INFORMATION CHECKED AND UPDATED 9th JUNE 2025
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, non-stop,
service between Porto Airport and Braga, costing €9 each way or
€16 return. This is the quickest way. There are sixteen 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.
Rede Expressos has five journeys every day between the airport and Braga. There is no ticket sales point at the airport. Tickets should be purchased in advance at their website or app. Tickets can also be purchased on board, card payment only.
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
daily between about 0700 and 2000, about every 30 minutes at other
times. The first train from the airport is at 0606 on weekdays,
0558 on Saturdays and at 0557 on Sundays and public holidays.
Payment by contactless credit / debit card is possible for metro
journeys from the airport. Any journey will cost €2,25.
Contactless payment is only available at a few other places on the
network.
That will take about 35 minutes and otherwise costs €2.85 - a Z4 (four zone) paper 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 0037 every night. The first direct trains from Campanhã station to the airport are at 0707 on weekdays, 0706 on Saturdays and 0703 on Sundays and Holidays. The last train from Campanhã is at 0031 every night. If no direct train is shown, take any WESTBOUND train and change at Lapa station.
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 €3.55. 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 cards and
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. 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.
Tourist tickets for all CP Urbanos trains -1 day €7,50 and 3 days €16.00.
First trains from Porto Campanhã to Braga are at 0620 on
weekdays, 0650 daily. The last trains are at 2315 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 0528
(except Sundays and Holidays), 0621 on weekdays and 0635 daily.
Trains then run at least once each hour until 2139 (weekends),
2239 (weekdays) and the last train is 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 0845 until 2230 with earlier and later journeys on
certain days of the week. Times at www.rede-expressos.pt
- tickets cost as little as €1,95 if booked in advance but vary
according to time of day etc - this is double the train fare.
Tickets can be bought on line up to 90 days in advance at the Rede
Expressos website www.rede-expressos.pt. or their app.
Journey time is 1 hour. You can get to the bus station on
the metro, alighting at Campanhã and walking through the tunnel
under the railway lines. The journey from the airport is about 35
minutes and is mostly above ground.
You can pay for Lisbon metro journeys using contactless payment. Each journey including transfer to another line if needed will cost €1,85. A paper ticket costs €2,35, which includes 50 cents for the rechargeable Navegante ticket card.
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 6 minutes. There is also city bus 744 to Oriente,
however large luggage is not permitted. 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 €37.40 on the direct
AP (Alfa Pendular) trains, €29.05 on the IC (Intercidades) trains.
Discounts available for advance booking - see below. SEAT RESERVATION IS COMPULSORY.
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 0602, 1006, 1302, 1406, 1802,
also at 2002 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.
There are no direct Rede Expressos services between Lisbon
Airport and Braga. There are frequent services from Lisbon Oriente
terminal which is a 6 minute metro journey from the airport. Uber
is readily available.
Lisbon Sete Rios Bus Station is more convenient for the city centre. Journeys to Braga start from there.
This is about 3 miles/5km from the airport and is linked to it by
the Red 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 €1,85 contactless, €2,35
cash. Check the metro
website for options from other parts of the city. Taxis /
Uber 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.
One-way standard fare on direct journeys is currently €18,95
(some discounted tickets can be available for less than €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.
Flixbus ( www.flixbus.pt or app ) can get you to or from Lisbon
Airport about five times a day, but you always have to change at
Porto. It is a very long journey, 9 hours in one case! They
operate about 16 journeys every day from Lisbon Oriente in
competition with Rede Expressos. Journey time is between 4 and 5
hours.
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, two and three day passes are also available.
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.
Several bus companies operate from Braga bus station to a variety
of nearby destinations. There is an excellent website showing all
departures and arrivals at https://cctb.cm-braga.pt/ -
only in Portuguese but easy enough to use.
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.
Other bus companies operating from the terminal include:
Autoridade Intermunicipal do Transportes do Cávado (AITC) - buses
to Famalição, Arcos de Valdevez, Ponte de Lima, Esposende, Vila
Verde - Timetables can be viewed and downloaded from the
Portuguese language page here - https://aitc.cimcavado.pt/horarios/
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. The website I did
have a link to has been replaced by https://www.ehgeres.pt/ which
as of 5th May 2025 contains no transport information.
There is a limited bus service between Braga and some areas
around the edge of the park. Go to https://aitc.cimcavado.pt/horarios/
and choose linhas 200 and 201. For other travel options, use the
very good map at https://aitc.cimcavado.pt/mapa-de-rede/
to find other bus routes in the area.
It is not possible to travel between Braga and Guimarães by train
except by a very long and indirect route. Details about buses
below.
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). AITC Bus
101 Braga <> Guimarães (slower) via the Universities do
Minho and Guimarães here.
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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