Portugal by Train: CP Tickets, Fares and Discounts Explained

Book a Lisbon–Porto Intercidades ticket at least eight days ahead and CP’s promotional fare starts at €10.50. Turn up on the day for an Alfa Pendular in tourist class and the full single fare is €35.70. The trains cover much of the same line between the two cities. What separates those prices is mostly timing and knowing how CP’s ticket rules work.

This guide explains the main types of train run by CP (Comboios de Portugal, the national rail operator), what typical tickets cost as of October 2026, which discounts visitors can actually use, and how urban trains work in Lisbon. Prices change, so treat the figures as a guide and check them on cp.pt before you buy.

The main kinds of CP train

Alfa Pendular. CP’s fastest service, introduced in 1999, with a top speed of 220 km/h. According to CP, it runs between Braga and Faro and between Lisbon and Porto. There are two classes, Conforto (first) and Turística (second). Each train has 301 seats, free Wi-Fi, reclining seats with power sockets at every place, a café-bar in carriage 3 and luggage racks at the end of each carriage and above the seats (30 × 45 cm). Bicycles are only allowed if they are dismantled and packed as luggage.

Intercidades. The main intercity service, with first and second class. It links Lisbon with cities such as Coimbra, Porto, Guimarães, Braga, Guarda and Viana do Castelo.

Regional and InterRegional. Slower trains that stop at smaller stations, useful for towns off the main lines.

Urban trains. Commuter services around Lisbon (the Sintra, Azambuja, Cascais and Sado lines), Porto and Coimbra. In Lisbon they use the same rechargeable card system as the city’s buses and metro, explained below.

There is also the international Celta service between Porto and Vigo in Spain.

What a ticket costs, as of October 2026

Full single fares on the Alfa Pendular, from CP’s 2026 fare table (prices include VAT):

Route	Conforto	Turística
Lisbon (Santa Apolónia or Oriente) – Coimbra-B	€38.50	€27.10
Lisbon – Aveiro	€44.50	€31.00
Lisbon – Porto Campanhã	€49.90	€35.70
Lisbon – Braga	€54.60	€38.50
Coimbra-B – Porto Campanhã	€25.80	€19.70

Booked ahead, fares can be much lower. CP’s Promo page lists sample promotional fares from Lisbon: Intercidades in second class from €8.50 to Coimbra, €10.50 to Porto, €11.00 to Guimarães, Braga or Guarda and €12.00 to Viana do Castelo, and Alfa Pendular in tourist class from €9.00 to Faro. These are “from” prices on a limited number of seats per train.

Discounts and passes

Three of CP’s discounts are open to visitors regardless of where they live. The Promo discount cannot be combined with other discounts or offers.

• Promo (advance purchase). For the Alfa Pendular and Intercidades. Buy 5 to 7 days ahead for up to 56% off, or 8 to 60 days ahead for up to 65% off, while promotional seats last. Since 10 August 2026, Promo tickets are only sold online, in the CP app, at ticket machines and through CP’s phone line, not at station ticket offices. They can be exchanged but not refunded. If you change to a train with no Promo seats left, you pay the difference to the full fare, and a return ticket with one Promo leg cannot be refunded.
• Youth (up to 25). Up to 25% off for travellers aged 25 or under on Alfa Pendular, Intercidades, Regional, InterRegional and Celta services. These tickets can be exchanged or refunded. From 26, CP says the Cartão Jovem (European youth card) discount still applies to individual trips.
• Senior (65 and over). Up to 50% off for anyone aged 65 or over, whatever their nationality or country of residence. On the Celta, the senior discount is 25% from the age of 60.

For age-based discounts, carry an official identity document on board. CP says it does not accept scans, photos or simple photocopies unless they are certified, though it does accept documents shown in Portugal’s official id.gov.pt app.

Discounted Alfa Pendular and Intercidades fares are rounded up to the next 50 cents.

The Green Rail Pass, and why most tourists cannot use it

CP’s Passe Ferroviário Verde (Green Rail Pass) costs €20 for 30 days, €40 for 60 days or €60 for 90 days. It is valid on Intercidades trains in second class, Regional and InterRegional trains, and the urban trains of Coimbra, Lisbon and Porto. It does not appear to cover the Alfa Pendular, which is not on CP’s list of eligible trains.

There is a catch for visitors: CP says the pass is for Portuguese citizens and foreign nationals resident in Portugal. It is loaded onto a personal CP card. If you are a short-stay tourist, it is not for you.

If you do qualify, note the Intercidades rule. You must reserve a seat, free of charge, within the 24 hours before the train leaves its starting station, and you can make up to two reservations a day. Travelling on an Intercidades without a reservation counts as travelling without a ticket. On Lisbon urban trains, the pass must be validated at the station before each journey; on Porto urban trains it is checked on board.

Lisbon’s urban trains: Sintra, Cascais and the Navegante card

In Lisbon, CP’s urban tickets are loaded onto the Navegante Ocasional, a reusable card that costs €0.50 and is valid for a year. It can hold only one type of ticket at a time. According to CP’s Lisbon ticket page and 2026 price table:

• Single tickets are priced by zone, from €1.50 to €3.90.
• Return tickets from Lisbon to Sintra or to Cascais cost €5.10.
• Zapping is a stored-value option that also works on Carris buses and trams, the Lisbon metro and the river ferries. A CP trip deducts €2.05 and lets you travel on Lisbon urban trains in any direction for 1 h 30. You can top up between €3 and €40.
• The 24-hour Carris/Metro/CP ticket costs €11.40 and covers buses, trams, the metro and CP’s Sintra/Azambuja, Cascais and Sado lines for 24 hours from first use.
• CP’s tourist ticket for the urban lines costs €6.70 for 24 hours or €14.40 for 72 hours.

Validate your card before every journey: CP has fined passengers who do not validate since 2015. Keep the top-up receipt until your ticket expires. The combined Train & Bus ticket for Sintra, which included Scotturb buses to the Pena and Monserrate palaces, is listed as temporarily suspended.

For ideas on where to go by train, browse our Places section. For a dated listing that is easy to reach by rail, see our guide to the Golegã National Horse Fair.

Know before you go

• Where to buy: CP’s online ticket office, the CP app, station ticket offices, ticket machines and CP’s phone line. Promo fares are only sold through the digital channels, ticket machines and the phone line.
• Main stations: in Lisbon, Alfa Pendular trains to Porto leave from Santa Apolónia and Oriente; in Porto they arrive at Campanhã.
• Prices: the fares above are from CP’s 2026 tables and pages, consulted in October 2026. Lisbon urban fares have applied since 1 January 2026.
• Bikes: on the Alfa Pendular, only dismantled and packed as luggage. Check CP’s bike rules for other services before you travel.

More practical guides are in our Guides section.

Sources8 sources

Sources

1. CP: Alfa Pendular, consulted 2026-10-30
2. CP: Alfa Pendular Lisboa–Porto–Braga fares, 2026 (PDF), consulted 2026-10-30
3. CP: Bilhete Promo, consulted 2026-10-30
4. CP: Desconto 25% Jovens, consulted 2026-10-30
5. CP: Desconto 50% Sénior, consulted 2026-10-30
6. CP: Passe Ferroviário Verde, consulted 2026-10-30
7. CP: Bilhetes Comboios Urbanos de Lisboa, consulted 2026-10-30
8. CP: Comboios Urbanos de Lisboa, prices from 1 January 2026 (PDF), consulted 2026-10-30