Porto’s airport (Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport) is located about 15 km north of the city center and is easily accessible by public transport. Buses, metro/tram, taxis and shuttles connect the airport with Oporto’s city center, surrounding areas as well as main cities in Portugal’s northern region.
Metro do Porto
Since May 2006, Metro do Porto’s Line E (violet) connects the city center with the airport in about 25 minutes. Line E runs every 30 minutes from about 6 am to 1 am in both directions. You will need Z4 ticket (1,80€ +0,50€ for the reusable card) to the city center. Information to reach the metro station inside the airport is clear.
Resende
Resende’s 120 route connects Guifões (Matosinhos) to the Airport running everyday from about 06:30 am to 20:00. It runs through many of Matosinhos local administration units.
STCP
Three daily buses and one night bus connect the airport with the city center as well as Matosinhos and Maia municipalities.
- 601: Cordoaria – Aeroporto
- 602: Cordoaria – Aeroporto (via Padrão de Moreira)
- 604: Hospital de São João – Aeroporto (via Crestins)
- 3M: Av. Aliados – Aeroporto
If your goal is the historic center, take bus 601 or 602 and expect a 45 minutes bus ride. Bus 602 is slightly more frequently riding about every 20 min during the day against every 30 min for bus 601. Although none of these routes is especially interesting, 601, is a bit nicer and can already give you a glimpse of areas of the city you may want to visit.
If your plan is to get to Maia city centre, Oporto’s Hospital São João or University of Porto’s Asprela campus then 604 is your bus.
Day-time buses start their service around 05:00am end their service around 01:00am if you arrive or need to reach the airport after that time you must take a night bus. 3M runs hourly from 00:30am to 05:30am towards the city center and from 01:00am to 05:00am towards the airport.
Other cities
Porto’s airport is also the main airport North of Portugal and one of the most important airports north of the Iberian Peninsula and the best entry port for cities such as Braga, Guimarães, Aveiro, Vigo and even Coimbra.
If you are continuing your trip by train, just take the tram/metro from the Airport to Campanhã railway station (about 30min and 1,80€+0.50€ for the reusable card). From here you can buy tickets, get information and take a train to virtually every other train station in Portugal.
Aveiro
Aveiro is easily reachable from Porto by public transport. There are about three trains an hour operated by CP between Porto and Aveiro and the trip can take between 30 min and 1h and cost between 3,35€ and 14,10€ depending on the type of trains. High-speed trains are faster and more expensive, suburban trains are the cheapest and slowest. However, if you have an hour to spend we recommend you to take the suburban trains. Not only do they make for a more relaxed and leisure trip as you can enjoy some of the villages along the way, even if just from inside the train.
Rede Expressos runs about three buses per day between Porto and Aveiro in the afternoon and usually implying a change in Albergaria-a-Velha. The trip takes about 2h making it a less interesting option than the train. Rede Expresso’s departure point is at Garagem Atlântico. Metro station São Bento is the closest one.
Braga & Guimarães
Braga and Guimarães are two of the most important cities in Portugal’s northern region and for that reason also easily accessible from Porto’s airport. About two trains per hour run from Porto to Braga with tickets ranging between 3,10€ and 14,20€ for suburban and high speed trains respectively. Travel time amounts to 1h05min for suburban trains and 50 min for high speed trains.
Suburban trains run every hour between Porto and Guimarães costing 3,10€ for a travel time of about 1h15min.
Recently Braga and Guimarães are also reachable from Porto airport by bus with the GetBus shuttle. The shuttle runs every two hours and departures just outside the Departures section at the airport.
Renex offers bus connections between Porto and Braga for about 6€. Renex’s departure point is next to bus stop Cordoaria. Bus 601 is your best option to reach Cordoaria from the airport.
Rede Expressos offers bus connections between Porto and Braga and Guimarães for about 6€ and with travel times of about 1h. Rede Expresso’s departure point is at Garagem Atlântico. Metro station São Bento is the closest one.
Coimbra
Coimbra is Portugal’s third largest city located aproximately halfway between Porto and Lisbon. In 2013 Coimbra University was declared UNESCO Heritage site.
CP runs about two trains every hour between Porto and Coimbra B train station. Direct trains take about 1h between Porto and Coimbra and cost about 15€ while combining trains may take you 2h allowing to spend only 9€. To get to Coimbra cheaply, you need only to take a train to Aveiro and then change to a regional train between Aveiro and Coimbra.
Rede Expressos runs about ten buses a day between Porto and Coimbra with a travel time of about 1h30min and a price of 12,50€. Rede Expresso’s departure point is at Garagem Atlântico. Metro station São Bento is the closest one.
Vigo
Vigo is the largest Spanish city closest to Portugal’s northern border. There are two daily direct trains leaving from Porto Campanhã railway station to Vigo one in the morning and one in the evening as well as two trains back (see CP ). Recent agreements between Portugal and Spain have reduced train travel between Porto and Vigo to 2h15min sacrificing intermediate stops. There are two other trains running between Porto and Vigo with several intermediate stops and with change at Viana do Castelo. The complete journey takes about 4h30min.
Some Spanish bus operators assure bus connection between Porto airport and Vigo with about 4 buses a day on weekdays and 1 a day on weekends.