MyPortugalHoliday.com
The best independent guide to Central Portugal
MyPortugalHoliday.com
The best independent guide to Central Portugal
Tomar is a historic and fascinating destination, which was the original stronghold for the Knights Templar religious order. Tomar makes for an enjoyable destination as part of a tour of central Portugal, or can be visited as a day trip from Lisbon.
There are good public transport connections between Lisbon and Tomar, with both bus and rail services. The frequency of departures means that it is possible to visit Tomar from Lisbon as a day trip, but it will be a very long day with four hours of train travel.
This article will provide a guide to travelling from Lisbon to Tomar by train and bus, and includes links to timetables, fare information and station guides.
Related articles: Tomar introduction with day trip with a map – Day trips from Lisbon
Tomar is situated 140km northeast of Lisbon. The fastest method of travel is by car, and the journey via the A1 toll expressway takes 1 hour 20 minutes.
There is no need for a rental car to visit Tomar, as there are both intercity bus services and a regional railway. Both modes of transport have comparable journey times and fares, the main difference is that the train has more daily departures.
The railway is the recommended means of travel and train journeys in Portugal are relaxing and hassle-free. The following section first details train services between Tomar and Lisbon and then the intercity bus services of the route.
The latest timetable can be downloaded from the CP website:
www.cp.
(the above link is to a PDF so may download on certain mobile phones)
Traveling by train in Portugal is inexpensive and a single from Lisbon to Tomar costs €9.80 (departure from Lisboa Oriente) or €10.10 (from Lisboa Santa Apolonia). A return ticket is 10% less than the price of two singles (€7.65/€18.15) .The tickets are purchased from the ticket office on the day of travel and cannot be pre-booked. There is no need to pre-book as there is always plenty of space.
Note: There is an intercity/regional train service, with an express train to Entroncamento and then the regional train to Tomar. This train route is no faster due to the connection, and uses the same regional train for the final section. Also, a ticket costs significantly more at €14.00 for a single.
Tomar train station is located to the south western side of the town but it is less than a 10-minute walk to the historic centre. Tomar station is significantly quieter than the train stations in Lisbon but there is a ticket office and café close by. Taxis will be waiting just outside the station for onward journeys.
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