Óbidos Travel Forum

I am looking at visiting Obidos, but unfortunately I will be missing the VT trip because I will be leaving the day of the Obidos excursion - so I would like to confirm, of the items listed on the Transportation tips, or of your knowledge,

- what is the best way to get to Obidos from Lisbon ... or

- what is the best way to get to Obidos from Cascais

- will it be walkable once I'm there

- any good places for a quick lunch or should I bring my own lunch

- what are your favorite places to see (I love historical places, nature, and castles!) ... anything to do with the queens would be great.

I prefer trains unless the schedule is hideous. If it's a bus and you have a link to the schedules it would be great.

Thanks!

Obidosmark

Snap.

Having just checked www.cpt.pt

There are trains from all Lisbon stations (think it is probably the same train?). Journey seems to take 2 - 3.5 hours.

Trouble is, there seem to be no trains between 0707 and 1100.

Far worse, the only Obidos>Lisbon train I can find comes back at 13:44.

Apparently, Lisbon > Obidos buses are operated by Rodoviária do Tejo. Journey takes an hour and a bit, so it seems the obvious choice. But their site
http://www.rodotejo.pt/ won't open for me this morning. Grrrrr....

There is no direct public transport from Cascais to Obidos - you need to go to Lisbon. From there you have two options: train from Entrecampos at 5.47, 7.07 or 10.37, taking about 2.30 hours. Obidos train station is about 4 Km out of town, which mean a taxi. Train will cost 7.45€. (you may catch the same train in Sintra half an hour later, for 6.15€.
By bus, is better - you have many expresso buses to Caldas da Rainha paying 7.50€ and taking 1.10 hour. From Caldas da Rainha is 8Km by taxi.
See http://www.rede-expressos.pt/.

Thank you.

http://www.rede-expressos.pt/ shows there are lots of buses to Caldas da Rainha and back.

Where does the bus leave from in Lisbon?

About how much would a taxi from Caldas da Rainha to Obidos cost?

Ladies........fancy sharing a bus/taxi ride?

Hello,

There is also a company called Rodotejo that departures from Campo Grande in Lisbon (access by subway) to Alcobaça and stops in Óbidos. A ticket costs around 7€ and departures are quite frequent throughout the day. Weekday schedule: http://www.rodotejo.pt/horarios/gethorario/794/4/908/92; Weekend/bank holiday schedule: http://www.rodotejo.pt/horarios/gethorario/795/4/908/92.

You can also purchase a taxi voucher that assures the price of a trip by taxi to Óbidos (http://www.askmelisboa.com/en/content/taxi-voucher-rest-country-daytime). It can be purchased online or at Ask me Lisbon quiosks in the airport arrivals area, Palácio Foz (Restauradores Square) or Lisbon Welcome Centre (Terreiro do Paço).

Have a nice trip.

Thank you.

My computer won't let me open that timetable PDF (says the file is corrupted or some such). Is it the same as:

http://www.rodotejo.pt/pdf/horario_verde.pdf

?

Well, Obidos is flat Martha. In this town there is a castle converted into a pousada (a luxury hotel), a couple of churches and a museum with paintings if my memory serves me well.

Obidos is a small walled town. You can easily visit it in a day.

Thanks for all the responses. Since I will be doing this on my own because I leave the day of the VT trip to Obidos, I was thinking of going there *before* the meet.

I am also very tempted to go to Porto instead - and there sail on the Douro and take a day trip to Guimaraes. Since I'm flying from Barcelona, Porto is the easier connection.

Jane, if it turns out to be Obidos I would love to share a private car with driver. Porto is beginning to look very exciting ...

Thoughts? Porto vs. Obidos?

Obidos! I didn't like Porto, but I like the wine Porto.

mmm ... was there something in particular about Porto you did not like Maurizio?

I'm arriving on the Tuesday, and intend to 'do' at least Lisbon and Sintra (and probably Cascais and Estoril as well) fairly thoroughly before Friday evening.

Let me know what you decide. No rush. :-)

Hi again,

About Rodotejo schedules yes it is the same thing as rápida verde schedule.

About Óbidos vs Porto. I like Porto a lot, although it is a bit rundown. I think if you have time Porto would be a good addition. Óbidos is nice but quite small and can be easily seen in a morning.

Have a nice trip!

Well, the only area I liked in Porto was the Ribeira. It is located by the river and has various restaurants. Then I visited a beautiful church; St. Francisco. The city as a whole didn't like me.

<<The city as a whole didn't like me. >>

Now what does that mean?

Marta we are talking about quite different places
Óbidos is a fortified hilltop village of approx 3000 inhabitants -we can see in one morning (that's what we will do in that trip). Yes it's lovely and charming place.
Porto... we are talking about the second's most important city in Portugal -that means you have quite different variety of places to visit and you need 2 full days to get "an impression" -beautiful churches (not just S, Francisco), and gardens, charming Art Nouveau cafés, the sea side for a walk, great museums, a stock market (bourse) house with great interiors... much to see.
Of course, and as it was said... especially the old quarter around the cathedral and Ribeira are a bit rundown and the city it's a bit dark if you compare to Lisbon. But worth the visit

Thanks Antonio. I will arrive in Cascais on the 28th at the latest, possibly late the 27th - but unfortunately must leave the evening of the 31st, so I will be missing the VT trip to Obidos, so I was trying to visit before the VT meet starts.

I have from the 25th on to start the trip to Porto, and was hoping to go from there to Guimaraes. Since I don't drive I was hoping to find a nice tour on the Douro that picked up at my hotel.

So Porto for two days sounds perfect! Not sure about how safe it is for a woman alone, read some warnings on the VT page about the area around the Cathedral ...

If you love historical places, another sugestion : Évora. Three conections/ day by train from Lisbon and a lot by bus (almost every hour).

Thank you Manolo. Evora is another place I was hoping to visit, but the VT trip is also taking place after I leave. Unfortunately Obidos and Evora are on opposite ends and I'll need to choose one. Not sure if this is a good or a bad problem ...

From the stand point of historical content and ease of walking around, which one would be best to visit (assuming Porto is a given) - Evora, or Obidos?

Évora. no doubt
Unesco heritage with much to see

Great - thanks. Things are shaping up!

<<The city as a whole didn't like me. >>

It means what I saw there didn't like me.

Oh dear - open to interpretation...

You mean the people that you saw there?

Noooo, the town; the place itself.

How could a place; streets, buildings... not like you?
Did they rise up and trip you, or what?
Or did you eat something that made you sick?

Or am I simply not understanding at all what you meant?

Una; people are free to express themselves I think. I didn't like Porto and I have my own tastes, like everyone else in the world.

Well of course!

Sorry if I accidentally said something wrong.
I was just trying to understand what you meant. Never mind. If you prefer not to make it a more detailed explanation that is your perfect right.

Apologies for having insulted you. It was truly inadvertent.

I believe Maurizio only wanted to say "I didn't like the town" and not "the town didn't like me"
but I might be wrong....

Thanks Antonio. I thought that might be it, but otoh I thought that maybe he was making a joke. Either way, as Maurizo said, he has the right to express himself as he chooses.

May I join the discussion?
I understand Maurizio!
For several decades I didn't like Porto, a dark, dirty, ugly, somewhat neglected city, in a strong contrast with the best of Portugal (and Lisbon) - light and colour.
I must confess that my recent visits to Porto are changing that impression - smart recuperation works by the river where very well succeeded. The touristy part of the city looks well now.
I'm not so sure if, far from the river, things are also in the good way, but I do appreciate each new visit, with a renewed interest to check each good spot of the city.
Of course, Porto is very interesting, even if you have not enough time to a trip in Douro valley, and it will help you to notice the contrasts that turn a tiny country like Portugal in a surprisingly varied destination.