Page detail checked and updated 11th September 2018.
I have no easy means to check or update so please confirm through sources given below.
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 eight to twelve buses each way every day. Check the timetable as some trips do not run every day. The non-stop journey takes 50 minutes. Tickets can be bought on line or 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. 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 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 €3.20. 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 '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 fast trains the trip to Braga will cost you a
whopping €14,50 to save about 30 minutes.
First train from Porto Campanhã to Braga is at 0620 on weekdays,
0650 weekends and holidays. The last trains are at 2310,
then at 0105 daily. These start from Porto São Bento
station five minutes earlier. Be sure to check timetables at the
Portugal Railways Official website. Trains from Braga to Porto run
daily from 0434 to 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 0815 until 2300 with a couple of earlier
and later journeys on certain days of the week. Times at www.rede-expressos.pt
- tickets cost €6 - this is more than the train. Tickets can be
bought on line up to 30 days in advance at the Rede Expressos
website www.rede-expressos.pt.
Journey time 1 hour. (The TRANSDEV bus company runs a few direct
buses between the airport and the city centre bus station. Details
at http://www.transdev.pt/aeroportoporto/)
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 €33,30 on Alfa
Pendular trains, €26,20 on others. Discounts available for advance
booking - see below.
There are currently four fast Alfa Pendular trains every
day, except Saturdays when there are three, direct from Lisbon to
Braga. They start from Santa Apolónia station at 0700, 1400, 1600
(except Saturdays and some holidays) and 1800. They stop in Lisbon
Oriente nine minutes later and arrive in Braga 3 hours and 30
minutes later. There is also two daily, cheaper but slower,
Intercity trains from Santa Apolónia at 0930 arriving in Braga at
1326 and at 1930 arriving in Braga at 2326. These also stop at
Lisbon Oriente a few minutes after leaving Santa Apolónia.
From Braga to Lisbon the direct Alfa Pendular fast trains run at
daily at 0601, 1301, 1801 also at 2001 (except Saturdays and some
holidays). There are also two daily direct Intercity trains at
1005, arriving in Lisbon at 1400 and at 1405 arriving in Lisbon at
1800. Advance reservation highly recommended. All passengers
must have a numbered seat ticket. These trains also stop in
Coimbra and Aveiro.
You can create more journey options by taking one of the frequent
trains between Lisbon and Porto (Campanhã) and changing to / from
the local 'Urbanos' service there. Those options will be cheaper
(about €27.00) than some direct trains, but the journey will be a
little longer. Those options include a later train from Lisbon at
2130hrs.
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 - Braga times, remember it's LISBOA on the timetable search. One-way fare is currently €20.00 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. 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 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 but marked on the map as
Rodoviária D'Entre Douro E Minho, S.A) in Braga is a closer to the
city centre, in Avenida General Norton do Matos. Taxis outside if
you need one. 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. Tourist
tickets are available for 1, 2 and 3 days offering discounted
travel on all city bus routes. There is a zonal ticket system,
cash fares range from €1,55 to €2,00 according to the number of
zones travelled. A one day tourist pass all zones is €3,35 - these
are avaialble for 2, 5 and 10 people as a group.They have a very
good city street and bus map on their website here.
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 very few run on
Saturdays and there are almost 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:
Rodonorte -
fast buses to Guimarães, Barcelos and Montalegre, also very
infrequently to Chaves, Vila Real, Amarante and Viseu.
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, with
Getbus to and from Porto airport. Same timetables as already
mentioned. There are no timetables on their website.
There are buses between Braga and Gerês, operating seven times a
day on weekdays,four times on Saturdays, three on 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
in Portuguese only - look for Bus Plus 03.
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.
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!