Tomar is a historic and fascinating town famed for the magnificent Convento de Cristo, the medieval stronghold of the Knights Templar.

The town makes for an enjoyable destination as part of a tour of central Portugal and is often combined with Fatima, Batalha or Nazare, before heading north to Coimbra.

Tomar is connected to Lisbon by both train and bus services. However, the small size of Tomar means that there are only a limited number of daily departures, and services tend to be slow. The journey takes 1 hour 45 minutes by bus, while the train journey is slightly longer at 1 hour 50 minutes but offers more frequent departures.

Visiting Tomar as a day trip from Lisbon using public transport is possible, but expect a lengthy day with around four hours dedicated to travel. When visiting as a day trip it's also essential to carefully plan your journey around the limited departures heading back to Lisbon. Often, it is better to spend a night in Tomar.

 

 

This article will provide a guide to travelling from Lisbon to Tomar by car, train and bus and includes links to timetables, along with useful travel advice.
Related articles: Tomar Introduction – Day trips from Lisbon

The magnificent Charola chapel at the centre of the Convento de Cristo

The easiest and fastest way to travel from Lisbon to Tomar is by car. The 135km route follows the A1 expressway and takes 1 hour 30 minutes, depending on traffic in Lisbon. The A1 expressway has tolls, which will cost €8.05 each way.

In Tomar, there is ample car parking to the south of the town, either near the train station (GPS 39.597, -8.412 link to google maps) or the Mercado Municipal (GPS 39.602, -8.410)

There are a handful of express bus services between Lisbon and Tomar that take 1 hour 45 minutes. The buses are operated by Rede Expressos and depart from the Sete Rios bus station in Lisbon, with a single fare starting from €10. Rede Expressos uses dynamic pricing, so fares will increase with demand and as the departure date gets closer. The timetable can be seen on the Rede Expressos website rede-expressos.pt

The low-cost bus operator FlixBus serves Tomar, but operates on a seasonal timetable based on demand. If you are a budget traveller, FlixBus offers the lowest fares, but departures may be limited to a set number of days, and services stop during the winter. For bookings, visit their website at FlixBus

The better option for public transport is to take the train, although there is a confusing array of services and fares available, ranging from €10.55 up to €20.25 for a single ticket.

 

 

The best service is the regional train, which provides a direct connection between Lisbon and Tomar. This takes 1 hour 54 minutes and costs €10.55. The national train company of Portugal is Comboios de Portugal (CP), and their website is www.cp.pt

Advice: Whichever option you choose, it always makes sense to book directly with the transport company instead of third-party ticket resellers. Buying directly will reduce booking fees and ensure each company is more accommodating if there are issues.

The following section provides details on how to travel from Lisbon to Tomar by train.

The train to Tomar waiting in Santa Apolónia train station, Lisbon.

The train is the recommended mode of travel from Lisbon to Tomar, being much more spacious and comfortable than the express buses.

The railway from Lisbon to Tomar follows the high-speed network up to the town of Entroncamento, then the regional line between Entroncamento and Tomar.

This use of two rail networks leads to a wide variety of journey times and prices. It is possible to catch an express train from Lisbon to Entroncamento and then catch the regional train to Tomar, but this will be much more expensive than simply using the regional train for the entire route.

There is no time saving by taking an express train, as it will be wasted waiting at Entroncamento for the connection.

The recommended method of travel to Tomar is to take the direct regional train (R) from Santa Apolonia or Oriente in Lisbon.

Unlike the express trains, there are no seat reservations on the regional trains and tickets can be purchased from the station just before travel. This unspecified return time is convenient for a day trip to Tomar, as it allows for flexibility and enables you to catch the first train home when you are tired.

The Lisbon to Tomar timetable can be seen on the CP website:
www.cp.pt/StaticFiles/timetables/lisbon-tomar-regional-trains.pdf

(this is a PDF so may download on mobile phones)

Instead of looking at an overly complex timetable, it is far easier to instead use the search feature on the CP website: www.cp.pt

When using the CP website, look for either ‘Lisboa – Oriente’ or ‘Lisboa - Santa Apolonia’ for the departure location (details of which station to use are in the next section) and only look at the regional trains that are marked with an ‘R’.

You can book the tickets online, but it is often much easier to book them from Santa Apolonia train station, where the majority of tourists depart from.

Advice: Avoid using third-party websites for train bookings, as tickets will be more expensive due to booking fees, and there will be less flexibility if you need to alter plans.

The regional train from Lisbon to Tomar costs €10.55, and if you purchase a return ticket, there is a 10 per cent discount on the return fare (€19.55). There are further discounts for children (50 per cent discount), seniors 65+ (50 per cent discount) and under 25s (25 per cent discount). If using any age-based discount, always travel with valid ID to prove your age.

Tours to Tomar
If you are limited by time but would still like to discover the region north of Lisbon, an organised tour can be fantastic option. Along with removing the hassle of public transport, organised tours provide knowledgeable guides and can combine multiple destinations into a single day.
We have worked with GetYourGuide for seven years, and some of their best tours that include Tomar are:
• Knights Templar small group tour, from Lisbon
• Tomar and Almourol Castles group tour, from Lisbon
• Tomar and Almourol as a private tour
• Tomar and the Knights Templars private tour

The Tomar regional train departs from Lisbon's Santa Apolónia train station, passing through Oriente station before continuing on to Tomar.

Santa Apolónia train station is located on the southern side of the Alfama district (GPS 38.714, -9.122) and is connected to the blue metro line.

This station is convenient for most visitors as it is close to the historic centre of Lisbon. The station rarely gets busy and is very easy to navigate.

Oriente train station is located to the northeast of Lisbon in the Parque das Nações district, GPS: 38.767, -9.099. This is the closest train station to the airport and is connected to the red metro line. Oriente is a much busier train station; if you have the choice, you should depart from Santa Apolónia.

Santa Apolónia station lies on the edge of the Alfama district.

Santa Apolónia station rarely gets busy and is easy to travel through.

Oriente station combines busy train, bus and metro stations over five levels.

Tomar train station is located on the southern side of the town (GPS: 39.597, -8.412) and is connected to the bus station. From the station, it is a 5-minute walk across the Largo da Várzea Grande to the historic centre of Tomar, or a 20-minute walk (1.3 km) to the entrance of the Convent of Christ (GPS: 39.603, -8.420)

Tomar station is significantly quieter than the train stations in Lisbon, but it has a ticket office and café.

Tomar train station.

There are far fewer bus services between Lisbon and Tomar, with almost no departures from Lisbon in the morning. Rede Expressos provides four daily express services, with the journey taking 1 hour 45 minutes and a single ticket costing from €10 - www.rede-expressos.pt.

FlixBus is a low-cost bus company providing services along many of the more popular routes in Portugal. Since it began operating, the price of bus travel has significantly decreased, with buses now offering a much cheaper alternative to train travel.

Both Rede Expressos and FlixBus utilise dynamic pricing, whereby the cost of a ticket increases closer to the departure time and as demand rises.

Rede Expressos buses depart from Sete Rios bus station, located north of Lisbon (GPS: 38.741, -9.166), which is connected to the blue metro line at the Jardim Zoológico metro station. The bus station is a busy transport hub with many departures, a large ticket office and multiple snack shops and cafes.

FlixBus services depart from Lisbon at Oriente bus station, which is attached to the Oriente train station. When travelling by bus, always verify the departure location on your ticket.

In Tomar, the bus station is situated next to the train station and is very quiet.

Tomar bus station.

The journey from Lisbon to Tomar follows the A1 expressway. This road has tolls, and the cost will be €8.05, almost the same as a train ticket.

The tolls are paid through the Via Verde transponder, which you should ask for if you rent a car in Portugal. Full details are provided on their website:
visitors.viaverde.pt

Warning: If travelling by car, please be aware of tolls and how to pay them. Brisa, the company that manages the roads, has recently discovered that foreign tourists are a great source of funds and is quick to issue fines.

If you are planning on driving a foreign registered car, please see this website:
www.portugaltolls.com/

Having a Via Verde transponder while driving in Portugal is highly recommended, as many expressways only have automatic toll collection. To estimate the cost of tolls in Portugal, use the website:
https://portagens.infraestruturasdeportugal.pt/

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