Page checked and updated 12th June 2017.
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 250 miles 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/tram
system. You can reach most of the city centre in about 30 minutes
for €2.55*. 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.
The TRANSDEV bus company runs a bus once each hour from the
airport to the city centre bus station. Details at http://www.transdev.pt/aeroportoporto/
There are also a number of local bus routesfrom 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 FIVE main
bus terminals in Porto, usded by the different companies. Please
visit this page on www.tripadvisor.com for
detailed information about which company uses which bus terminal
and more. NB The BATALHA bus station has been closed and replaced
by new facility at Campo 24 de Agosto, about 1km away. It is
within 2 minutes walk of the metro station Campo 24 de Agosto.
Trip Advisor no longer allows their background pages to be
updated!
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 a tunnel. Their 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. 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 €2.55
(including €0.60 for the card) and subsequent re-charges for the
same zones just €1.95 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.
Note that Metro stations and stops are unstaffed. The machines
take coins and ATM 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 day of my 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 €3.15
on the local trains.
The CP Urbanos routes within the Greater Porto are now
incorporated into the Andante ticketing system.
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.
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.
RESENDE 
Click the logo for their website. 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 
click
logo to go their their website. Buses in and around Vila Nova de
Gaia, also between Vila Nova de Gaia and Porto
Maia Transportes 
click on
the logo for their website
Valpi (click logo for website) 
Valpi operate in and around
Penafiel and to/from Porto.
UTC - Uniȃo Transportes dos Carvalhos operate between Espinho,
Carvalhos and Porto. website www.utc.pt
and ETG Gondomarense (click logo for website) 
operate in and around Gondomar and to/from
Porto
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 as from
1st January 2017 the ANDANTE TOUR 1 day and 3 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 A 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