How to get to Lisbon from Manchester

How to Travel from Manchester to Lisbon

The best way to get from Manchester to Lisbon is by flight. Flights depart from Manchester Airport (MAN) and arrive at Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS). This is a popular route throughout the year, given Lisbon’s historical and cultural attractions, such as Castelo de São Jorge, as well as its seamless connection to local destinations like Sintra and Port. There are three main providers at Manchester offering non-stop flights to Lisbon: Ryanair, Air Portugal, and Easyjet. The average direct flight takes around 2h 50min and there’s always at least one available on any given day. While you’ve got non-direct flight options to Lisbon as well, offered by KLM, Air France, and Vueling, these can take anywhere between 5h and 15h and are not necessarily cheaper than the direct flights.

What is the Cheapest Way To Get from Manchester to Lisbon?

The cheapest way to get from Manchester to Lisbon is by flight. With three airlines offering direct flights, and at least three others giving indirect flight options, you’ve got a variety of routes every day, as long as you keep your departure date and time flexible. Cheap tickets from Manchester to Lisbon often coincide with the fastest flights, but this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, longer flights with one stopover have the lowest cost, so it’s important to book well in advance if you want quick, cheap tickets from Manchester to Lisbon.

The airlines operating direct flights from Manchester Airport (MAN) to Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS) are Ryanair, Air Portugal, and Easyjet. Ryanair typically offers the most affordable prices on most days, apart from Sundays, when it doesn’t generally operate flights.

If you book tickets in advance, you may find direct flight prices in the double digits, which is a very good deal for this route. Do bear in mind that some airlines include luggage allowance in their initial pricing, while others don’t.

What is the Fastest Way to Travel from Manchester to Lisbon?

The quickest travel time from Manchester and Lisbon is by flight and it’s offered by Ryanair (2h 45min), Air Portugal (2h 50min), and Easyjet (2h 50min). Sometimes, it may be more affordable to book indirect flight routes, which vary in duration, but the shortest ones can be around 4h 50min (run by KLM) and 5h (run by Air France). All flights depart from Manchester Airport (MAN) and land at Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS). Note that your total journey time will be affected by security and customs queues, which may get busy during peak season, over the weekend, and daily between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Fortunately, Easyjet has flight times that depart at or before 8:00 a.m., while Ryanair offers many flights leaving after 7:00 p.m. or before 7:00 a.m. Direct flights to Lisbon are being operated every day.

Lisbon View. Source: Shutterstock

Find the best tickets from Manchester to Lisbon and book with Omio

We recommend you book your travel from Manchester to Lisbon well in advance wherever possible to secure the best prices and fastest routes. The search and booking platform offered by Omio can help you scan through all the available connections and purchase the Manchester-Lisbon flight that suits you best. You can find a sizable choice of providers and departure times to choose from if you keep your plans flexible. Furthermore, your booking experience through Omio is quick and seamless: you can engage with the platform and with customer service in your own language and receive your mobile tickets immediately upon reservation. The Omio Window Seat magazine may offer some useful insights to make your travel plans easier and more enjoyable.

Flights from Manchester to Lisbon

There are three main airlines which operate direct flights between Manchester Airport (MAN) and Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS): Ryanair, Air Portugal, and Easyjet. The average duration of a non-stop flight is 2h 45min for Ryanair and 2h 50min for Air Portugal and Easyjet. There’s at least one direct flight departing for Lisbon every day, but providers’ schedules vary throughout the week. Ryanair offers one flight per day from Monday to Saturday, typically scheduled around 7:15 p.m. or 6:00 a.m.

Air Portugal tends to fly out around 10:40 a.m. and 5:40 p.m., offering up to three flights per day from Wednesday to Monday. easyjet operates on Monday, Friday, and Sunday, with varying times in both afternoon and morning.

Bear in mind that specific departure times and number of flights available do vary according to season and demand. Once arrived at Lisbon Portela Airport, you can travel the 3.5 miles (4.5 km) to the city centre by metro train on the Aeroporto-Saldanha line (around 25min), by Aerobus numbers 1 and 2 (around 35min), or by taxi, which is quicker but costs slightly more than public transport.

Lisbon Town. Source: Shutterstock

Flying from Manchester to Lisbon with RyanAir and Air Portugal

Ryanair flights from Manchester Airport (MAN) to Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS) are non-stop and take, on average, 2h 45min. They are typically scheduled on a Monday-to-Saturday basis and depart at or around 7:15 p.m., or, sometimes, around 6:00 p.m. Flights by Ryanair are often offered at a significant discount to those of competing airlines, but you should carefully check what’s included in the price: for example, Ryanair doesn’t include luggage allowance in its no-frills package and it may charge extra for seat selection and on-board meals.

If you book a cheap ticket from Manchester to Lisbon sufficiently in advance, it can be overall highly affordable to purchase a premium Ryanair option including luggage and priority boarding. Air Portugal offers a wide variety of direct flights departing from Manchester Airport (MAN) and arriving into Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS). Flights take around 2h 50min with no stopovers and generally run daily, apart from Tuesdays. Depending on demand, Air Portugal sometimes offers up to 3 flights per day, at relatively affordable prices.

In most cases, Air Portugal flights depart from Manchester at or around 10:40 a.m. and 5:40 p.m. Sometimes, a third option is offered around 5:00 a.m., which is useful if you want to avoid long airport queues in Manchester and Lisbon. Bear in mind that, although Air Portugal tickets might sometimes be more expensive than other travel options, the price includes a cabin bag (17 lbs or 8 kg), which the no-frills prices from Ryanair or easyjet do not include as a standard.

To Lisbon by flight — travel tips

Flights to Lisbon are highly in demand, as the city offers a unique mix of cultural heritage, historical landmarks, and superb natural scenery. Visitors tend to enjoy visiting monuments such as Castelo de São Jorge (Saint George’s Castle), Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Jeronimos Monastery), and Torre de Belém (Tower of Belem); and there are plenty of museums to explore, including Calouste Gulbenkian and Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (National Museum of Ancient Art).

A favourite for family activities, the Lisboa Story Centre on Praça do Comércio turns the city’s rich history into an interactive, multimedia adventure, featuring film and hologram storytelling. The Portuguese capital is exceptionally well connected to other popular tourist locations.

For example, Sintra, featuring World Heritage Site attractions such as the Pena and Sintra palaces, as well as the Sintra-Cascais national park, is only about 40min away from Lisbon on the Linha de Sintra train. Furthermore, if you’d like to venture to Porto, the famous home of Port wine, this is about 3h 30min away by train from Lisbon’s Santa Apolonia station.