Transportation from Lisbon to Cascais

Note: Except for what I added here at the bottom about the bus and taxi from the airport to Cascais, if you signed up for the KMC Washington Portugal Festival enews group, you've already gotten this info in email.

A very kind Sangha told me about an affordable shuttle she found, which can pick you up at your door and take you at any hour to Lisbon Airport. You don't even need to prepay, although you can.

Lisbon Airport Transfers

 

According to her, it "is 56 euros for 1-4 people. You can prepay in USD using PayPal or give cash to the driver. It's 72 euros for 5-9 people."

 

This option probably works better for everyone who has an early flight or accommodations that aren't booked through the Festival. (Another option would be to book a hotel in Lisbon the night before your flight, especially if they have an airport shuttle that runs in the early hours, although you could take a taxi. Warning: I've read of many taxi scams from Lisbon Airport, so you have to be careful. See, for example, How to Catch a Cab from the Airport without Being Ripped Off. The Lisbon Metro (subway) doesn't run between 1am and 6:30am, according to their website, 

The bus is more complicated. On the official website of the main bus company in Lisbon,  STCP, it says they have "services that run all night." You'd want to investigate further before planning on the bus.)

 

If you're arriving early in Lisbon, before the scheduled Festival shuttles are running, and they don't add a shuttle time that works for you (which you can request from your booking cart), it sounds like the train from Lisbon to Cascais is the best option: affordable and scenic. When you go to that train link, you'll see in the diagram of the route, at the right it says Cais do Sodré, which is Lisbon. According to Wikipedia, "Cais do Sodré is the railway station in Lisbon, Portugal, serving westbound suburban route to Cascais resort. It is adjacent to the Lisbon Metro station of the same name which is the terminus for subway's Green Line (Linha da Caravela). ... The complex is situated at Duque da Terceira square in central Lisbon on the bank of the Tagus [river]." For the Green Line, see this useful Lisbon Metro map.

 

Some travelers online have said that taking a taxi from Lisbon to Cascais is reasonably priced. Again, you'd want to be careful about being overcharged.

 

There's also a bus between Lisbon and Cascais. I started looking into the bus, but it's complicated! Lots of bus routes, websites only in Portuguese, various companies that go to different places ...

 

There's also a local bus in Cascais, run by Scotturb, that goes to places like Sintra, and it's not simple either. No wonder there isn't more info yet on the Festival Transportation page!