Page checked and updated 21st April 2018
Page compiled from visits to the city. Porto is not in the
Algarve - I have been visiting! It is the second city of Portugal,
located in the north about 200 miles / 320km from Lisbon.
Please confirm/check on the various official websites before travelling. The emphasis is on public transport, partly as it is so efficient and inexpensive and partly as I don't drive and I am too mean to pay for taxis if there's an alternative.
Porto Airport has a station on the Metro do Porto light-rail
system. You can reach most of the city centre in about 30 minutes
for €2.60*. Metro from the airport runs every 20 minutes for most
of the day on weekdays, otherwise 30 minutes every day from about
06.00 until last train at 00.34 every night. More information at www.metrodoporto.pt
and below. Please
note that tickets must be bought from the ticket machines or at
the tourist information office. * This includes the 60 cents
for the rechargeable ticket card you can re-use for later trips.
The metro station at the airport is on the surface. Most of the
journey into the city is also on surface. The vehicles are fully
accessible - picture below. There is plenty of space for
wheelchairs and large items of luggage at each end
of the trains. If you have to change lines at Trindad station, it
is a matter of a few steps or an elevator. All other changes are on one
level.
The TRANSDEV bus company runs a sparse bus service direct from
the airport to the city centre bus station. Details at http://www.transdev.pt/aeroportoporto/
There are also a number of local bus routes from the airport to
various suburbs not covered by the metro. Times at www.stcp.pt or see
below.
There are NO all night buses. If you arrive at the airport too
late for that last metro train or need to be at the airport before
about 0630am a taxi is your only option.
Intercity and Alfa Pendular trains arrive at the Porto Campanhã
station. This is on the eastern edge of the city, about 2km or 1¼
miles from the city centre. If you have booked on line to
Campanhã, you can connect with local 'Urbanos' trains free of
charge for the 3 minute run to the city centre station of
São Bento. There are also local trains to the eastern suburbs -
more information at www.cp.pt - look for Urbanos Porto or see below.
Alternatively, you can pick up the Metro do Porto at
Campanhã for the city centre plus the northern and western
suburbs, or take one of the many buses - see below.
Tip - there is only one ticket machine at the metro station
entrance. There are more in the main station building on Platform
1. There is also a 'Loja Andante' (city transport ticket and
enquiry office) on the way to the metro platforms, queues (lines)
are often very long.
Estádio do Dragão, the stadium of FC Porto, is about 1.2km from Campanhã or
one stop on the Metro to Estádio do Dragão.
Most Regional and Urbanos trains go to/from both the Campanhã and
São Bento stations, but some do not. Check times carefully.
The long-distance bus (coach) timetables do not usually tell you
which bus station is used, which in larger cities with more than
one (such as Porto!) is a bit of a problem. There are several long
distance bus stations in Porto, used by the different companies.
The BATALHA bus station has been closed and replaced by new
facility at Campo 24 de Agosto, about 1km away.
These are the long distance terminals and the companies that use
them. Note that at most there is nothing and often no-one to tell
you which bus leaves from which stop, so allow time to find the correct stop
for your bus. For long distance buses, you must usually purchase a
ticket either from hte company website or from a ticket office before
boarding. Local and suburban buses you can pay the driver in cash, fares
are around €1,95 but almost everyone has a pass of some kind.
Aliados - AUTNA international service from Vigo in Spain.
120 metres from Aliados metro station, just a bus stop outside a McDonald's in
Praça da Liberdade. Picture here. They also stop at Porto Airport and elsewhere, some go to Campo 24 de Agosto for easier connections to the south.
Campo 24 do Agosto . Citi Express, Rede-Expressos,
Transdev. 1 minute walk from Campo 24 do Agosto metro station.
Buses of ETG Gondomarense buses stop by the side of the little park
there. Picture here, local map here.
Casa da Musica - AVIC, Internorte incl. their Eurolines
services, Resende buses, also some local buses of Espirito Santo
across the bridge from Gaia. - adjacent to Casa da Musica metro
station. Picture here.
Hospital São João - Arriva, Transdev, many city buses and metro line D - in the
city's northern suburbs next to the metro station Hospital São
João. Close to University etc. A downoadable leaflet showing the layout of stops and aspider map of city and suburban places served is here.
Parque das Camelias (Rua de Augusto Rosa) - AV Feirense, AV
Tâmega, Espirito Santo, MGC Transportes - outdoor bus station in an awkward location in
Batalha district several minutes walk from nearest metro stations
at Bolhão or São Bento. Picture here.
Praçeta Régulo Magauanha - AV Minho. Situated 2 minutes
walk from Trindad metro station. A very basic facility! This is
just off Rua de Fonseca Carlos. Picture here
Rua Alexandre Herculano - União Transportes dos Carvalhos (UTC) -
this is the street outside the former Batalha terminal that was
also called Garagem Atlantico.
The Metro do Porto
is not an underground railway like London, New York or Lisbon.
It's a network of six tram or light-rail lines, running on the
surface in the suburbs, then converging to run under the city
centre in tunnels. The website has comprehensive information, much
of it in English.
Trains run every 15 - 30 minutes on each line from 6am until
after midnight. Through the central section from Senhora da Hora
to Estádio do Dragão that means a train every 5 or 6 minutes most
of the day. Four of the lines radiate out to the western and
north-western suburbs and the airport. Line D, runs north to south
from the Hospital São João across the Douro River (on a rather
spectacular bridge) to Santo Oviedo, in the city of Gaia. Line F
extends eastwards through the Rio Tinto area into the neighbouring
city of Gondomar.
Ticketing is fully integrated with most buses, trams and much of the local rail network under the 'ANDANTE' banner. Zonal fares are used, so you must always be sure that you buy a ticket for the correct number of zones for your journey. Day passes are available and you can choose how many zones you want. Tickets are ridiculously cheap by UK standards; a two zone (Z2) ticket covers most central city journeys and is €1.20! A two zone (Z2) day pass is €4,15 - this covers the whole of the central city area. In both cases add 60 cents for the rechargeable ticket card. You must validate your ticket at the scanners when starting each journey or changing between Metro lines or from bus to Metro. If a nasty noise sounds and a red light flashes, your ticket is not valid!
The Andante tickets are re-chargeable, so for example, the first ticket, for example from the airport to the city, will cost €2.60 (including €0.60 for the card) and subsequent re-charges for the same zones just €2.00 per trip. You can re-charge the ticket until it wears out or the micro-chip fails! You can recharge your ticket with rides of the same value or change the ticket type on the machine, but the Andante offices will swap for you if needed.
However the Andante Tour 3 and 7 day tickets are not
rechargeable. Also, these are NOT valid on the 'old trams on
routes 1, 18 and 22 nor on the elevator.
Note that Metro stations and stops are unstaffed. The machines
take coins, notes and cards. Many stations have only one ticket
machine. Don't be tempted to avoid paying - although there are no
entry barriers on the system, groups of revenue protection staff
make random spot checks on passengers with hand-held scanners. The
current penalty for travelling without a validated ticket is €95.
During one visit, my ticket was checked twice on the same tram by
two different inspectors ten minutes apart.
On a security note, uniformed security staff patrol most stations,
day and night. These are the only visible staff apart from
traincrew and those ticket inspectors. I also noticed city police
routinely travelling on trams. The whole system seemed safe and
secure; no groups of kids or beggars hanging about. Many stations
now also have CCTV.
Non-Portuguese speakers will be pleased to know that almost all the signs and announcements on Metro are in English as well as Portuguese.
The Porto Urbanos train network is operated by CP, the national
rail operator. There are three routes serving the northern and
eastern suburbs with a fourth line south to Espinho and Aveiro.
Large map here.
Trains run at much less frequent intervals than the Metro,
especially at weekends, so you will need to check timetables at www.cp.pt before making a journey - look for
the 'Urbanos Porto'. However, as a general guide, trains on the
Braga line run about every hour every day, on the Guimarães line
about every two hours; to Penafiel and Caide about every hour
weekdays and every two hours at weekends. Down to Espinho and
Aveiro trains run about every half hour weekdays and every hour at
weekends and holidays. There are weekday rush hour extras on all
lines. (If you are going to Aveiro, the trains from Lisbon stop
there before they reach Porto Campanhã.)
Again, fares are very inexpensive. The 1hr 20 minute ride from
Porto São Bento to Braga or Guimarães will cost you a whole €3.20
on the local trains. Various tourist passes are available also if
you plan to travel more frequently. The CP Urbanos routes
within the Greater Porto are incorporated into the Andante
ticketing system. Any tickets specific to trips on CP trains are
now issued on a rechargeable card called SIGA, which costs 60 cents. These can be
reloaded and re-used for any trip wholly on the Porto Urbanos
network. For regular users, there a many different passes
available.
Porto has an excellent bus network covering the city and far out
into the suburbs. Many buses are operated by STCP (Sociedade de
Transportes Colectivos do Porto, SA) but, especially out in the
suburbs, there are several other operators. Almost all of their
routes are integrated into the ANDANTE
ticketing system, but you might find the times slightly harder to
come by as some don't have websites. STCP times and route maps are
all available through their website; timetables were clearly displayed
at most of the bus stops I used. Beware that in some busy
places/interchanges there are several bus stops, so you sometimes
have to look for the right one for your route. Several routes
radiate from the Airport into the suburbs to complement the Metro
service. Consult this website for a comprehensive, all
operators, trip planner for the Porto Metro area. Cash fare is
€1,95 on STCP, may be different on other buses.
Other bus operators in the area : sites are only in
Portuguese. Note that cash fares paid on board are a lot higher
than previously acquired tickets.
Click the logos to go to the bus company websites, which will
open in a new window.
RESENDE 
Buses around Matosinhos, Senhora da Hora,
Valongo, Areosa and Leca connecting with metro service, also local
service from the airport to nearby suburbs. Website is partly in
English. What they mean by 'tours' are actually normal bus routes!
Espirito Santo 
Buses in and around Vila Nova
de Gaia, also between Vila Nova de Gaia and Porto Boavista and city Parque da Camelias.
Maia Transportes 
Buses in and around Maia connecting with metro
Valpibus 
Valpi operate in and around Penafiel area also with services between that area and Porto Trindad metro station.
UTC - Uniȃo Transportes dos Carvalhos 
operate between Espinho, Carvalhos and
Porto Rua Alexandre Herculano.
ETG Gondomarense 
operate
in and around Gondomar and to/from Porto Campo 24 de Agosto and elsewhere..
AV Landim - 
.
From Trindad metro to Celorico de Basto via Penafiel (one trip,
weekdays only); to Felgueiras via Lousada, Freamunde and Paços De
Ferreira daily service 6- 7 times daily plus rush hour extras. Also to
Felgueiras via Santo Tirso and Vizela several times every day. Many of
their buses also stop at Hospital São João bus station.
AV Pacense - 
From Trindad metro shares routes with AV Landim above.
There are only three tram routes remaining in Porto. Ancient (but
refurbished) four-wheeled wooden trams dating from the 1920's are
used. Trams run every 20 - 30 minutes on each line and normally
connect with each other. Although operated primarily for tourists,
local people still use them.
Route 1 from Infante (Praça do Henrique) via Massarelos, the
depot (and museum) along by the river to Passeio Alegre runs
between 0915 and 1745 from each terminus, the last tram
terminating at Massarelos), This route runs along the
riverside. Trams run every 20 minutes between 1100 - 1800
daily, earlier trams every 30 minutes from 0900 .
Route 18 runs daily every 30 minutes between Massarelos to Carmo, 0828 and 1928 from Massarelos, returning from 0815 to 1915, and along with route 22 needs vehicles capable of climbing steep hills - the historic vehicles can (others being restricted to the flat route 1),
Route
22 daily every 30 minutes on a circular route from Carmo to
Batalha (near the funicular) via Sao Bento station, first at
0920 last at about 1900. Route Map. Some trams run through
to/from Massarelos via route 18.
All three historic lines are included in the standard ANDANTE
ticketing system, but if you pay cash on board it will cost €3. A
tram museum ticket also includes rides on these routes. NB The
ANDANTE TOUR 3 day and 7 day tickets are no longer valid on these
old trams.
Printable leaflet with maps and all details of the trams http://www.itinerarium.net/minhalinha/TRAMCAR_CITY_TOUR_FINAL.PDF
FC Porto play at the Estádio do Dragão, which is on all Metro
lines except C and D. It is about 1.2km (3/4 mile) from Porto
Campanhã main-line railway station. There are many bus routes in
the area. The other major team in Porto, Boavista FC, play at the
Bessa Stadium, which is in the Boavista district to the west of
the city centre. Nearest Metro station (Francos) is about 600
metres away; buses along the Avenida de Boavista at its junction
with Rua de Pedro Hispano are closer. Leixões play in the Estádio
do Mar out at Matosinhos, reachable by metro from the city centre.
The closest stop is called Estádio do Mar and is about 700 metres
away.
If you have any comments or updates for this page, I will be
pleased to receive them by email.
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!
For an alphabetical list of places in the
Algarve, please click here
For a quick list of all timetables on the site click here
For some important general notes about buses in the Algarve, click
here
Back to the main page here