Lisbon, you will need to get from the Airport to LISBOA ORIENTE station. Obviously, taxis are available. However, this is very simple using the Lisbon metro (subway) from the airport station. Trains run to Oriente station every few minutes from 0630 until 0100 every night. The journey takes about 5 minutes, ticket price €2,65. There is also city bus 744 to Oriente. City bus details at http://www.carris.pt/
If you are planning to spend time in Lisbon, all trains to
Guarda start from the city centre SANTA APOLÓNIA station.
Check all details and buy your intercity tickets at www.cp.pt nb tickets can only be bought a
maximum of 60 days in advance.
SPECIAL NOTE - until at least February
2023, trains on this route will not run between Coimbra-B and
Guarda while the line is being modernised and upgraded. A
replacement bus service will be provided for the 2hr 30 minute
journey between Coimbr/B and Guarda. Wheelchairs and bicycles will
NOT be carried on the buses.
From Lisbon Santa
Apolónia there are three direct Intercity trains each day.
Departures at 0730, 1230 and 1830. One way ticket without
discount €21,30 second class, €29,55 1st class. The return
journeys from Guarda (by bus as far as Coimbra-B) will be
at 0640, 1210, 1545 (on Sundays only) and at 1740.
If travelling to Guarda during the next few months, I strongly
advise taking the alternative route via Covilhã described below.
There are daily Intercity trains to Guarda via Covilhã, a
slightly longer journey, daily at 0815, 1315 and 1915. From Guarda
to Lisbon at 0707, 407 and 1807.
These also stop at Lisbon Oriente (much closer to the airport) 9 minutes after leaving Santa Apolónia. Journey time to Guarda approx 4hrs 20 minutes.
Reservation is required on all InterCity trains. You can buy a
ticket at the last minute, but if the train is full you will have
to wait until the next one. There are one or two connections daily
using regional trains, changing en route at Coimbra - B from
Intercity or ALFA trains to regional trains. These journeys will
take one or even two hours longer than the direct Intercity trains
and can be more expensive.
Reservations for train trips in Portugal can only be made up
to a MAXIMUM of 60 days in advance. You can reserve on line at www.cp.pt
and print your own ticket. A big discount is available on many
trains for tickets purchased more than 8 days in advance. DO
NOT use RailEurope etc as they cannot issue the required seat
reservation for which you will pay extra.
The cross border train to / from Spanish destinations has not
been running since March 2020 and seems unlikely to return. There
are no cross border train connections of any kind now available.
You will most of the time need to make your way from the airport
to the SETE RIOS bus terminal. This is about 3 miles/5km from the
airport and is linked to it by the underground metro line. Take
any train to the end of the line at São Sebastião then change to
the Blue Line for a two stop ride to Jardim Zoológico station,
which is adjacent to Sete Rios. Trains run every few minutes from
0630 daily. The journey will take around 25 minutes and cost
€2,15.
The direct Aerobus service between the Airport and Sete Rios is no longer operating.
For your bus options from elsewhere in the city check the city bus website at http://www.carris.pt/
Consult the long distance bus website www.rede-expressos.pt
for Lisbon - Guarda times and tickets, remember it's LISBOA on the
timetable search. All journeys are operated by Citi-Express.
One-way fare is currently €19.00 and the journey takes about 4 hrs
30 minutes. There are abut eight journeys each way every day, some
extras on Fridays and Sundays during University terms. Some
journeys call at Lisbon Oriente bus station,which is much nearer
the airport than Sete Rios. Reservations are strongly
recommended for travel on Friday and Sunday afternoons and
evenings.
There is no direct route by train. Travel by IC train from Porto
Campanhã to Pampilhosa and change there. Shortest journey time is
2 hours 50 minutes, most other journeys around 4 hours. The latter
option does compare badly with the coach (bus) services which take
a more direct route. There are five or six trains available each
day.
One way full price 2nd class ticket €20,90 using Intercity
trains. Details and ticket purchase at www.cp.pt
There is a metro connection between Porto Airport and Campanhã station, takes about 35 minutes and costs €2,75. Service runs daily from 0606 weekdays, 0557 weekends and holidays until 0042 every day, with trains currently about every 15 minutes weekdays between about 0700 - 2000, at other times there are two or three trains an hour. You may need to change trains, which I recommend you do at Lapa station where this is done on the same platform, no need for steps, tunnels etc.
Reservations for train trips in Portugal can only be made up to a MAXIMUM of 60 days in advance. You can reserve on line at www.cp.pt and print your own ticket. A big discount is available on many trains for tickets purchased more than 8 days in advance. DO NOT use RailEurope etc as they cannot issue the required seat reservation for which you will pay extra.
Rede-Expressos runs from Porto Campanhã Bus Station, journey is
about 3 hours. There are currently eight direct journeys every
day, with additional faster journeys in both directions on Fridays
and Sundays during University term times.
One way standard fare ticket is €15,00. Tickets can be purchased
at the Rede Expressos website www.rede-expressos.pt
The Campanhã bus terminal is a short distance outside Porto city centre, adjacent to the Campanhã railway and metro station and is served by numerous city bus routes.
The Sud Express International
train to and from Spanish destinations is no longer operating.
There are no other rail connections across this area of the
border.
There is a twice daily coach (long distance bus) passing through
Guarda on its way between Porto and Madrid. One journey runs in
daytime, one runs through the night See www.rede-expressos.pt for times and
tickets. There is also a service three times a week across north
western Spain towards France with connections to all parts of
Europe. Website www.eurolines.com for details and tickets.
The old city is on top of a tall hill. The railway station is
about 2 miles / 3km from the city centre. There is a bus service
between the station and the city centre about every 30 - 60
minutes on weekdays, less often at weekends. See below for
details. The bus station (Centro Coordenador de Transportes) is
just outside the old city, in Rua António Sérgio next to the
Municipal market.
Once you are up in the old city it is walkable if rather hilly. You cannot easily drive around there anyway! The city and suburbs have a network of five bus routes operated under the name Transportes Urbanos da Guarda. The website information is only in Portuguese. These all stop outside the bus station (C. Camionagem) or the Mercado Municipal, which is adjacent.
Route 1 also stops at the railway station - Estação C.F. This runs at irregular times, but about every 30 minutes on weekdays during busy times, every hour at other times with part of the route having buses until around 2300hrs. At weekends it runs only three times each way. Route 2 is the only other route with daily service, with two journeys each way on Saturdays and Sundays. The remaining three routes run only on weekdays.
Some of the buses used do not display the route number, just the
destination. Ticket is €1,10 for any journey paid cash. A pre paid
pass of ten tickets costs €8,50 and monthly pass €24,50. Further
discounts are available for those under 18 and aged 19 - 22 i.e.
university students.The pre pay tickets and passes are sold at the
bus station ticket office.
The Guarda municipal stadium is within walking distance of the
city centre. No buses pass nearby. Guarda however has no team in
the top four levels of Portuguese football, only regional leagues.
If you have any comments or updates for this page, I will be
pleased to receive them by email.
For more about Guarda as a city, please see this Wikipedia
article
I take no responsibility for any inconvenience caused as a result of later changes to times etc. This page is for general guidance only and you must check details before making commitments and decisions!
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