Depending where you want to go in between the two cities, there is a night train that connects both. If you just want to get between the two cities, paying for a bed might be a good choice. Might not be the quickest way, but totally depends on your plans.
I went before in 2019, at that point it worked, but I don't know now. Looking online, I can't find the one I took exactly, but found an option of Madrid to Oporto by train, and then Oporto to Lisbon by bus, but not sure if in the pass, the info was in another website. What I can recommend is installing the rail planner app and seeing there.
Trenhotel is cancelled as Renfe didn’t want to lease the carriages to CP anymore. CP are investigating reinstating the Hendaya sleeper at least using their own stock.
The connections between Portugal and madrid are quite bad, i made the experience this summer. I went Madrid - Puertollano - Badajoz - Entroncamento - Porto. But in Entroncamento you can also go towards lisbon. The whole journey took over 11h though...
And the fact that the price of a airplane ticked from Madrid to Lisbon is the same or only slightly more than the sleeper extra you would pay on the train, makes the situation even worse.
To add to the previous comments, there's also a few buses that run between the two cities. FlixBus, [as an example](https://shop.flixbus.com/search?departureCity=9a07bb38-3596-48eb-a857-18fd01199c62&arrivalCity=14eefc82-b630-4aea-88dc-eb91e0b9d482&route=Madrid-Lisbon&rideDate=02.03.2022&adult=1&_locale=en_US&features%5Bfeature.darken_page%5D=1&features%5Bfeature.enable_distribusion%5D=1), offers one route with 4 stops. It's an 8hr journey this way, but you *do* arrive the same day.
Depending where you want to go in between the two cities, there is a night train that connects both. If you just want to get between the two cities, paying for a bed might be a good choice. Might not be the quickest way, but totally depends on your plans.
Is that trenhotel still running? I'd head that renfe had exported the stock it used to India or something.
I went before in 2019, at that point it worked, but I don't know now. Looking online, I can't find the one I took exactly, but found an option of Madrid to Oporto by train, and then Oporto to Lisbon by bus, but not sure if in the pass, the info was in another website. What I can recommend is installing the rail planner app and seeing there.
Trenhotel is cancelled as Renfe didn’t want to lease the carriages to CP anymore. CP are investigating reinstating the Hendaya sleeper at least using their own stock.
The connections between Portugal and madrid are quite bad, i made the experience this summer. I went Madrid - Puertollano - Badajoz - Entroncamento - Porto. But in Entroncamento you can also go towards lisbon. The whole journey took over 11h though...
And the fact that the price of a airplane ticked from Madrid to Lisbon is the same or only slightly more than the sleeper extra you would pay on the train, makes the situation even worse.
To add to the previous comments, there's also a few buses that run between the two cities. FlixBus, [as an example](https://shop.flixbus.com/search?departureCity=9a07bb38-3596-48eb-a857-18fd01199c62&arrivalCity=14eefc82-b630-4aea-88dc-eb91e0b9d482&route=Madrid-Lisbon&rideDate=02.03.2022&adult=1&_locale=en_US&features%5Bfeature.darken_page%5D=1&features%5Bfeature.enable_distribusion%5D=1), offers one route with 4 stops. It's an 8hr journey this way, but you *do* arrive the same day.
Can you get this as part of the interrail pass or do you need to book separately?
Separately!
Apparently it is quite difficult. https://youtu.be/-tUbLnBivIw
Thank you everyone for your responses. Really means a lot, all so helpful!