Travel to Porto
Flying to Porto
Airlines operating direct flights to Porto from the UK include easyJet, Ryanair, TAP Portugal and British Airways. There are no direct flights from the USA; the quickest route is via Lisbon with TAP Portugal. Prices are fairly steady year-round, but you can find the best deals by avoiding school holidays.
Flight times
From London - 2 hours 20 minutes; New York - 9 hours (including stopover); Los Angeles - 14 hours 30 minutes (including stopover); Toronto - 9 hours (including stopover); Sydney - 28 hours (including stopover).
Travel by road
Portugal is served by a good network of trunk roads, and driving is a relatively good option for getting around the country. As with any large city, Porto itself can get congested and finding parking is not always easy.
Traffic drives on the right and the minimum driving age is 18. Speed limits are 120kph (75mph) or 100kph (62mph) on motorways, 90kph (56mph) outside built-up areas and 50kph (30mph) in towns.
EU driving licences are sufficient – non-EU visitors are advised to obtain International Driving Permits. If taking your own car, a Green Card is advisable, though not compulsory for EU travellers.
The national motoring association Automóvel Club de Portugal (ACP) (tel: +351 21 318 0100; www.acp.pt) can offer assistance to motorists belonging to an automobile club with whom the ACP has a reciprocal agreement.
Emergency breakdown services
ACP (tel: +351 707 509 510).
Routes
Porto is well connected to Portugal’s national motorway network. The city is linked to three motorways: A1 Lisbon, with a connection to the Algarve; A3 Valença (Minho), with a connection to Galicia, and A4 Amarante (Trás-os-Montes), with a connection to Bragança.
Coaches
There are several bus companies operating in and from Porto. Rede Expressos (tel: +351 707 223 344; www.rede-expressos.pt) has a wide network of buses going to most cities in Portugal. Buses depart from the Paragem Atlântico terminal, Rua Alexandre Herculano 370.
Internorte, Praça da Galiza 96 (tel: +351 707 200 512; www.internorte.pt), works with Eurolines (tel: +44 871 781 8177, in the UK; www.eurolines.com) to provide services between Porto and numerous other cities across Europe.
Time to city
From Galicia - 2 hours 30 minutes; Lisbon - 3 hours; the Algarve - 5 hours.
Travel by Rail
Services
Porto has excellent rail links to the rest of the country.
Campanhã Station, Largo da Estação de Campanhã, is Porto’s main railway station with international, national and regional services. The beautiful San Bento Station, Praça Almeida Garret, is located in the city centre and offers suburban and regional services. Suburban trains depart for Braga, Guimarães and Marco de Canaveses. Several trains link these two stations.
Operators
The main railway operator is CP (tel: +351 707 210 220; www.cp.pt). There are frequent services between Porto and the capital, Lisbon.
Journey times
From Lisbon - 2 hours 30 minutes; Coimbra - 1 hour.
