U2 in Coimbra, Portugal: trains, planes etc?

BittenByTheBug

Myself and 3 friends are planning on travelling to see U2 play back-to-back concerts in Coimbra, Portugal on Sat/Sun, Oct 2-3.

Accommodation is impossible to get other than 20 miles outside the city centre (pop. 100,000) and flights are difficult too given the early departures home and the possible need to travel through the night Sunday to meet check-in.

Anyone familiar with train services between Faro (hoping to fly from Cork) and Coimbra? Or trains from Lisbon/Porto airports if necessary.

A tourism contact would be great.

Thanks, BBTB

Unshelved

You'd be mad to fly into Faro - Coimbra is only about 60km from Porto - Ryanair fly into there. We passed through Coimbra a couple of years ago on the way to Porto and it took less than an hour on the motorway between the two cities. As I remember it, the buses are frequent and cheap - there may even be a bus service from Porto for the concert. If you fly into Faro you'll be travelling almost the length of the country to get to Coimbra.

Coimbra is a big university town - which means that there could be plenty of informal accommodation there. You could try the message boards on the Lonely Planet website for information about hostels or just renting rooms (they do that a lot in Portugal). Alternatively the Europe board on the Fodors website (www.fodors.com/forums) can be a good source of information.

Hope this helps.

scudzilla

Have ya thought about buying a cheap tent when you're out there and using a campsite? A friend did thsi a few years ago and toured Portugal for 4 weeks using campsites, a lot cheaper

BittenByTheBug

Thanks lads,
That's a big help, cheers. Would tent it personally, but the other 3 are insistin' on "home comforts" - which will be in short supply in a 2* hotel if we're lucky to get one. Thanks again:)

Unshelved

Coimbra tourist office - why don't you try emailing them?

www.turismodecoimbra.pt

coimbratur

BittenByTheBug wrote: »

Myself and 3 friends are planning on travelling to see U2 play back-to-back concerts in Coimbra, Portugal on Sat/Sun, Oct 2-3.

Accommodation is impossible to get other than 20 miles outside the city centre (pop. 100,000) and flights are difficult too given the early departures home and the possible need to travel through the night Sunday to meet check-in.

Anyone familiar with train services between Faro (hoping to fly from Cork) and Coimbra? Or trains from Lisbon/Porto airports if necessary.

A tourism contact would be great.

Thanks, BBTB

Hello
My name is Carlos and im in charge of Coimbratur, a travel Operator in COimbra.
I can offer you two kind of Hotel here in Coimbra to the first concert
2 Ocotber
1 - Vila Gale Hotel 4*
Room price for two with breakfast - 240€
2 - Residencial Botanico 2*
Room price for two with breakfast - 150€
3 October
1- Vila Galé Hotel 4*
Room price for two with breakfast - 220€

If you need up than 2 rooms i can offer you a 20% discount.

Further information please e mail me to
cgrave@coimbratur.com

Thanks in advance
Carlos

Note: If needed i can provide you VIP or a Private box ( 10 pax ) as well.

MifPT

BittenByTheBug wrote: »

Myself and 3 friends are planning on travelling to see U2 play back-to-back concerts in Coimbra, Portugal on Sat/Sun, Oct 2-3.

Accommodation is impossible to get other than 20 miles outside the city centre (pop. 100,000) and flights are difficult too given the early departures home and the possible need to travel through the night Sunday to meet check-in.

Anyone familiar with train services between Faro (hoping to fly from Cork) and Coimbra? Or trains from Lisbon/Porto airports if necessary.

A tourism contact would be great.

Thanks, BBTB

Hi BittenByTheBug;

You can fly to Faro and then pickup the train and get to Coimbra very very easlly. Althought from Porto it's faster...
To stay in Coimbra, it will be a problem. The town is a student town and it will be packed by October.
The best option would be to get something in Figueira da Foz or go to a camping park.

Have a nice trip and a nice stay.
If you need any help, let me know, I'm Portuguese anyway...

MifPT