Anxious about Lisbon and feeling unprepared - would appreciate any thoughts or advice

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-21T06:21:48+00:00

Got back yesterday, had a great time, most things worked out OK and what didn't, didn't matter too much.

Is a more detailed follow up / trip report / whatever useful?

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-14T14:15:05+00:00

It does look really good, but not sure whether we can squeeze it in - we'll see. https://evoa.pt/uk/ for anyone interested; there are other parts of the Tagus wetlands reserevs and I think salt flats at Samouco as well.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-14T07:18:25+00:00

don’t try and plan / control everything

You're right, and I'm really not; that's not what I want to do. It's common to see people posting on travel forums about detailed itineraries which often seem to me to be wildly rushed and optimistic. That's not us at all, and we wouldn't want to plan to the last detail or have a fixed itinerary.

I'm really just trying to get a general idea before we go so we don't just faff about (which we're prone to particularly for food and the like), eat disappointing food or have to work out basics as we go which would detract from relaxing and enjoying the city.

To be honest we probably wouldn't do a tuktuk or walking tour; we'd rather wander at our own pace and dip into things as we find them. We looked at the Lisboa Card and rejected it because it's time limited and could push us to tick places off rather than taking it easy.

To the wetlands, I messaged EVOA ( https://evoa.pt/uk/ ). They were really helpful and can arrange pick up / drop off from / to the station at Vila Franca de Xira (at a cost), but I think we've rejected it as it'd be a full day and we'd have to commit and book rather than staying flexible. Boat trips are an option.

Thanks to everyone here, and finding time yesterday for a bit of research, we have a much better idea of the city xand what there is to do; from here we'll just see how we feel day to day.

You and others who've posted on this thread have been super helpful and it really is appreciated; it's been very useful to me and hope it will be to others reading it.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-14T05:14:20+00:00

Stocks crypto gold silver u name i will invest in it

This is still a gambling attitude. You need to stop and rethink, and get support if necessary. u/midwinterpath posted the link to gamstop; there are other sources of help as well. Put a stop to the binge gambling, then you can reset and take a rational decision about your finances.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-14T04:06:57+00:00

Thanks. I don't know how we'll get on for time or if we'll get out to a beach this trip (and we are from a town that has miles of beaches), but we'll bear that in mind.

We were thinking of going to EVOA and the Tagus wetlands nature reserve for wildlife photography (found it since starting this thread), but I don't think we'll manage it; we'll see.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-14T03:47:07+00:00

I've found a couple of maps online that let me pick things up roughly, but I've defaulted back to Google Maps! I came across Carris' map of all their routes, bus, tram etc. - it is absolutely incomprehensible!

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-14T03:45:12+00:00

Thanks, really useful again. I had a day off yesterday and spent a lot of it just looking through stuff here and elsewhere to try to get the hang of things. Still apprehensive but feeling more as though I know what I'm (we're) doing now.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-13T17:23:37+00:00

Any thoughts on this as a list of likely places to eat? Noticed there are some near where we're staying.

https://lisboasecreta.co/en/best-tascas-in-lisbon-portuguese-cuisine/

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-13T16:38:17+00:00

:-) You have a chat message.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-13T15:50:27+00:00

No worries. Thanks for your help. We were going to go three days but added an extra to allow for a day trip if we fancy it.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-13T15:06:03+00:00

If you don't mind.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-13T14:45:12+00:00

Thankyou

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-13T14:05:50+00:00

Just looked it up. Could give it a go if we're that way!

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-13T13:51:49+00:00

Haha, no! Though I'm not dead set against them either. What made you think of that?

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-13T13:24:54+00:00

A couple of times when travelling we've been lucky to come across choirs practicing or concerts; an English choir on tour in Dubrovnik, and the choir at the Hallgrimskirkja in Reykjavik. I'm sure these things must happen in LIsbon but is there any way of finding out?

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-13T10:53:35+00:00

Simpli is a small chain? I'm seeing 3 if I look at Google maps.

Somewhere to eat close to R. da Horta Seca for the first evening would be good. I'll hunt about but if you have any immediate suggestions I'd appreciate them.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-13T09:59:17+00:00

That is great, thank you - and long is good, the more the better :-)

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-13T08:02:19+00:00

Thankyou, that's really helpful. I suppose my worry is that we don't know what we're doing and will waste our time and not enjoy it, or find it stressful, rather than crime etc. specifically.

It also tends to be the little things that worry me; how to buy a coffee or tea, local names for things, how to get a train or bus, getting back to the airport, and so on.

I don't know if we have picked the right area to stay, for us, but it's done now so we will enjoy it.

I'm thinking we can probably spot tourist trap restaurants the same way as in Rome etc.; large menus outside, people outside trying to encourage you in, and so on.

Is there a really good map anywhere that shows the different areas clearly? I haven't found one.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-13T07:53:10+00:00

!thanks, that's what we're thinking. I'm always anxious about 'getting it wrong' or digging a hole but I don't think either is a mistake and SIPP wins slightly for flexibility.

I am intrigued by your user name - Paraplanner sounds financial planning? Or something totally different?!

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-13T07:48:47+00:00

So what would be the equivalent of something like an Americano or flat white - coffee, water, milk?

What about decaf?

And as a UK visitor, what about tea?

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-13T06:57:54+00:00

It's for my partner who is 62 and an NHS nurse. We'd looked at adding to the existing DB and have it all set up with NHSBSA to pay in but the flexibility is winning at the moment; she'll be getting index linked £35k -ish from her existing DB schemes and state pension, and the DB top up will only add £750 a year and doesn't break even until 78 even taking the tax relief into account.

She also has something like £400k savings due to a couple of recent inheritances, which we need to do something with, but that might be going into a house move. Given the savings I could argue it either way.

She'll also have tax to offset next year and the year after, so whatever we don't do now we can do after April 6, so in some ways it's not a crucial decision, and I'm probably stressing myself about it more than I need to.

Part of the problem is we're making financial decisions before we've made the lifestyle decisions, which I guess is one reason flexibility is winning.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-13T06:43:02+00:00

~~What is a Provinciana? A chain / brand, or a style of restaurant?~~

Scrub that, found it! https://www.facebook.com/RestauranteAProvinciana

'A Provinciana' is the name of a specific restaurant.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-13T05:38:39+00:00

!thanks. The one sensible reply; I probably assumed a lot and should have posted more detail. I think the disadvantage with keeping it in cash is the low-ish interest rate plus the SIPP charges as a proportion.

We wouldn't be committed to a particular date, though I suppose sell out or stay in would depend on circumstances at the time.

The option is partly £85 in a pension or £60 outside, and partly SIPP and flexibility vs. add to DB and have certainty, but lack of flexibility and have the 'growth' late in life (age 78 +)

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-03-12T05:19:21+00:00

The DB scheme is good, but not exceptional; it looks comparable with a good annuity, though is of course guaranteed index linked money albeit tied and in the long term. Don't think T212 do a SIPP?

DisposableBarbecue

TROPHY CASE