I have no easy means to check or update everything so please
confirm through sources given below. PLEASE CHECK AT THE OFFICIAL
WEBSITES.
BRAGA (pop.110,000, urban area 171,000) is a city of Northern Portugal. It is not in the Algarve - I was visiting! It stands about 54km (34 miles) north - east of the major city of Porto.
It is therefore about the same distance from PORTO airport. Lisbon and its airport are some 375km (235 miles) to the south.
GETBUS operates a direct service between Porto Airport and Braga, costing €8 each way or €14 return. This is the quickest way. There are seven buses each way every day until further notice. The non-stop journey takes 50 minutes. Tickets can be bought on line or, with cash only, from the bus driver. At Braga tickets are also sold at the Getbus ticket office in the bus station.
By metro and train it is more frequent, straightforward and
inexpensive, but slower. Take the METRO DO PORTO Line E from the
Airport to Campanhã station. You will need to change trains at
Trindad station, which is now the end of E line. Trains are
currently running about every 30 minutes every day. The first train
from the airport is at 0557, the last train at 0042 every day.
That will take about 35 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.
[The service to the Airport from Trindad starts at 0616 every day
with last train at 0044 every night.]
At Campanhã walk from the Metro station round to the main railway
station of CP, Portuguese Railways. That takes only a minute.
From there, local electric trains of the Porto Urbanos network run
to Braga about once every hour every day, with extra, faster,
trains in weekday rush hours. The normal journey takes about 1
hour and 10 minutes and will cost €3.25. 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. Special note - all CP Porto Urbanos train tickets
are now issued on a rechargeable card called SIGA. This costs 50
cents. Do not throw it away as it can be used for second and
subsequent ticket purchases on the Porto Urbanos network. NB these
'Urbanos' 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 or Intercity fast trains the trip to Braga will cost you
8 - 10 Euros more to save about 30 minutes.
First train from Porto Campanhã to Braga is at 0620 on weekdays,
0650 daily. The last trains are at 2310 then at 0055 daily. These
start from Porto São Bento station five minutes earlier. Be sure
to check timetables at the Portugal Railways Official website. First train from Braga to Porto
runs daily at 0434 then at 0529 (except Sundays and Holidays),
0621on weekdays and 0629 Daily. Trains then run at least once
each hour until 2039 daily, then at 2139 (weekends), 2239
(weekdays) with the last train at 2332 daily.
If you plan to spend some time in Porto before moving on, the
trains to Braga 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
frequent daily service between Porto's Campo 24 de Agosto bus
station and Braga from 1000 until 2230 with a couple of earlier
and later journeys on certain days of the week. Times at www.rede-expressos.pt
- tickets cost €5 or 6 according to time of day etc - this is almost double the train fare. Tickets
can be bought on line up to 30 days in advance at the Rede
Expressos website www.rede-expressos.pt. Journey time is 1
hour. Getbus runs six to eight direct buses every day between the airport
and the city centre bus station. Details here. You can get to the bus
station on the metro, alighting at Campo 24 de Agosto station.
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 Braga 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 €34,40 on the direct Alfa
Pendular trains, €26,60 on others. Discounts available for advance
booking - see below.
As of 26 April, Only about half the 'normal' direct Lisbon
<> Braga service is currently operating. Please check the
timetables before making firm travel plans. You will probably have to
change trains at Porto Campanhã station.
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 €2.
There is also a direct bus, Aerobus 2, from the airport to Sete
Rios but running only once each hour from 0800 to 1900hrs. 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 - Braga times and tickets, remember it's LISBOA on the
timetable
search. One-way standard fare is currently €23.00 (some discounted
tickets can be available for as little as €9,50) and the journey takes
about 4hrs 30 minutes. There are about 12 journeys every day, from
0700 to 1900 with earlier and later journeys on certain days. Rede
Expressos also covers journeys to Braga from many towns and cities
through Portugal.
The railway station in Braga is on the western edge of the city
centre, a few minutes walk along a mainly pedestrian street will
get you there. Taxis are outside, as are local buses. None of the
city buses directly connect the railway station and main bus
station!
The bus station (Central de Camionagem) in Braga is a closer to
the city centre, in Avenida General Norton do Matos. Taxis outside
if you need one. It is in the centre of this
Map. The tourist office is right in the city centre, almost
opposite McDonalds, at Avenida da Liberdade, number 1.
Braga
is a walkable city, if a bit hilly! If you need local buses around
the city and immediate suburbs, consult the city bus company
website at www.tub.pt
Bus service generally runs between 0700 and 2100hrs, but many
routes do not run at all at weekends or on holidays. The website
is only in Portuguese. There are some late buses, in particular
between the railway station and the University campus. There is a
zonal ticket system. Cash fares range from €1,55 to €2,00
according to the number of zones travelled. These are valid for 1
hour from first use, so you can use more than one bus for your
journey.Tourist tickets are
available for 1, 2 and 3 days offering discounted travel on all
city bus routes. The one day tourist pass all zones is €3,35 -
these are also available, with discount, for 5 and 10 people as a
group.They have a very good city street and bus map on their
website here and also good maps of individual routes
showing all stops.
DURING THE CURRENT 'CRISIS' THESE BUS TIMES MAY ALTERED AT VERY SHORT NOTICE.
PLEASE CHECK AT THE OFFICIAL WEBSITES FOR THE TIMES ON THE EXACT DATE YOU PLAN TO TRAVEL.
Braga is at the end of the railway line, so the train does not
give many options apart from getting back to Porto or Lisbon. You
can, with a change of train at Nine (pronounced NEEN) get to the
Spanish border at Valença do Minho in around 2 hrs 30 minutes.
From there, two trains a day and a few buses (www.autna.com)
run to the Spanish city of Vigo. There are a few direct coaches
(buses) between Braga and Vigo operated by Flixbus (www.flixbus.pt) and
ALSA (www.alsa.es)
with connections to and from Santiago de Compostela.
Several bus companies operate from Braga bus station to a variety
of nearby destinations. I recommend that if you are intending to
roam the area or make an onward journey by bus, you visit the bus
terminal as soon as possible after your arrival. Each bus company
has its own office, so you my need to make several enquiries,
which is why I didn't.
Buses are reasonably frequent on weekdays, but few run on
Saturdays and on many routes there are none on Sundays or
Holidays. Interurban and local buses finish between 2000hrs and
2100hrs. Please bear these things in mind before making your plans
too firm.
Bus companies operating from the terminal include:
TransDev - buses to Guimarães, Viana do Castelo, Póvoa de Varzim, Famaliçao, Ponte de Lima and Barcelos
Arriva
- Guimarães, Famaliçao, Fafe, Póvoa de Varzim
EBA -
runs jointly with TransDev to Guimarães and Ponte de Lima. The
current timetable for buses between Braga and Guimarães can be viewed
and downloaded here.
There are buses between Braga and Gerês, operating seven times a
day on weekdays, three times on Saturdays, Sundays
and Holidays. Journey is 1 hr 25 minutes, price unknown.
Details here, will open a new window to an external
link.
Transdev has a limited service between Braga and Campo de
Gerês (Vale Furnas), but which does include Sunday trips
especially timed for a day out. Website for times is www.transdev.pt
only in Portuguese.
Buses to Guimarães are a joint operation between
TransDev, Arriva and EBA. Buses run about every hour on weekdays
until 8pm, but less frequently on Saturdays and only about every
90 minutes on Sundays and holidays. They run through Morreira and
Caldas Taipas, the latter a well-known spa resort. The
timetable is available on line here
There is also a fast bus once each hour on weekdays only via the
motorway, timetable here - look for Bus Plus 05. This bus
basically operates only when the schools and universities are
open; check the timetable calendar carefully. On that timetable
(CC) means the main bus station in the two cities.
There are also international links through Spain available through some of those above.
The stadium of SC Braga is within walking distance of the city centre, you will be pleased to know. It's about a mile (1.6km) outside, on the northern edge. Local bus routes 05 and 22 stop nearby. Additional buses to and from the suburbs are provided for matches.
If you have any comments or updates for this page, I will be pleased to receive them by email. For more about Braga as a city, please see this article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braga
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!
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