When you should not book us.
The airport is close, its taxis run on fixed fares and the Metro starts at the terminal. For plenty of trips, one of those wins.
On your own with a cabin bag, the Metro red line from Aeroporto station reaches the centre in about 20 minutes, changing for the Baixa, for €1.90 plus €0.50 for the Navegante card, or €1.72 a trip on pay-as-you-go credit. It runs from 06:30 to 01:00, every 5 to 10 minutes. Bus 783 reaches Saldanha, Marquês and Amoreiras in 30 to 45 minutes for €1.90 on the card, €2.30 from the driver. And a taxi from the rank is a fixed €16 to Zone 1 or €19 to Zone 2 on weekdays from 07:00 to 22:00, €20 or €23 at night, at weekends and on holidays, vouchers from the Ask Me Lisboa desk or pay the driver by card or MB Way. For two people bound for the Baixa at midday, that taxi wins.
Rossio to Sintra takes about 40 minutes for €2.05 on credit, and Cais do Sodré to Cascais 33 to 40 minutes for €2.30, every 12 to 20 minutes, though works on the Caxias–Cascais section bring replacement buses on evenings and early Sunday mornings in 2026. The Alfa Pendular to Porto takes about 2 h 50 to 3 h at €35.70 standard or €49.90 first, and Lisbon to Faro is about 3 h by train.
A chauffeur pays for itself in other situations: five people and their cases, small children, an arrival after a two-hour passport queue, a late flight, several stops in a day, or anywhere the trains do not reach, such as Comporta or Quinta da Marinha. The numbers side by side are on Lisbon taxi versus chauffeur.