Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport to Cais do Sodré
Lisbon Airport to Cais do Sodré is about 9 km; the Metro reaches the Green Line terminus there, with a night bus for late arrivals.
Cais do Sodré, LisbonMike Steele / Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0A revitalised riverside district that's both a nightlife hotspot (Pink Street) and the transport gateway west, with the train station for Cascais and ferries across the Tagus — the Time Out Market its star.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: for Cais do Sodré, a private transfer is the easiest door-to-door option (from €15). Travelling light on a budget? The bus is cheapest (from €1.9) but slower, with a change in the city.
What it costs for your group
The bus is charged per person, while a taxi or private transfer is one price for the whole car — so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Bus (per person) | Private transfer | Best value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo · 1 traveller | €2 | €15 | Bus |
| Couple · 2 travellers | €4 | €15 | Bus |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | €8 | €15 | Bus |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | Bus | From €1.9, though slower with a change in the city. |
| Speed & comfort | Private transfer | Door-to-door, fixed price, a driver waiting for you. |
| A group of 3–4 | Transfer or taxi | One flat fare splits cheaper than several bus tickets. |
| A late-night arrival | Transfer or taxi | Both run 24/7 when buses and the tram have stopped. |
By transport mode
Metro
Change at Alameda to the Green Line, direct to the Cais do Sodré terminus; €1.90 plus the €0.50 card.
Where to catch it: Aeroporto station at terminal level.
Best for budget travellers near a stationBus / shuttle
The night bus from the airport to Cais do Sodré via Oriente — useful for late arrivals when the Metro has stopped.
Where to catch it: Bus stop outside Arrivals.
Best for solo & budget travellersTaxi
Metered. Uber and Bolt also serve the airport, often a little cheaper.
Where to catch it: Taxi rank outside Arrivals.
Best for small groups in a hurryPrivate transfer
Fixed price, paid upfront.
Where to catch it: Driver meets you in arrivals.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsCais do Sodré & Lisbon in photos
Buying tickets in Lisbon
The red metro line runs directly from the airport (Aeroporto station) into the city. Fares load onto a reusable travel card, historically the Viva Viagem but being replaced through 2026 by the Navegante card (about €0.50 to buy), sold at station machines. A single metro trip is around €1.90, or slightly less using pre-loaded "zapping" credit. Note the old Aerobús shuttle was discontinued in 2022, so the metro or a taxi are the practical options. Machines accept cash and cards.
Taxi scams & safety in Lisbon
Take taxis only from the official rank outside arrivals, where cars are metered; anyone approaching you inside the terminal with a handwritten sign or a verbal offer is almost never legitimate and can overcharge badly. Ask for the meter and expect a modest fare into the centre, more at night and with luggage. Uber and Bolt are both legal in Lisbon and often cheaper and clearer on price; book in the app and meet the driver at the signed ride-hail pickup area, not the taxi rank.
Getting from LIS to Cais do Sodré
You can smell it before you can see it: chargrilled bifana, fresh coriander, a splash of Super Bock, and somewhere under all that, the salt of the Tagus. Cais do Sodré is where Lisbon does its eating and its misbehaving, all in the same nine kilometres from the airport. By day it's the riverside station that shuttles you out to Cascais and the ferries that skip across the water; by night it's Pink Street, the old red-light strip repainted rosa and handed over to the party. And squatting at the heart of it, humming like a beehive, is the Time Out Market — three dozen of the city's best kitchens under one roof. Get yourself here and you've landed in the middle of everything worth eating and drinking. Here's how to arrive without wasting an appetite.
Ride the Red-then-Green straight to the party
The Metro is the smart move, and it does something rather elegant: it drops you at the exact end of the line, the Cais do Sodré terminus, so you can't overshoot even half-asleep. Board the Red Line down at terminal level, ride to Alameda, then switch to the Green Line — that one runs dead straight to the river. Trains come every six to nine minutes, so you're never left tapping your foot on the platform, and the whole run takes around 30 minutes.
The fare is €1.90, plus a one-off €0.50 for the rechargeable Viva Viagem card you'll tap through the gates. Buy the card once, top it up, and it keeps working for trams, lifts and the rest of your stay. My advice: haul your bag up the escalator at Cais do Sodré, step out into the light, and let the Time Out Market be the first thing you do — nothing takes the sting out of a flight like a plate of prawns and a glass of vinho verde thirty seconds off the Metro.
Landed after midnight? The 208 has your back
Flights into Lisbon have a habit of touching down at ungodly hours, and when the Metro has pulled down its shutters, the city hasn't abandoned you. The Carris 208 night bus runs the small hours — roughly midnight to 5am — looping from outside Arrivals over to Oriente and on down to Cais do Sodré. It's the same €1.90 as the Metro and takes about 40 minutes, a little slower as it threads the sleeping streets, but it's a genuine lifeline for the 2am crowd.
Here's the beauty of it for a night owl: Cais do Sodré doesn't clock off when everyone else does. Roll off the 208, drop your bag, and Pink Street is very much still awake. Few airport arrivals get to go straight from the jet bridge to a last drink by the river — this is one of them.
When you'd rather be poured into a taxi
Some nights you've got a heavy case, a short fuse, or a table booked you don't want to miss. That's what the taxi rank outside Arrivals is for. It's a properly short hop — the metered ride runs about 22 minutes and lands somewhere between €12 and €20 depending on traffic and the hour. For a door-to-door in a capital city, that's honest money.
Uber and Bolt both work the airport too, and they'll often shave a euro or two off the meter, with the fare fixed on your screen before you climb in — handy if you'd rather not watch the numbers tick. If a fixed price and no queue at the rank is more your speed, a pre-booked private transfer runs roughly €15 to €30, paid upfront — you walk straight from arrivals to a waiting car. Any of the three has you at a Time Out counter faster than you can decide between the steak and the sushi.
Make the neighbourhood makes sense
Once you're here, don't just crash — this district is a launchpad. The train station at Cais do Sodré is your ride out to Cascais along the coast, a breezy day of beaches and seafood lunches whenever the city gets too loud. The ferries slip across the Tagus from the same waterfront if you fancy the far bank and a photo of Lisbon from the water. And when night falls, you barely have to walk: Pink Street is right there, the bars stacked cheek by jowl, the crowd spilling into the road.
My honest verdict? Base yourself at Cais do Sodré and you've solved dinner, drinks and half your day trips in one postcode. Take the Metro in daylight, the 208 after dark, a taxi when your feet give up — then go feed yourself silly.
