UK to Portugal by train?

Of course!  It's easy to reach Portugal by train from London, by Eurostar from London to Paris, a high-speed TGV from Paris to Irun on the Spanish frontier, then the famous Sud Express overnight to Lisbon, with sleeping-cars, restaurant & bar, the civilised way to reach Portugal.  Or you can take Eurostar and the overnight trainhotel Francisco de Goya to Madrid, spend a day exploring the Spanish capital, then take the trainhotel Lusitania overnight to Lisbon.  This page will tell you train times, fares, and the best ways to buy tickets.

Train times, fares & how to buy tickets...

London to Lisbon by Eurostar, TGV & the Sud Express.

London to Lisbon by Eurostar, trainhotel Madrid, trainhotel Lisbon.

London to Lisbon by daytime trains with hotel stops at Irun & Vigo.

London to Porto

London to Faro & the Algarve via Lisbon & the Sud Express

London to Faro & the Algarve via bus from Seville

London to Madeira

Other travel information...

Buying UK train tickets to connect with Eurostar

How to change trains & stations in Paris by metro, RER or taxi   

Left luggage facilities in Paris & Madrid

Luggage on trains  -  Send your luggage in advance

Taking your bike   Taking your dog   Taking your car    

People with disabilities

Hotels & accommodation in Portugal

Tailor-made holidays & tours to Portugal by train not plane

Sponsored links...

Useful country information

London to Lisbon via the Sud Express

This is the direct option between London, Paris & Lisbon, using Eurostar to Paris, a morning high-speed TGV to the Spanish frontier, then the modern incarnation of one of Europe's famous trains, the Sud Express, overnight to Lisbon.  The Sud Express is now a trainhotel featuring a restaurant, cafe-bar, and cosy sleepers including some Gran Clase sleepers with private toilet & shower.  The times shown here are the revised Sud Express times applying from 2 October 2012 onwards, when the Sud was combined with the Madrid-Lisbon Lusitania for the western part of its journey to save money.

London ► Lisbon

Lisbon ► London

• Travel from Lisbon to Hendaye on the Sud Express, leaving Lisbon Santa Apolonia station daily at 21:18 or Lisbon Oriente station at 21:27 and arriving Hendaye at 11:28 next morning.  In the northbound direction interchange between Spanish and French trains happens at Hendaye on the French side rather than Irun on the Spanish side.  It's an easy transfer across the platform to the TGV train to Paris.  The Sud Express is now an articulated Spanish trainhotel, with Gran Clase 1 & 2 bed sleepers with private shower & toilet, Preferente class 1 & 2 bed sleepers with washbasin, Turista class shared 4-bed sleepers, Turista class seats, a cafe-bar with full-length bar & bar-stools, and an elegant restaurant car.  Map of Lisbon showing Santa Apolonia & Oriente stations.

• Travel from Hendaye to Paris by high-speed TGV, leaving Hendaye at 12:45 and arriving in Paris Gare Montparnasse at 18:33.  Cafe-bar available.  Cross Paris by métro to the Gare du Nord.

• Travel from Paris to London by Eurostar, leaving Paris Gare du Nord at 20:13 and arriving London St Pancras at 21:39.  Daily except Saturdays there's also a later Eurostar at 21:13 arriving 22:36.

See the London to Paris page for information about Eurostar...

On board the TGV from Paris to Hendaye on the Spanish border...

The TGV's interior is designed by Christian Lacroix, with power sockets at all seats.  On the TGV Atlantique route from Paris to Bordeaux & the Spanish border, one 1st class car has a conventional open plan layout, the other two have a unique layout with bays of two seats facing across a table one side of the aisle, and semi-compartments of 4 seats around a table on the other, as pictured below.  Very civilised!

TGVs to the Spanish border, waiting to leave Paris Gare Montparnasse...		1st class on TGV Atlantique, showing semi-compartments.  Courtesy Rafal Tomasik.

2nd class seats on the TGV.  Most are unidirectional, some are in bays of 4 like this.  See panorama photo		The café-bar car, serving drinks, snacks & microwaved hot dishes.  See a typical menu here...

On board the Sud Express from Irun on the Spanish frontier to Lisbon...

In March 2010 the Sud Express became an articulated Spanish trainhotel, complete with restaurant car, cafe-bar and cosy sleepers, including some Gran Clase sleepers with private toilet and shower.  See panorama photo of 4-berth tourist class sleeper.

The Sud Express, about to leave Irun on the Franco-Spanish frontier, bound for Lisbon...  Courtesy of Ron Baker.  See panorama photo...		Gran Clase sleeper, in evening mode with the seats folded out...		...return from dinner to find the attendant has made up the beds...

The full-length bar on a trainhotel, similar to that on the Sud Express...		The elegant restaurant car on the Sud Express...  Courtesy of Ron Baker.  See panorama photo...

How much does it cost?

How to buy tickets online if you live in the UK...

	The Sud Express arrives in Lisbon Oriente:  The Sud Express has just arrived at Lisbon's new Oriente station.  Change here for InterCity trains to Faro & the Algarve, remain on board for the final stop, Lisbon's original Santa Apolonia Station for Lisbon city centre.  Photo courtesy of Ron Baker...

• When do bookings open?  Eurostar opens for bookings 120 days ahead, all the other trains open 90 or 92 days ahead but I strongly recommend waiting until all trains are open for booking so you can check times & availability for the Sud Express & TGV before booking a non-refundable non-changeable Eurostar ticket.  Accommodation can be booked before booking your trains risk-free, if you use a site such as www.booking.com with free cancellation.  We're going to book each train separately, so use the train times above to make a note of each specific train you want to book and the date you want to book it.

• Step 1, book the Sud Express at at www.raileurope.co.uk.  This is the critical leg, that's why we do this first.  You should book a return trip as two one-ways, first Irun to Lisbon, add to basket, click 'continue shopping' then book Lisbon to Hendaye and add to basket.  Note that Rail Europe only sells the flexible fares, not the Promo or Promo+ fares, these are only available at www.renfe.com, as explained in the section below.

• Step 2, still at www.raileurope.co.uk, click 'continue shopping' and book the TGV from Paris to Hendaye and back.

• Step 3, now click 'continue shopping' again and book the Eurostar from London to Paris and back, making sure you allow at least 60 minutes to cross Paris outward, 90 minutes on the return (to allow for the 30 min Eurostar check-in).  Although buying at www.raileurope.co.uk means you can buy all your tickets together in one place, you may prefer to book your Eurostar at www.eurostar.com, as this can book you through tickets from 130 UK towns and cities to Paris, saving money over buying a separate UK ticket up to London.  It also gives you a chance to select an exact seat on Eurostar.

        How to buy tickets, anyone...

Anyone from any country can buy tickets from London or Paris to Lisbon as follows, with print-at-home tickets:

• Eurostar opens for bookings 120 days ahead, all the other trains open 90 or 92 days ahead but I strongly recommend waiting until all trains are open for booking so you can do a 'dry run' on all websites before booking for real, checking exact times, prices & availability.  Hotel accommodation can be booked before booking your trains risk-free if you use a site such as www.booking.com with free cancellation.

• We're going to book each train separately, so use the train times above to make a note of each specific train you want to book and the date you want to book it.  That's because there isn't any one website where you can enter 'London' and 'Lisbon' and book all in one go at the cheapest prices for each leg.  This way, you'll see the cheapest prices and get an easy 'print-at-home' ticket for each train.

• Step 1, book the Sud Express, this is the critical leg so we do this first.  Go to www.renfe.com, click 'welcome' for English, then 'Purchase'. 

• Select 'Return' for a round trip or 'Outward' for a one-way, and enter 'Irun-Hend' (not 'Irun' unless you're only going westbound) to 'Lisboa' and your dates of travel.  Click 'Search'.  Up comes the Trenhotel.

• Click the '+' sign to see prices per person.  'Promo' and 'Promo+' are simply different levels of advance-purchase fare with limited or no refunds and changes allowed, go for these if you see them.  'Turista' means tourist class seat. 'Cama' is Spanish for 'bed', so 'Cama Turista' means bed in a tourist class 4-berth sleeper, shared with other passengers and single-sex unless you book all 4 berths.  'Cama Preferen' means 2-bed sleeper with washbasin and breakfast included.  'Cama G. Clase' means Gran Clase 2-bed sleeper with private shower & toilet and dinner with wine and breakfast included.  Select the type you want and hit 'continue'.

• Select the sleeper type again(!) and enter the number of passengers.  If there's two of you and you want to share one private 2-berth sleeper, select '2' under 'Family Double'.  If you want two separate compartments you select '2' under 'Single' which gets you a whole compartment each.  If there's 3 or 4 of you and you want a whole 4-berth sleeper, select 4 passengers at the start, then select 'Cama Turista' then select '4' against 'Family'.

• On the next page, select 'Niño' (Spanish for child) for any travellers who are under 12, 'Joven<26' ('youth') for anyone aged 12 to 25 inclusive, or 'Senior' for anyone over 60.  Leave it as 'Adulto solo ida' for any adults.  Note that children under 4 go free, but don't get their own bed, so if you want a bed for them (and I'd certainly want a bed for my wriggly 3 year old), book them as a Niño (child 4-11).

• On the next page, enter your details.  When asked for a phone number, use the country code without any '+' or '0' for example 441844292884.  You pay, and print your own tickets.

• If you have any problems using Renfe.com (it sometimes refuses payment with the infamous 'GU100' error) simply use www.petrabax.com/renfe instead (click 'TRAINS').  Petrabax is a US-based Spanish travel specialist, they have a link to Renfe's ticketing system so sell the same tickets at more or less same prices with a modest mark-up, but it's much simpler to use and there are no payment problems.  You can still print your own ticket!

• Step 2, now book the TGV connection from Paris to Hendaye.  Go to the French Railways website www.voyages-sncf.com.  You'll usually get a print-at-home e-ticket.

• Step 3, now book your Eurostar connection between London & Paris at www.eurostar.com.  Again, you'll get a print-at-home ticket.  If you live outside London, www.eurostar.com allows you to buy through tickets to Paris from 130 UK towns & cities all over Britain, which can save a lot of money over buying a separate ticket from your local station to London.  Alternatively, you can buy a special add-on ticket from almost any station in Britain to London International (St Pancras).  www.eurostar.com even allows you to choose an exact seat from a numbered seating plan, look closely for the 'choose exact seat' link towards the end of the process.  See tips on choosing the best seats on Eurostar.

• If you have any problems, you can book through EuropeanRail.com by email, or ask Railbookers to sort a whole itinerary with hotels out for you, or book by phone, as shown below.

...or ask European Rail to book your tickets for you.

If you'd rather ask an experienced agency to book tickets for you, simply fill in this simple booking form and email it to sales@europeanrail.com.  They will call you back to confirm the cost, usually within 24 hours.  If you're okay with the price you can give them your credit card details and they'll send you the tickets.  European Rail (Erail) is a London-based ticketing agency who can access the cheap fares for Eurostar and TGV and trains across Spain.  They charge a £35 booking fee which includes postage to any UK address, or they can send to any address worldwide if you pay the courier fee.  Seat61 gets some commission if you buy tickets using this form.

...or ask Railbookers for tailor-made travel & hotel arrangements.

If you need hotels booked for you as well, the easy option is to get reliable specialist agency Railbookers to arrange your whole trip, with train bookings, hotels and transfers all sorted with one phone call.  Just tell them when and where you want to go, and they'll create the best rail holiday for you.

In the UK, call  020 3327 0761 or see www.railbookers.com.

In the USA & Canada, call toll-free 1-800-408-3280 or see railbookers.com.

In Australia call toll-free 1300 971 526 or see www.railbookers.com.au

In New Zealand call toll-free 0800 002 034 or see website.

How to buy tickets by phone...

In the UK, call www.spanish-rail.co.uk on 020 3137 4464 (lines open 09:30-17:30 Monday-Friday), or www.europeanrail.com on 020 7619 1083.  If you live overseas, call or email www.europeanrail.com on +44 20 7387 0444, they can send tickets overseas for a small fee. 

Top tip:  By all means ask the agency to book all your tickets (in other words, the London-Paris-Hendaye tickets as well as the ticket for the Sud Express), but it's worth checking the prices for London-Paris & Paris-Hendaye trains online at www.raileurope.co.uk, as you can then see exactly what cheap fares are available for yourself.  If the agency won't sell you the same cheap deals as you can see online (or wants to charge you another hefty booking fee for these!), book London-Paris & Paris-Hendaye online at www.raileurope.co.uk, and just use the agency to obtain your Sud Express tickets.

Traveller's report...

Traveller Nick Stone reports:  "...Instead of flying to Lisbon to join friends, earlier this month for sightseeing in the city, I took the train and what a marvellous trip it was.  Bought a return £69 Eurostar ticket from London to Paris, than a Prem's €43 TGV ticket from Paris Montparnasse to Irun.  It would have been €25 if I'd travelled on a day other than a Friday.  From Irun, it was a £72 ticket for the Sud Express from Irun to Lisbon.  I paid for a shared cabin but ended having it to myself!  Included in the ticket was breakfast the next morning of orange juice, coffee and toast.  The Sud Express is highly recommended, especially the scenery the next morning through Portugal."

Lisbon Santa Apolonia station...   Click for city map

For the city centre, you want Santa Apolonia station, although if you're heading to or from Faro & the Algarve, these trains start at Lisbon Oriente station so change there.

Lisbon's central Santa Apolonia station.  Photos courtesy of Ian Moffat.

---

London to Lisbon via Madrid

You can also reach Lisbon travelling via Madrid.  This takes an extra night, but gives you a free day to explore the Spanish capital.  The trainhotels between Paris & Madrid and Paris & Lisbon also offer Gran Clase sleepers with private shower & toilet, as well as a restaurant and bar, making this option a good choice.

London ► Lisbon

London to Lisbon by daytime trains

London to Porto, Lisbon & Faro by daytime trains via Vigo...

This is nowhere near as time-effective as using sleeper trains as in two options above, but you may prefer comfortable all-daytime travel through interesting scenery with overnight stops in a hotel at Irun on the Spanish border and at Vigo.  The journey takes 2 nights, 2 days to Porto, and just a little longer to Lisbon.

London ► Porto, Lisbon, Faro

Faro, Lisbon, Porto ► London

• Day 1, coming from Faro:  Travel from Faro to Porto on a direct Alfa Pendular train, leaving Faro at 07:00 arriving Porto Campanhã at 12:44.  Spend some time exploring Porto.

• Day 1, coming from Lisbon:  Travel from Lisbon to Porto on any suitable train, for example the 14:00 from Lisbon Santa Apolonia arriving Porto Campanhã at 16:46

• Day 1, travel from Porto to Vigo by air-conditioned local train leaving Porto Campanhã at 18:10 and arriving Vigo at 22:15.  If you'd prefer an earlier train to spend some time in Vigo, there's an 07:55 from Porto arriving Vigo at 11:49.

• Stay overnight in a hotel in Vigo.

• Day 2, travel from North-West Spain to Irun by air-conditioned Arco train, leaving A Coruna at 09:10 or Santiago de Compostela at 09:44 and arriving at Hendaye on the French side of the French border at 20:37.

• Spend the night in a hotel in Hendaye.  Try the Campanille Hendaye, or stay in Irun at the Albergue Martindozenea (cheap, fairly near the station, gets good reviews) or the Alcazar (also getting good reviews and not too far from the station).

• Day 3, travel from Hendaye to Paris by high-speed TGV, leaving Hendaye daily at 12:45 and arriving Paris Gare Montparnasse at 18:33, see the TGV photos above.  There are usually two or three TGVs a day from Hendaye to Paris, check what time TGVs link Hendaye and Paris on your date of travel using www.raileurope.co.uk or www.voyages-sncf.com.  Cross Paris by métro to the Gare du Nord.

• Day 3, travel from Paris to London by Eurostar, leaving Paris Gare du Nord at 20:13 arriving in London St Pancras at 21:39.  Adjust the Eurostar connection to London as necessary, depending when your TGV arrives in Paris  - allow at lest 90 minutes between the TGV arrival in Paris and the Eurostar departure from Paris Nord

How much does it cost?

• London to Paris by Eurostar starts at £39 one-way or £69 return 2nd class or £107 one-way, £189 return 1st class (non-refundable, non-changeable).  Like air fares, the price rises as cheaper seats are sold, so book early for the best price.

• If you book in advance, Paris to Irun or Hendaye to Paris by TGV costs from as little as €25 (£23) each way in 2nd class, €40 (£36) each way in 1st class.  The price varies, so book early for the cheaper prices.

• Irun to Vigo costs from €50.90 full-price in turista class.  This is the one-way fare, double it and deduct 10% for a return.

• Vigo to Porto costs approximately €15 (= €3.80 for Vigo to Tui on the border plus €11 for Tui to Porto).  Turista class only.

How to buy tickets online...

• Step 1, go to www.raileurope.co.uk (for UK residents, backed by UK call centre) and book from London to Irun one-way.  Add this to your basket, then (if you're returning) book Hendaye to London one way.  In fact, I recommend splitting the booking 3 ways, as there's a discount if you book Eurostar as a return journey, and you may also want to mix and match 2nd class on Eurostar with 1st class on the TGV, as Eurostar 1st class is expensive, but there are often some great 1st class deals on the TGV:  First book London to Paris and back and add this to you basket.  Then book Paris to Irun one-way and add to basket.  Finally, book Hendaye to Paris one-way and add it to your basket.  You can then pay for all three bookings together as one transaction.

• Alternatively, anyone from any country can book from London to Paris at www.eurostar.com with print-at-home tickets, then book from Paris to Irun and Hendaye to Paris at www.voyages-sncf.com, also usually with print-at-home tickets or ticket collection at the station in France.  Make sure you allow at least 60 minutes to change trains and stations in Paris outward, 90 minutes northbound as this needs to include the 30-minute Eurostar check-in.

• Step 2, now book the train from Irun to Vigo using the Spanish Railways website, www.renfe.com, see this step-by-step guide to booking tickets with renfe.com.  If you have any difficulty booking the Spanish train at Renfe.com, simply book with either www.petrabax.com/renfe (prices in $) or www.raileurope-world.com (prices in €) instead.  Both these sites link to the Renfe ticketing system so offer the same fares with the same print-at-home ticketing, they charge a small fee or mark-up, but it can be worth it as they are in plain English with no payment problems.

• Step 3, just buy the Vigo to Porto ticket at the station when you get to Vigo.  It's possible that you will only be sold a ticket to the border (a place called Tui) and will need to buy the Tui to Porto Portuguese ticket on board the train, feedback would be appreciated.

• Step 4, book your hotels here.

On board the TGV from Paris to Irun on the Spanish border...

The TGV's interior is designed by Christian Lacroix, with power sockets at all seats.  On the TGV Atlantique route from Paris to Bordeaux & the Spanish border, one 1st class car has a conventional open plan layout, the other two have a unique layout with bays of two seats facing across a table one side of the aisle, and semi-compartments of 4 seats around a table on the other, as pictured below.  Very civilised!

TGVs to the Spanish border, waiting to leave Paris Montparnasse...		1st class on TGV Atlantique, showing semi-compartments.  Courtesy Rafal Tomasik.

2nd class seats on the TGV.  Most are unidirectional, some are in bays of 4 like this.  See panorama photo		The café-bar car, serving drinks, snacks & microwaved hot dishes.  See a typical menu here...

On board the Arco train from Irun to Vigo...

Cafe-bar on the Arco train from Irun to Vigo.  Courtesy of Martin Hill		Turista seating on the Arco train from Irun to Vigo.  Courtesy of Martin Hill

Preferente seating on the Arco train from Irun to Vigo.  Courtesy of Martin Hill		Scenery as the train enters Galicia on its way to Vigo.  Photo courtesy of Martin Hill.

On board the Vigo to Porto local train...

The local train between Vigo & Porto.  Photos courtesy of Martin Hill.

Traveller's report...

Traveller Martin Hill went from the UK to Portugal this way in 2013:  "In Irun we stayed at the Alcazar hotel, a €5 taxi ride from the station. It's very quaint and basic as it's stuck in a time-warp of about 30 years ago. The staff speak little English but are very obliging. Unfortunately there was no restaurant open when we arrived around 9pm from Paris, though there is a bar.

The scenery from Irun to Vigo is very varied. The first hour or two the line follows river valleys through the Pyrenees. Due to recent storms the rivers were severely flooded and quite spectacular. Much of the journey is then across a plain with distant views of snow-capped mountains, including the southern edge of the Picos de Europa.  As you reach Galicia the journey gets exciting, as the line climbs through mountains, and at one stage does a 360-degree spiral to change levels. It follows a very attractive river and several lakes.

The Arco train has music channels and shows a couple of videos during the journey. They bring earphones round free of charge, but you may want to have your own. There was a buffet car which was open pretty much throughout the journey with the same staff all the way. Prices were quite reasonable after the TGV. On the ARCO coffee was €1.50, cake €1, a half-bottle of wine €4.10 and a very nice microwaved pizza €4.30. There were three locomotive changes with scheduled stops of about 20 minutes each time which enabled us to visit the station buffets with a more varied selection. We recommend having a copy of the complete train timetable so that you know where the long stops are. The train changed direction twice.

The Portuguese train from Vigo to Porto has a toilet but no catering. However, the station buffet at Vigo Guixar is very well-stocked and opens at 7am. Note that the station in Vigo is not the one marked on maps, including Google Maps, as they are rebuilding the old station to accommodate the high-speed trains which will reach Vigo in a couple of years or so. In the meantime they have built a new station called Vigo-Guixar (marked on some maps as Vigo-Puerto) at least 1km from the old station."

Here is the most time-effective option from London to Porto, using Eurostar and the Sud Express sleeper train.  If you would prefer to use daytime trains with overnight stops in hotels, and don't mind it taking a bit longer, see the London to Portugal by daytime trains section above.

London ► Porto

Porto ► London

Above:  Modern air-conditioned InterCity trains link Lisbon with Faro and the Algarve several times daily.  Photos courtesy of Luisfer

Faro, Albufeira, Lagos ► London

Fares...

• Lisbon to Faro costs €21 each way in 2nd class, €27 each way in 1st class, full price.  Discounted advance-purchase fares are often available at www.cp.pt.

• For fares London to Lisbon, see the Lisbon section above.

How to buy tickets...

• See the Lisbon section to buy tickets from London to Lisbon.

• Buy Lisbon-Faro tickets online including the necessary reservation at www.cp.pt.  Remember that Lisbon is spelt 'Lisboa' and you should select 'Lisboa - Oriente' for trains to Faro.  You print your own ticket.

London to the Algarve via Seville...

It's also possible to travel via Madrid and Seville, if you don't mind a bus journey at the end.  This routing may be cheaper, and just as fast.

• Take the 13:31 Eurostar to Paris, the overnight Elipsos trainhotel to Madrid, and a high-speed AVE train to Seville next morning, as shown in the London to Seville section on the Spain page.  You arrive at Seville around 13:30.  Buy tickets as shown in the London to Seville section on the Spain page.

• Travel from Seville to Faro by bus, a 3 hour 40 minute trip.  Buses run from Seville Plaza de Armas to Faro twice daily at 07:30 & 16:15, and from Faro back to Seville at 08:20 & 15:35.  The fare is around 16-18 euros each way.  The bus service is run jointly by Damas & Eva-Bus, www.damas-sa.es & www.eva-bus.com, and there may be additional buses in July & August,  although you may find this unofficial British-run website more helpful in explaining Seville-Faro timetables.  You can book one-way or return journeys from Seville to Faro online at www.movelia.es, or one-way or return journeys starting in Faro at www.rede-expressos.pt.  Another company, www.alsa.es, also has two daily buses Seville-Faro, with online booking in either direction.

A weekly summer ferry service started in 2008, linking southern Portugal (Portimao in the Algarve) with Funchal on Madeira.  The ferry crossing takes 24 hours.  For train service between London, Paris & Portimao, see the London to the Algarve section above.  A complete journey from London St Pancras to Madeira by train & ferry takes 3 nights, including 1 night on a sleeper train, 1 night in a hotel in Portimao, and 1 night on the ferry.

• Outwards to Madeira:  The ferry leaves Portimao (Portugal) at 13:00 on Sundays, arriving Funchal (Madeira) at 11:30 on Mondays.

• Return from Madeira:  The ferry leaves Funchal (Madeira) at 10:30 on Saturdays, arriving Portimao (Portugal) on Sundays at 08:30.

• Fares from €83 each way in a reclining seat, €155 each way per person for two people in a double cabin, €310 each way in a private single-bed cabin.  See www.navieraarmas.com for sailing dates, times, fares and online booking. 

• Portimao has a railway station on the line to Lagos.  So see the London to Lagos train times above - the connecting train from Tunes to Lagos mentioned in that section calls at Portimao about 15 minutes before arriving at Lagos.

UPDATE 2012:  It's reported this ferry ceased operating, leaving no way to reach Madeira except cruise ships or flying.

Guidebooks

Make sure you take a good guidebook.  I think the best ones out there for the independent traveller are the Lonely Planets and the Rough Guides.  Both books provide an excellent level of practical information and cultural and historical background. You won't regret buying one of these!  My own book, an essential handbook for train travel to Europe based on this website called "The Man in Seat 61", is due to be published in June 2008, and Amazon will let you pre-order now.

Click the images to buy at Amazon.co.uk

The Thomas Cook European Timetable

The Thomas Cook European timetable has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency & climate information.  Published since 1873, it costs £14.99.  It's essential for any serious traveller and an inspiration for armchair travellers.  Still not convinced you need one?  More information on what the Thomas Cook Timetable contains.  You can buy the latest monthly edition online at www.thomascookpublishing.com with worldwide delivery or buy it in person from selected UK branches of Thomas Cook (ask at the bureau de change), or from W H Smiths in Victoria station in London.  Or buy the twice-yearly independent traveller's edition with laminated cover from Amazon.co.uk:  Winter/Spring 2012/13 edition (Dec 2012 to June 2013) or (when available) Summer/Autumn 2013 edition (June to Dec 2013)

The Thomas Cook Rail Map of Europe is the best and most comprehensive map of train routes right across Europe, from Portugal in the west to Istanbul, Moscow & Ukraine in the east, from Finland in the north to Sicily & Crete in the south.  High speed & scenic routes are highlighted.  Highly recommended!  Buy online at www.amazon.co.uk (worldwide delivery).  See an extract from the map.

Find hotels in Lisbon, Porto, the Algarve...

Other hotel sites worth trying...

• www.tripadvisor.com is the place to find independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.

• www.booking.com is my own preferred hotel booking system (Hotels Combined being a search/comparison system).  It has a simple interface, a good selection in most countries worldwide, useful online customer reviews of each hotel, and decent prices, usually shown inclusive of unavoidable extras such as taxes (a pet hate of mine is systems that show one price, then charge you another!).

• www.venere.com (Lisbon, Porto, or Algarve pages):  The price you see is the price you pay, no hidden extras, and you simply pay the hotel when you get there.  After you've booked, you can change or cancel your reservation in line with the hotel's own change and cancellation policy.

Backpacker hostels...

• www.hostelbookers.com:  If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels.  Hostelbookers offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in most cities at rock-bottom prices.

Holidays to Portugal by train..

	020 3327 0761 (UK) 1-800-408-3280 (USA) 1300 971 526 (Aus) 0800 002 034 (NZ)
	01904 527120
	020 7619 1080 (UK) Please quote 'seat61'

If you want a holiday to Portugal by train not plane, but want someone else to organise all the train tickets & hotels for you, several specialist companies do just that, for a holiday without airport hassles or whole days in cramped coach seats on motorways.  Railbookers & Erail offer tailor-made individual holidays with departure on any date you like, whereas Treyn Holidays & Great Rail Journeys offer escorted tours with specific departure dates.

Railbookers tailor-made tours, holidays & breaks by train...

Railbookers can tailor-make a flight-free holiday or city break to Portugal for you, with train travel, transfers & hotels, leaving on any date you like.  If you tell them what you want, they'll advise you on the best trains, routes & hotels and sort it all out for you.  They get a lot of repeat business!

  UK call 020 3327 0761, www.railbookers.com. 

Call toll-free 1-800-408-3280 or www.us.railbookers.com.

Australia call toll-free 1300 971 526, www.railbookers.com.au. 

  New Zealand call toll-free 0800 002 034 or see website.

Erail, www.erail.co.uk, 020 7619 1080.  Please quote 'Seat61.com' when you call...

Erail can also tailor-make a holiday to Portugal by train for you, with departure on any date you like.  Call 020 7619 1080 to enquire or book, please quote 'Seat 61' when you call.

Great Rail Journeys, www.greatrail.com, 01904 527120:  Escorted tours...

GRJ offers five-star upmarket rail-based escorted tours to various European countries, with travel from London by train and a range of departure dates.  Check holiday details online, then call 01904 527120 to book or use their online booking form.

Send your luggage in advance

Enjoy your journey without heavy luggage... 

Let www.carrymyluggage.com deliver your bags door to door.

If you'd like to enjoy your train journey free of heavy luggage, making it easy to get on and off trains with nothing more than a lightweight daypack or handbag, www.carrymyluggage.com will collect your luggage at your home address a few days before you leave, and will deliver it to addresses all over the EU, so it will be waiting at your hotel when you arrive.  It's not cheap, you can reckon on around £78 per case each way, but this is door to door, covering collection from your home in the UK or other EU country and delivery to an address in another EU country.  I've also arranged a 10% discount if you use the Promo code 'seat61' when booking your bags online.  www.carrymyluggage.com are a reliable company, they also work with companies such as Great Rail Journeys, Virgin Trains, First Great Western, Hull Trains, and South West Trains.

Travel insurance & health card...

Get travel insurance, it's essential...

Never travel without insurance from a reliable travel insurer with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover.  It should also cover loss of cash (up to a limit) & belongings, and cancellation. An annual multi-trip policy is usually cheapest even for just 2 or 3 trips a year (I have an annual policy myself).  Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed connection, though, see the advice on missed connections here.  Here are some suggested insurers, Seat61 gets a little commission if you buy through these links, and feedback from using insurance for rail & ferry travel is always welcome.

In the UK, use www.confused.com to compare prices & policy features across major insurance companies.

If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are over 65 (no age limit), see www.JustTravelCover.com.

        If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try Columbus Direct's other websites.

   If you live in the USA or Canada, try Travel Guard USA.

Get an EU health card, it's free...

If you're a UK citizen travelling in Europe, you should apply for a free European Health Insurance Card, which entitles you to free or reduced rate health care if you become ill or get injured in many European countries, under a reciprocal arrangement with the NHS.  This replaced the old E111 forms as from January 2006.  The EHIC card is available from www.ehic.org.uk.  It doesn't remove the need for travel insurance, though.

Get a spare credit card, designed for foreign travel with no currency exchange loading & low/no ATM fees

Taking out an extra credit card costs nothing, but if you keep it in a different part of your luggage you won't be left stranded if your wallet gets stolen.  In addition, some credit cards are better for overseas travel than others.  Martin Lewis's www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money explains which UK credit cards have the lowest currency exchange commission loadings when you buy something overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when you use an ATM abroad.

You can avoid ATM charges and expensive exchange rates with a Caxton FX euro currency Visa Card, or their multi-currency 'Global Traveller' Visa Card, see www.caxtonfx.com for info.

Get an international SIM card to save on mobile data and phone calls...

Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're not careful you can return home to find a huge bill.  Consider buying a global pre-paid SIM card for your mobile phone from www.Go-Sim.com, which can slash costs by up to 85%.  Go-Sim cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide, and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries.  It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills when you get home.  It also allows cheap data access for laptops & PDAs.  A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't expire if it's not used between trips, unlike some others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone number' for life.

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