For a detailed list of all the stops please click here

I have puzzled over this question for many years every time a bright Carris yellow double decker passes me in the historic centre of Lisbon packed full of  tourist happily snapping pictures. These tour buses must be very profitable as there are two new(ish) companies driving red open topped busses around similar routes. I have always thought that they were an expensive way to view Lisbon as these routes can be easily achieved by use of tram and metro, for which a 24 hour unlimited ticket cost €3.60.

So in the aid of research I spent a sunny June day riding the routes to assess if they are actually value for money. There are three tour bus operators; Carries the yellow tour bus operated by Lisbon public transport, GrayLine red buses and City Line also red buses.

 

As I have always wanted to sit on board one of the bright yellow bus I decided to go for the Carries tour. I was also influenced due to a discount as my Areo bus ticket (the bus which takes tourists from the airport to most central areas for more please read the airport guide) allowed me a 25% discount.

 

They run two different routes historic Lisbon - Tagus Route  (Baxia, Avenida da Liberdade, Praca de Espanola, to Belem) and modern Lisbon, Olisipo Route (Rossio, Lisbon Zoo to Expo Park). The ticket for either one of the routes cost €15 and the ticket last for 24 hours or both routes for the special price of €19 and the ticket is valid for 48 hours. The tickets allow travel on all of the carries bus and tram network which also includes the Elevator of Saint Justa, so a saving of €3! (please note these prices were correct at summer 2010)

My 25% Areo ticket was only valid for one of the routes but I was allowed a 50% discount (praise to the bus driver for spotting this out) because I had a hop on hop tour ticket which had expired which had been lent to me by a friend. This is not widely publicised but if your staying at a hostel share the tickets with fellow travelers to make massive savings.

 

The bus driver which I purchased the ticket from (along with all of the others I met along the route) spoke excellent English, and a smattering of other foreign languages. On purchasing the ticket a pair of ear plugs headphones was supplied so that the on board  commentary could be listened to.The head phones were very cheep but use the standard 3.5mm so I would recommend bringing your own. The audio-guide is available in eight different languages; Portuguese, English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Japanese.

 

All of the routes start from the main tram stop in Praca do Commercial or by the easterly entrance to Rossio metro station in Praca da Figara. Praca da Figara square has a poor repetition with the local Portuguese who much prefer the square of Pedro IV as Figara “is full of women of the night and migrant workers who don’t want to work” - Portugeuse quote. I’ve never had any problems in the Praca da Figara but as always don’t flash money and keep bags close to your side.

The commentary which was provided was clear and informative and generally tied very closely to the streets and stops that the bus route took. The commentary was more informative than enjoyable and not very suitable for children or teenagers who may bore easily.

 

The traffic in Lisbon city centre is always horrendous and the journeys times between some stops were very long especially around Praca de Espanha. I personally thought there could have been more commentary on some of the longer journeys with long pauses along Antonio Augusto de Aguan.  

 

Double decker buses are by far the tallest vehicles on the road and I had a slight concern that low hanging trees may swipe the open air bus passengers, but this thankfully never happened. While taking a bus tour remember to plaster your self with loads of sun screen and take a hat. The sun in Lisbon can be very intense and a holiday can be easily spoiled due to heat exhaustion or even heat stroke. Due to the very narrow streets of Alfama neither of the tours even touch on the area which is possible lisbon's most interesting, but this can easily be explored on foot.

The posters and leaflets prompting the open air bus routes state;
“High season (1st March to 31st October) buses run from 10:00am to 8:00pm and depart every 20 minutes. Low season (01st  November – 28th February) buses run from 10:15am to 05:45pm, with departures every 30 minutes.”

But in reality on the hot June day the wait was more like every 30 minutes. This was fine in areas where there was lots to visit but where you just want to hop off for a few minutes for a couple of photos a little frustrating. You will spend a large portion of your day waiting for the bus or cursing yourself as you just miss one. On the final connection from Belem I just missed the tour bus so caught the tram using the same ticket.

Conclusion

The big question was it worth it, and like all good conclusions there is no definitive answer.
If you are traveling as a couple, have limited time but plenty of funds then yes go for it. All of the main sites are covered and, though it may be a very long day, the whole of Lisbon can be discovered.

If your budget is much more limited save the money buy a one day bus/tram pass and a second hand guide book for the same money. The tram system is reliable, cost effective and connects all of the major tourist areas of Belem, Baxia and Expo Park. The modern area of Expo is only a short metro ride from Baxia (see metro guide).

Families with young children will enjoy riding the yellow buses but there can be long waits for buses and the sun can be too intense for younger children. I hope that this guide has been useful, if you have any further questions please use the contact us section at the bottom of the page. For a list of the stops and sights for each click here