So, you’ve decided you’d like to visit Porto but you’re just not sure of the best way to get there? Fret no more! We’ve created the ultimate transport guide and included every single possible way to get to Porto. Whether you want to visit by plane, train, bus, taxi, foot or hovercraft we’ve got you covered!
Getting to Porto by air.
Francisco As Carneiro Airport (OPO) is the main airport in Porto and where you’ll likely to be flying into. Francisco As Carneiro is the third busiest airport in Portugal and is sometimes referred to as Aeroporto do Porto. The airport as won several award denoting it as one of the best airports in Europe due to its easy to navigate airport layout and gorgeous new redesign. The airport was upgraded for Euro 2004 and this was arguably one of the best decisions that could have been made — it’s helped to raise tourism in Porto by encouraging tourists to fly into Porto over Lisbon.
Porto’s airport is located roughly 15 kilometres outside of the centre of town, which makes it extremely cheap to travel to the centre of town when using public transport (when compared to other European cities!)
In terms of airlines that serve Porto airport, there are plenty, the most well-known being Air Berlin, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Condor, Easyjet, Flybe, Lufthansa, Ryanair, TAP Portugal and Vueling.
If you’re wondering which airline will offer you the cheapest price then we recommend using Skyscanner or Adioso to find the best deals — we use these flight search engines on a daily basis and have found they consistently find cheaper flights than anywhere else.
The only airline we don’t recommend you fly with is Ryanair. Ryanair is one of the worst airlines we have ever had the misfortune of flying with and you only need to do a quick Google to find thousands of terrible reviews.
If you’re looking for a personal recommendation for us as to which airline is best, then we can wholeheartedly recommend Air Berlin, British Airways, Easyjet and Vueling.
Reaching Porto from the airport.
The cheapest way to get into the centre of town is via the Metro. The Metro has connections to Francisco Sa Carneiro Airport and so you can hop on to the centre of town for just €2.20 (plus 50 cents for the actual ticket). If you’re planning on using the Metro a lot while in Porto, you can buy a 24 hour ticket that allows you unlimited rides on both the Metro and the buses for €6.
There’s also a bus service that can drop you off at the centre in just 30 minutes — just jump on the Aerobus, located outside of the airport exit, and this can take you to Praca de Liberdade, the centre of town, or Pousada de Juventude for just €4 (the bus ticket remains valid on an STPC bus for the rest of the day.
Buses and the Metro only run between 6:00am and 1:30am so if you’re arriving on a late flight, your only option may be to take a taxi, which we recommend doing at night from a safety point of view.
If you prefer to take a taxi to minimise the hassle then you can expect to pay €20.
Renting a car at the airport
There are plenty of car rental companies operating in Porto airport if you’d prefer to rent a car. We’ll just quickly note that driving in Portugal can be a scary, chaotic experience. The road quality is variable, ranging from well paved roads to cobbled streets in just a few miles.
The centre of town is probably the worst, with small alleyways, one-way streets and a maze-like structure to the roads. Throw in some aggressive driving from the Portuguese and this all adds up to a pretty stressful vacation!
Getting to Porto by bus:
If you’ve decided you want to get to Porto by bus then you’re in luck as there are many, many bus companies in Europe that have Porto on their route.
If you’ll be arriving from elsewhere in Portugal then we recommend having a look at Rede Expressos, which is a long-distance bus company serving Porto.
Getting to Porto by train:
One can reach Porto by a train service connecting all town of Europe. There are two railway stations in Porto Estação de Campanhã having access to Lisbon, Douro and Minho besides International locations. Estação de S. Bento railway station connects to Galicia, Douro and Minho, besides Aveiro and Coimbra.
