Page created 23rd March 2018 following personal visit.
I have no easy means to check or update so please confirm through sources given below.
Aveiro (pop.78,000, urban area 120,000) is a city of Northern Portugal. It is not in the Algarve - I was visiting! It stands about 75km (47 miles) south of the major city of Porto. It is just over 260km (160 miles) north of Lisbon. It is about 85km from PORTO airport.
There are no direct buses between Porto Airport and Aveiro
By metro and train it is fairly frequent, straightforward and
inexpensive, but slow Take the METRO DO PORTO Line E from the
Airport to Campanhã station. Trains run about every 20 minutes for
most of the day on weekdays, every 30 minutes at other times
including weekends and holidays, from around 0600 until 0034 (last
train, every night). That will take about 33 minutes and costs
€2.60 - a Z4 (four zone) ticket. More details at the METRO DO
PORTO website.
By the way, don't throw away your 'ANDANTE' ticket if you are
coming back to Porto. It is rechargeable. You can use it until it
wears out and saves you €0.60 on each subsequent ticket of the
same type. Tickets are sold at the Airport tourist office, but if
it's not open you will need some coins for the ticket machines.
At Campanhã walk from the Metro station round to the main railway
station of CP, Portuguese Railways. That takes only a couple of
minutes.
From there, local electric trains of the Porto Urbanos network run
to Aveiro about twice every hour on weekdays, once an hour at
weekends with extra, faster, trains in weekday rush hours. The
normal journey takes about 1 hour and will cost €3.50 plus the
cost of the rechargeable SIGA ticket card. There are simple to use
ticket machines in the hall; there were long lines at the ticket
office all three times I was there. The machines take notes as
well as coins. NB these 'SIGA' tickets are NOT VALID on Alfa
Pendular or Intercity trains. Urbanos trains are (mostly) bright
yellow! 
If you do use one of
the Alfa Pendular fast trains the trip to Aveiro will cost you a
whopping €14,50 to save about 25 minutes.
First train from Porto Campanhã to Aveiro is at 0504 on weekdays,
0604 at weekends and holidays. The last trains are at 2304
and 0004 daily then a later train at 0055. These almost all start
from Porto São Bento )city centre) station about 10 minutes
earlier. Be sure to check timetables at the Portugal Railways
Official website. Trains from Aveiro to Porto run
daily from 0443 to 2333 daily, then at 2350 except on Saturdays.
If you plan to spend some time in Porto before moving on, most
of the trains to Aveiro start at the city centre SÃO BENTO
station. This historic building is in the heart of the city (it
has a Metro station also) and is worth a visit in its own right!
The national long distance bus (coach) network Rede-Expressos has
no direct service between Porto and Aveiro. There are no direct
buses I know of.
If you are not planning to spend time in Lisbon, you will need to
get from the Airport to LISBOA ORIENTE station. This is very
simple using the Lisbon metro (subway) from the airport station.
Trains run to Oriente station every few minutes from 0630 until
0100 every night. The journey takes about 5 minutes. There is also
city bus 744 to Oriente. City bus details at http://www.carris.pt/
If you are planning to spend time in Lisbon, trains to Aveiro
start from the city centre SANTA APOLÓNIA station. Check
timetables and buy tickets at www.cp.pt
One way 'normal' tourist (2nd) class fare is €26,70 on Alfa
Pendular trains, €20,60 on others. Discounts are available for
advance booking - see below.
There is a mix of fast Alfa Pendular and Intercity trains about
once each hour on weekdays, slightly less frequent at weekends.
The last train is at 2139 hrs daily. The journey takes about 2
hours on the faster trains, 2hrs 20 minutes on the Intercity
trains
All but two of the trains start from the city centre Santa
Apolónia station nine minutes before calling at Oriente. These other two call at Lisbon Entrecampos
station before Oriente on their way up from the south.
Reservations for train trips in Portugal can only be made up to a MAXIMUM of 60 days in advance. You can reserve on line at www.cp.pt and print your own ticket. A big discount is available on many trains for tickets purchased more than 8 days in advance. DO NOT use RailEurope etc as they cannot issue the required seat reservation for which you will pay extra.
You will need to make your way from the airport to the SETE RIOS
bus terminal. This is about 3 miles/5km from the airport and is
linked to it by the underground metro line. Take any train to the
end of the line at São Sebastião then change to the Blue Line for
a two stop ride to Jardim Zoológico station, which is adjacent to
Sete Rios. Trains run every few minutes from 0630 daily. The
journey will take around 25 minutes and cost €1,95.
There is also a direct special bus, Aerobus 2, running about
every 20 minutes. Consult the Aerobus website for details. For your bus
options from elsewhere in the city check the city bus website at http://www.carris.pt/
Consult the long distance bus website www.rede-expressos.pt for Lisbon - Aveiro times, remember it's LISBOA SETE RIOS on the timetable search. One-way fare is currently €15,70 and the journey takes about 3hrs 15 minutes. There are about 6 journeys every day, from 0830 to 1930. Rede Expressos website also covers journeys to Aveiro from many towns and cities through Portugal. Tickets can be bought on line up to 30 days in advance at the Rede Expressos website www.rede-expressos.pt
The railway station in Aveiro is on the eastern edge of the city
centre, about 10 minutes walk from the centre. There is a taxi rank outside, to
the left as you exit the station. Numerous city buses stop in a
rather decrepit side street across the road from the taxi rank.
Aveiro does not have a bus station as such. Long distance buses to
and from Porto, Lisbon etc stop in the centre Rua da Clube dos Galitos,
by the canal . The ticket and enquiry office is across the street
from the stops, at number 12.
The tourist office is
located at Rua João Mendonça, 8
which is on the other side of the canal, across the bridge from
where the long distance buses stop.
Aveiro is a
walkable city, and mostly flat. If you need local buses around the
city and immediate suburbs, consult the city bus company website
at
www.aveirobus.pt this is however only available in
Portuguese. Timetables can be downloaed and there is a diagram of routes. Timetables for most routes are irregular in nature, some are infrequent and very little service is provided on most routes at weekends and also public holidays.
Cash fare is €2,05. A pre paid ten journey ticket reduces that
considerably. Various monthly passes are also available.
Aveiro is flat and bike hire is readily available. Buga Aveiro
Rent-a-Bike has its main shop outside the Mercado Manuel Firmino
in the centre with bikes stations in various locations.
Aveiro well connected to the north and south by the railway.
There is also the narrow gauge line inland, to Oliveira de
Azaméis, part of the Linha da Vouga. This is a proper railway, not
a heritage or tourist line. It is a pleasant ride into wooded
countryside and is operated as part of the national railway
system. Timetables at www.cp.pt
The website www.aveirobus.pt
also has details of the buses to outlying suburbs (click
'Rede Interurbana') however this section was not working as this page
was being compiled. These buses leave from stops on the Avenida Dr
Lourenço Peixinho close to the war memorial soldier statue
by the canals. Map here.
Aveiro is not quite on the coast. In summer a ferry runs out to
the main beaches, details will also be on the Aveirobus website.
The stadium of SC Beira Mar Aveiro is the Estádio Mário Duarte, Rua do Sport Clube Beira-Mar, 3810-193 Aveiro.
Capacity is 12,000. This is to the south of the city centre but
not far. The club currently plays in the third tier of
Portuguese football, where attendances are numbered in hundreds.
Club website for fixtures is http://www.beiramar.pt/
The large stadium built outside the town for
the Euro 2004 championships is no longer in use. It remains the
only stadium I have ever been to, anywhere, which was impossible
to get to except by car! One could not even walk there.
If you have any comments or updates for this page, I will be pleased to receive them by email. For more about Aveiro as a city, please see this article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aveiro
I take no responsibility for any inconvenience caused as a result of later changes to times etc. This page is for general guidance only and you must check details before making commitments and decisions!