Óbidos is one of my favourite day trips from Lisbon and I consider the small town one of the most picturesque in central Portugal. The town was traditionally under the guardianship of the queen, and within the walls is a delightful mix of cobbled streets and whitewashed houses, all watched over by an ancient castle.

The allure of Óbidos makes it one of the most popular day trips from Lisbon. I must be honest, however, that the town is relatively small and can be easily explored within a couple of hours. Fortunately, Óbidos is straightforward to reach from Lisbon despite the 80km distance. The town sits next to the A8 expressway and is served by direct, fast bus services. The express service is operated by Rodotejo and departs from Campo Grande bus station in Lisbon, taking just 60 minutes, with a single fare of €9.45.

Óbidos also sits close to the main north-south expressway connecting Lisbon to Porto and Coimbra, making the town a convenient and enjoyable stop-off when making this drive. When travelling with friends and showing them the country, I prefer the A8 with an Óbidos stop over the A1.

 

 

For the journey from Lisbon, I would not consider taking an Uber given the distance and cost, as the bus is so convenient. I would also not recommend the train, as services are slow and infrequent.

I have been exploring Portugal since 2001 and, together with my Portuguese wife who is from Lisbon, know and love Óbidos and the wider central Portugal region. We have made this journey from Lisbon to Óbidos many times, and this guide draws on over twenty years of first-hand experience, along with my wife's local insights.
Related articles: Obidos guide - Lisbon guide

There are several options for travelling from Lisbon to Óbidos. In order of my preference:

Driving
If you have a car, driving is the simplest way to reach Óbidos. The journey follows the A8 expressway and takes approximately 50 minutes, plus any additional time to escape the Lisbon traffic, which I feel gets worse every year.

Óbidos has a large free car park to the south of the town (GPS: 39.358, -9.156 ; link to Google Maps). The only downside is that the A8 has tolls, which are comparatively expensive, and I suspect are deliberately priced to encourage people onto public transport. The toll for this journey costs around €6 each way.

Insight: If travelling by car, please be aware of how the tolls work and how to pay them; full details are provided at the end of this guide. The company that manages the roads has recently discovered that foreign tourists are a great source of revenue and can be very quick to issue fines. I have even read stories of them chasing fines from four years ago.

Bus
The Rodotejo bus company provides an express service between Lisbon and Caldas da Rainha, which makes a stop at Óbidos. The service is called the 'Rápida Verde' and takes one hour to travel from Campo Grande bus station in Lisbon to Óbidos.

The fare costs €9.45 for an adult single, and a return for a day trip would cost €18.90. My only issue with the bus is the limited departure times at the weekend, so I strongly advise you to plan your return journey around these times. Also, I always hear from first-time visitors that Campo Grande bus station is difficult to navigate. The reason is that it's a collection of bus stops spread over a large area rather than a single terminal (full details in the next section).

Uber/Bolt
Personally, I would not take an Uber or Bolt as it is a long journey to Óbidos with a relatedly high fare, especially when including the return. Uber/Bolt does provide door-to-door convenience and can be useful if travelling with children. Fares for both Uber and Bolt are variable and depend on demand, but the average one-way cost is around €70 for up to four people. The price will be higher at peak times such as rush hour, but it will always be much cheaper than a taxi (€120+) or a private transfer organised through your hotel.

If you are comfortable with the fare, the only real issue is finding a driver for the return to Lisbon. In Lisbon it is easy as there are plenty of drivers, whereas in the countryside around Óbidos there are fewer, and even fewer who want to make the drive to Lisbon as it takes them away from their usual working area.

Train
As a well-travelled person, I usually enjoy train travel, but for the journey from Lisbon to Óbidos I can't recommend it. The journey takes an agonisingly slow 2 hours 50 minutes, following a long, meandering route towards Coimbra along a minor regional line. Óbidos train station lies at the base of the hill and it is a steep uphill walk to the town, which is draining in the heat of summer.

Sometimes the journey is part of the adventure, but occasionally it is just nice to sit back and let someone else do the planning. A small group tour is a fantastic way to explore Óbidos and the wider central Portugal region without any of the planning headaches.

I have been recommending GetYourGuide tours to friends, family and readers for seven years, and the options below are among their highest rated for Óbidos. I would not recommend anything I would not do myself.

The express bus service between Lisbon and Óbidos is operated by the Rodotejo bus company. The route is called the ‘Rápida Verde’ (Green Express), which continues on to the town of Caldas da Rainha. The buses along this route are clean, modern and comfortable, and even have free WiFi.

The bus journey from Lisbon to Óbidos takes 60 minutes, and there are 26 departures from Monday to Friday. However this reduces to 16 departures at the weekend and on bank holidays.

This weekend reduction means there is a departure once an hour, and I suggest noting departure times for the return bus back to Lisbon. There is nothing more annoying than missing a service by 5 minutes and then having to wait 55 minutes for the next, which I’ve done by carelessness.

The last bus from Óbidos departs at 9.45pm, but I always recommend checking the latest timetable directly on the Rodotejo website before you travel: http://www.rodotejo.pt/

The current timetable can be seen here:
www.rodotejo.pt/wp-content/uploads/rapida_linha_verde.pdf
(Note: this is a PDF link and may download automatically on mobile.)

A single bus ticket from Lisbon to Óbidos costs €9.45, and the ticket is purchased from the bus driver. There are no return tickets, so for a day trip, two single tickets must be purchased each time you board the bus.

There are fare reductions for children aged 4 to 12 (€4.75), seniors aged 65+ (€7.55), and youths aged under 25 (€8.05). If using any age-based discounts, always travel with a valid ID to prove your age.

Bus tickets cannot be pre-booked or seats reserved in advance. In the summer I would suggest arriving a little earlier, particularly at weekends when services are less frequent and more popular.

If you are travelling with heavy or bulky luggage, it can be stored in the compartments beneath the bus.

Insight: Óbidos is not served by Rede Expressos (the main intercity bus company of Portugal) or the budget operator FlixBus. This means there are few options for onward travel from Óbidos to places such as Coimbra or Nazare. For more onward connects, head to the larger town of Caldas da Rainha which is served by the Rápida Verde’ bus service.

The bus route from Lisbon to Obidos follows the A8 expressway and there is a single stop, in the town of Bombarral. The bus route is quite scenic, as it passes through the hills north of Lisbon.

The Rodotejo bus to Óbidos departs from the Campo Grande bus station in Lisbon. This bus station is located on the green and yellow metro lines and is served by the Campo Grande metro station.

Travelling through it, I can understand why first-time visitors find it confusing, as it is best described as a series of bus stops surrounding the metro station. There is no central terminal building, and there are two main sets of bus stops to the east and west of the metro station. Carris Metropolitana buses to Mafra and Ericeira depart from the western side, and the Rodotejo buses to Óbidos depart from the eastern side. The bus station has little signage and it is very easy to feel lost when looking for the departure point.

The bus stand for the ‘Rápida Verde’ bus to Óbidos is to the east of the metro station, on ‘Rua Actor António Silva’, and is below the bridge that carries the metro, GPS: 38.7607, -9.156.

The exact bus stand is marked by the Rápida Verde timetable, and when the bus arrives it may display ‘Caldas da Rainha’, which is the final stop on the route.

So you get an idea of what to expect I’ve add a Google Street View image below so you can see the area:

Óbidos is much easier to navigate and has just a single bus stop on the Rua da Praça, GPS: 39.359, -9.15. The bus stop is to the south of the historic centre and close to the Porta da Vila (the gateway into the town). From the bus stop it is less than a 5-minute walk from the bus stop to the centre of Óbidos.

The bus stop in Óbidos is just outside the city walls.

The easiest way to travel from Lisbon to Óbidos is by car. Óbidos is just 1km from the main A8 expressway, which connects Lisbon to Leiria, Coimbra and the north of Portugal. The junction for Óbidos is number 15, and this leads to the southern side of the town where there is a large car park (GPS: 39.358, -9.156). Cars are not allowed within the historic centre.

Warning: never leave valuables (including luggage) on display in your car. There have been thefts from parked cars in this area, and this remains an issue here.

The A8 is a toll expressway and tolls are paid through the Via Verde transponder. Full details are provided on their website: visitors.viaverde.pt

When I am driving from Lisbon to Porto or Coimbra with friends who are new to Portugal, I often stop at Óbidos to break up the journey. Óbidos is around an hour from Lisbon, making it a great spot for a mid-morning stop or lunch. Personally, I prefer the A8 route to the A1, as it passes through more interesting scenery.

There is an infrequent train service to Óbidos on the Lisbon to Caldas da Rainha line. The main drawback is that it is a slow regional service, taking a tedious 2 hours and 50 minutes, compared to just 60 minutes by bus. A single ticket costs €10.50, and the latest timetable can be found on the Comboios de Portugal (CP) website: www.cp.pt

Óbidos train station is to the north of the town (GPS: 39.364, -9.159) and it is a 10-minute uphill walk to the historic centre. Given the infrequent departures and slow journey, I always recommend the bus over the train.

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