Cascais-Portugal.com
The best independent guide to Cascais
Cascais-Portugal.com
The best independent guide to Cascais
Cascais Intro - Cascais Sights - 1 Week in Cascais - Cascais Beaches - Day Trip to Cascais - Lisbon to Cascais
Lisbon Airport to Cascais
For a guide of traveling from Lisbon to Cascais please click here
Cascais is a fantastic holiday destination, offering glorious beaches, a traditional Portuguese town, and a buzzing summer time holiday atmosphere. The main airport of central Portugal is Lisbon airport, and this is situated 35km to the east of Cascais. There is reliable and inexpensive public transport connecting Lisbon airport to Cascais and this article will detail all the stages of the journey.
What Options do I have to travel from Lisbon Airport to Cascais?
There are a number of different choices when travelling from the airport to Cascais, they are:
• Taxi/Uber, hired from airport
• Pre-booked private transfer
• Public transport (metro/bus and train - this is detailed at the end of the article)
A taxi hired directly from the arrivals lounge will be the most expensive means of travel to Cascais. Taxis are good value for short journeys within the limits of Lisbon, but are costly for longer fares. If you do take a taxi always ensure the meter is switched on or agree a price before leaving, and expect to pay around €80-100. Larger taxis (7 seaters) or taxis registered outside of Lisbon will charge higher rates. There will be an additional charge for luggage.
The train from Lisbon to Cascais
Lisbon airport
Uber has arrived in Portugal, much to the disgust of traditional taxi drivers, and provides a slightly cheaper alternative to a taxi. The main difficulty with Uber and airport transfers, is that they cannot pick up at the arrivals building and there is often confusion on the exact meeting location.
There are no shared transfers from Lisbon airport to Cascais as there is not enough demand. A pre-booked private transfer from the airport to Cascais is often the best idea if you are travelling as a family or group. Prices and standards vary, but typical costs are €50 - €70. For a section of the better transfer companies (based on reviews) please see, GetYourGuide.com (link opens new window).
The taxi, Uber or private transfer from Lisbon airport to Cascais takes around 60 minutes but will be much longer during the evening rush hour. As with all services in Portugal, if the driver has been courteous always consider a tip as Portuguese wages are so poor.
Public transport from Lisbon airport to Cascais requires the metro or bus (called the Aerobus) to Cais do Sodre train station and then catches an urban train to central Cascais. The entire journey by public transport costs less than €5 and the typical journey time is 1h30min, and is how we travel to Cascais. The remainder of this article will detail how to travel from Lisbon airport to Cascais using public transport.
Lisbon Airport to Cascais Using public transport
There are three stages of the journey from the airport to your hotel in Cascais:
• Airport to Cais do Sodre station (by Aerobus €4.00, metro €1.50)
• Cais do Sodre station to Cascais (train €2.30)
• Cascais train station to your exact hotel (walk or taxi)
A taxi from Lisbon airport to Cascais will be very expensive
The beautiful beaches of Cascais
Lisbon Airport to Cais do Sodre train station
The first stage of the journey is travelling from the airport to Cais do Sodre train station. The train station is to the west of Lisbon’s historic centre and its exact GPS coordinates are GPS: 38.70581, -9.14446. There are two methods to travel to the station, either the metro or the Aerobus (a special bus services that connects the airport to the Baixa district and Cais do Sodre).
The advantage of the bus is that it is direct and does not need a connection, but is slightly more expensive. The Aerobus departs from the arrivals terminal and there is a service every 20 minutes with a ticket costing €4.00 . The first service is at 8:10 and last service is at 21:10. The journey time is 20 minutes but follows an interesting route down Lisbon's main avenues. More information about the Aerobus can be found on their website:
https://www.aerobus.pt
(link opens new tab)
The Aerobus outside terminal 2
Lisbon metro is modern and inexpensive
The metro route requires a connection as the airport is connected to the red line and Cais do Sodré is the final stop on the green metro line. The connection is at Alameda metro station, and this involves a walk of 300m and three flights of stairs. Alameda is a modern station, and there are lifts and disability facilities. A single metro ticket costs €1.50 and is charged to the Viva Viagem reusable card, the initial purchase for this card is €0.50. The train to Cascais also uses the Viva Viagem card.
There is very little to separate the metro and the Aerobus, and both means of travel are suitable for travelling to the train station. A taxi fare from the airport to Cais do Sodre costs €15-20, but there is little point as the public transport options are so convenient.
Cais do Sodre train station to Cascais
The second stage of the journey, is the train from Cais do Sodre to Cascais. During daylight hours there is a departure every 20 minutes and the journey takes between 30-40 minutes, depending on the number of stops. The last trains of the night depart from both Cascais and Lisbon at 0:30am, 1:00am and 1:30am (correct at 2020). For the full timetable, please see the CP website:
www.cp.pt/
(Note: the link opens a new window and is a PDF file, so may download on certain browsers)
The train journey from Lisbon to Cascais passes through four fare zones and costs, €2.30 for an adult single and €1.15 for a child. The ticket is charged to the Viva Viagem card (same card used for the metro). Each traveller requires their own individual Viva Viagem card. Tickets can be purchased from the ticket office, which always has long queues, or from the ticket machines that have instructions in English.
The Cais do Sodre railway station in Lisbon
The Cascais train in Lisbon station
Cais do Sodre is a busy train station so always use sensible precautions so as not to attract pickpockets and other opportunistic thieves. The train journey follows the coastline and is scenic, so always sit on the left side of the of the carriage. All of the train fares are summarised on the CP (Comboios de Portugal), website:
www.cp.pt/
(Note: the link opens a new window and is a PDF file, so may download on certain browsers)
Cascais Train Station
Cascais is the final stop of the railway, and the station is located in the centre of the town, the exact GPS coordinates are 38.70075, -9.41839. Outside of the station is a taxi rank if a further journey is needed to reach your hotel. The main bus station of Cascais is located below the Cascais Villa shopping centre (GPS: 38.70129, -9.41972), 200m walk from the station.
Our most popular guide for Cascais and Lisbon
A complete list of all of our guides to Portugal in 2023
Cascais-Portugal.com, Sintra-Portugal.com and Lisbon-Portugal-Guide.com with over 800 pages,
if its not here it's probably not in Cascais, Estoril or the Lisbon coastline!