Trip to Portugal and Spain: Day 2 (Fatima)

Getting to Fatima

Being Catholic, visiting Fatima was one of the top reasons for this trip, hence we decided to start our trip with that visit. From my research I found out that getting by bus was the best option in terms of cost, time and options. There were primarily 2 bus companies: FlixBus and Rede Expressos. With Rede Expressos you have a few more time options because there are about 3 brands part of that network. However FlixBus had enough options for us and it seems slightly more convenient to book (they even take ApplePay). I found out Oriente station gave us the most direct route (nonstop). We booked our trip leaving around 11am and returning around 6pm. I figured 6 hours should be enough time for our visit (it ended up being about an hour short). Our roundtrip fare was about 60 EUR for a family of four (we booked about 2+ weeks ahead of time to get this fare).

We took an Uber to Oriente station. The buses depart from the parking right outside the Terminal. Our bus departed on time. I do recommend you pay the extra fee to book your seats ahead of time. The bus had wifi and worked surprisingly well. It also had USB ports but the one in our seats was not operational. Once you get to the Fatima bus station, the Basilica is within a 5 minute walk.

Shrine of Fatima

We started our visit to the Chapel of the Apparitions, the visited the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima. To my surprise it was not too crowded, but it was a weekday and it wasn't a 13th of the month which I hear are the busiest days (May through October).

On your way from the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity (new larger church) to the Basilica of the Our Lady of Fatima, on the right side there is a piece of the Berlin Wall that is easy to miss if you don't look for it.

Inside the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity there are 3 additional chapels where you can attend mass if you have time. You can check the mass schedule here. There is also a museum that you cannot miss. That is where you can find the Crown of Our Lady of Fatima with one of the bullets with which Pope John Paul II was shot.

Where to eat

One of our Uber drivers had recommended Sao Francisco Churrasqueira, which is close to the house where Francisco and Jacinta lived, but since we were still in the Sanctuary area we decided to eat at Casa Platano, at that ended up being one of the best restaurants of our trip. Unless you are running short on time, I strongly recommend eating here, you won't be disappointed. 

Pilgrimage to Lucia's house

As much as we would have liked to take the 130km pilgrimage from Lisbon to Fatima, we didn't have enough time in this trip. Instead we took a mini pilgrimage to Lucia's house via the Way of the Cross. From the Sanctuary walk 1km south on Dom Jose Alves Correia Avenue (same road you walked from the bus station) until you reach the roundabout with the Three Little Shepherds monument. From there search for the walking path with the "Via-Sacra/Caminho dos Pastorinhos" sign. That is a Way of the Cross with the 14 stations that will take you straight to Lucia's house.

After visiting Lucia's house, be sure to also visit Francisco and Jacinta's house which is just a couple blocks away. We decided to walk back to the Bus station via the way of the cross stopping at Loca do Cabeco (one of the apparition sites), and then through the 11-14th stations of the cross you can reach Calvario Hungaro. 

Getting back to Lisbon

From Calvario Hungaro we took a nice trail path towards the Bus Station, but I would only advice taking this if you have GPS, as there were not a lot of trail signs in this path. 

We had to rush back to the Bus Station only to find out that our bus was delayed 20 minutes. The FlixBus app showed this delay in the route details, but it did not notify me. I believe there was an option to opt in for notifications which I did not sign up for, so I suggest you opt in for this option. Other than that it was as smooth trip back to Lisbon Oriente and we took an Uber back to hour hotel. 

<< Day 1 (Lisbon) | Trip Itinerary | Day 3 (Sintra) >>

  

Trip to Portugal and Spain: Day 1 (Lisbon)

 Lisbon Airport

Our trip arrived almost an hour ahead of time before 10am. European airports always confused me in that you arrive at the terminal and can walk through the terminal instead of going through immigration first. The reason is because you are arriving at an International terminal and you must go through passport control to exit. The passport control line did not look too bad but we ended up in line for about 40 minutes. The good news is by that time our luggage was waiting for us.

Getting around Lisbon

Unlike other European cities getting around by train did not seem to be the fastest and not significantly cheaper option. When I checked for ride share options in the Google Maps app, Uber did not come up as an option. However I tried the Uber application directly and to my surprise the ride from the airport to our hotel was less than €10 euros. Granted the Lisbon airport is within the city, but it was still 8 km (15 minutes) away. Compared to rates in the US, the Uber fares were significantly lower. The pickup spot from Terminal 1 was at a parking outside the terminal named "Kiss and Fly". It's hard to miss, because it is very crowded.

We arrived at our hotel around noon and our room was not ready. We left our luggage and ate at a restaurant nearby named Banze. It was actually pretty good, but in general most restaurants we went to in Lisbon were pretty good. 

Lisbon Sightseeing

After we settled in our hotel room we decided to venture downtown walking. Our first stop was the Observation Deck at Park Eduardo VII which has a really nice view of the city.

From there we decided to walk towards the pier walking through Liberdade Avenue, which is one of their main streets with many stores and restaurants. In our way there we discovered "Fabrica da Nata" which sells the typical "Pasteis de Nata", which are pastries with Boston cream and are pretty good. They also sell croissant sandwiches and baguettes and it is very inexpensive so we ended up having dinner there. 

We walked past the Sant Justa lift on Aurea street and eventually made it to Cais das Columnas on the pier which is another landmark you can't miss! From there we took an Uber back to the hotel which was also surprisingly cheap (around €6 EUR).

Santa Justa lift

Cais das Columnas

Trip Itinerary | Day 2 (Fatima) >>

Trip to Portugal and Spain: Day 0 (Itinerary)

This June 2022, my family of 4 took a trip to Portugal and Spain with a custom itinerary. In this blog series I'll share some tips and suggestions in case you are venturing on a similar trip.

Our itinerary

Day 0: Washington Dulles (IAD) - Lisbon (LIS)

Day 1: Lisbon sightseeing

Day 2: Fatima

Day 3: Sintra

Day 4-5: Porto

Day 6-7: Seville

Day 8-9: Valencia

Day 10: Lisbon

Day 11: LIS-IAD

Pre-flight tips

We decided to fly out of Washington Dulles because we live 4 hours away driving and United had a direct flight. We booked our flight around February and was able to get a very good air fare ($600). 

Parking

Parking at Dulles is not prohibitively expensive compared to other major US airports ($12/day at Economy parking). However we were able to find much cheaper parking ($6) using SpotHero by parking at a nearby hotel. Specifically we parked at the Fairfield Inn Dulles and their shuttle service was very convenient and fast since it is a short drive away. 

Covid requirements

As of June 2022, the requirements to travel to Europe were fairly flexible. You essentially have 3 options: 

1. Provide a negative PCR or rapid (antigen) test
2. Provide proof of full vaccination no older than 270 days (unless you have a booster)
3. Provide a certificate from a doctor indicating that you had COVID and were already recovered

All of these 3 options can be provided no earlier than 72 hrs ahead of your flight time and only required for passengers older than 12 years old.

Our flight to Lisbon

Our flight to Lisbon was uneventful which is always good. It departed on Sunday 10:20pm. We arrived at the airport around 8pm and there were barely any lines or wait times. Our flight was on time and boarded promptly 40 minutes ahead of departure. The airplane was a 757-200, which is a relatively old plan, but it had TVs on all backseats as well as the option to use your device for in flight entertainment. We got served dinner close to midnight which is one of the few times I've declined a meal on a flight. Our total flight time was slightly under 7 hours which is not bad for a transatlantic flight. We were served a breakfast snack (yogurt and bread) around 9am local time, just one hour before landing.

Day 1 (Lisbon) >>