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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 €9 each way or €16 return. This is the quickest way. There are fourteen buses each way every day at irregular intervals. 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 frequent, straightforward and inexpensive. Take the METRO DO PORTO Line E from the Airport to Campanhã station. You may need to change trains, which I recommend you do at Lapa station where this is done on the same platform, no need for steps, tunnels etc. Trains are currently running about every 15 minutes on weekdays between about 0700 and 2000, less frequently at other times, but at least three trains every hour until early evening, then two trains each hour. The first train from the airport is at 0606 on weekdays, 0557 at weekends and public holidays. The last train is at 0042 every day. That will take about 35 minutes and costs €2.75 - 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 0558 on weekdays, 0622 at weekends and on public holidays, with the 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
10 - 15 Euros more to save about 20 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), 0621 on 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 Campanhã bus station and
Braga from 1000 until 2230 with 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. You can get to the bus station on
the metro, alighting at Campanhã. The journey from the airport is
about 35 minutes and is mostly above ground.
If you are not planning to spend time in Lisbon, you will need to
get from the Airport to LISBOA ORIENTE station. Obviously, taxis
are available. However, 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, ticket price €2,15. 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, €26,75 on others. Discounts available for
advance booking - see below.
Direct trains Lisbon (Santa Apolónia to Braga) at 0700, 0930,
1400, 1600 (**), 1800 and 1930, calling at Lisbon Oriente 9
minutes later. **The 1600 train does not run on Saturdays and
public holidays. Journey time between 3hrs 30 minutes and 4 hours.
Trains from Braga to Lisbon daily at 0554, 0959, 1254, 1359, 1756,
also at 1954 except on Saturdays and public holidays.
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 ORIENTE
bus terminal. This is about 2 miles/3.2km from the airport and is
linked to it by the underground metro line. Trains run every few
minutes from 0630 daily. The journey will take around 8 minutes
and cost €2. Taxis are readily available.
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 Oriente - Braga times and tickets. Remember it's LISBOA
on the timetable search. Some journeys require a change en route.
This is clearly shown in the timetables and on your ticket.
Lisbon Sete Rios Bus Station is more convenient for the city
centre. Journeys to Braga start from there.
One-way standard fare is currently €25.00 (some discounted
tickets can be available for as little as €10) and the journey
takes about 4hrs 30 minutes. There are about 12 journeys every
day, from 0630 to 1900 with earlier and later journeys on certain
days. Rede Expressos also has routes 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 (Centro Coordenador de Transportes de Braga) 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, 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 are €1,55 or €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.
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.com) with
connections to and from Santiago de Compostela.
ON 1ST JANUARY CONSIDERABLE CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE REGIONAL BUS
NETWORK AROUND BRAGA. MOST ROUTES HAVE A NEW NUMBER AND NEW
OPERATOR.
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 may 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:
Autoridade
Intermunicipal do Transportes do Cávado (AITC) - buses to
Famalição, Arcos de Valdevez, Ponte de Lima, Esposende, Vile Verde
- website is not currently available in English. Timetables can be
viewed and downloaded.
AVIC - buses to Viana do Castelo. Site is only in Portuguese. Click on Transportes then Interurbanos for a list of routes. Next to each route is a link to a PDF timetable which can be downloaded. If a timetable states "Horários realizados em dias úteis" this means the buses only run on weekdays. No weekend or holiday service.
Braga - Guimarães : This is AVE route 9304 which runs every 30 - 60 minutes on weekdays, less frequently at weekends. Go to https://avemobilidade.pt/schedules and select the 'line' number (they use American English) and be aware that there are different choices for Dias Úteis (weekdays), Sábado (Saturdays) and Domingos (Sundays and Holidays)
Bus 101 Braga <> Guimarães via the Universities do Minho
and Guimarães 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. [Website not working 07.12.22]
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.
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 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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