Great News!!

[Roy Hersh]

United Airlines announced they will be flying from Newark International Airport to Porto on a daily basis. There are direct flights in some cases, but 1 stop is even more reasonably priced. The good news is that you will NOT have to fly through Lisbon. The one stop can be in a variety of European cities and Lisbon can be avoided altogether. Anyone that's used LIS as a connecting city knows it is not the most user-friendly airports, especially the badly over-crowded passport control/customs area. The fares right now are insanely good and I was able to find a one-stop each way round trip from Newark to Porto for under $560.

Yep, that is a crazy good deal, even for some of us on the west coast. Grab your tix soon and save tons of money. That's about half price on a major air carrier.

[Eric Menchen]

I was about to rag on Newark, and then read

Lisbon ... badly over-crowded passport control/customs area.

Oh yeah, now I am reminded of the strike that was going on the last time I went through Lisbon, and how long it took to get through passport control. I was late to get to my plane, but so was everyone else, so the flights themselves were delayed. Luckily I had plenty of buffer for my subsequent connection.

[Al B.]

If you're using Lisbon as a stop-over to get to Porto, consider doing the Lisbon-Porto leg by train. 1st class tickets costs €20-30 if bought in advance and the journey does take 2½-3 hours but it drops you off either in Vila Nova de Gaia or at Porto Campanha, but it saves a load of hassle using the air bridge with the different baggage allowance on that tiny plane.

[Eric Menchen]

The train is very reasonable and pleasant. I've taken it before. On my recent trip I flew into Porto via London, but out via Lisbon. That's what was cheapest.

[Mike K.]

Rail sounds like a fun option.
I looked at tickets on http://www.raileurope-world.com. What's the deal with reserving a train? I get the impression that you buy tickets that are good for a 4 date range, but you then need to reserve the actual date/time you want in order to guarantee a seat. And something about reservations only being available locally.

Thanks!

[Eric Menchen]

https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/en/buy-tickets

You can buy tickets up to 60 days out. Prices Lisbon<->Porto are in the 30-40 range, but there are some as low as 22 if you are buying enough in advance.