Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ANDANTE CARD
For maximum convenience, Porto's transport system offers the rechargeable
Andante Card
(
www.linhandante.com
)
, allowing smooth movement between tram, metro, funicular and many bus lines.
The card itself costs only €0.50 and can be recharged for one year. Once you've purchased the card, you must
charge it with travel credit according to which zones you will be travelling in. A Z2 trip covers the whole city
centre east to Campanhã train station, south to Vila Nova de Gaia and west to Foz do Douro. And each 'trip' al-
lows you a whole hour to move between different participating methods of transport without additional cost. Your
time begins from when you first enter the vehicle or platform: just wave the card in front of a validation machine
marked 'Andante'.
Places to purchase credit are widely available, including metro ticket machines and staffed TIP booths at cent-
ral hubs such as Casa da Música and Trindade, as well as the STCP office, the funicular, the electric tram mu-
seum and a scattering of other authorised sales points.
One/11 'trips' in Z2 (including central Porto, Boavista and Foz do Douro) cost €1.15/12. Alternatively, you can
choose to roam freely for 24 hours for €6. If you want to go further out than two zones, pick up a map and an ex-
planation of zones at any metro station.
Getting There & Away
AIR
The gleaming Francisco Sá Carneiro airport (
Click here
)
, ominously named after a be-
loved politician who was killed in a plane crash, is 19km northwest of the city centre.
Portugália
(
www.portugalia-airlines.pt
)
and
TAP
(
www.flytap.com
)
have multiple daily
flights to/from Lisbon. There are also low-cost carriers, such as
easyJet
(
www.easyjet.com
)
and
Ryanair
(
www.ryanair.com
)
, with nonstop services to London,
Madrid, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Brussels. Note that there is a left-luggage facil-
ity on the 3rd floor (€2 per day for a 10kg bag).
BUS
As in many Portuguese cities, bus services in Porto are regrettably dispersed, with no
central bus terminal. The good news is that there are frequent services to just about every-
where in northern Portugal, as well as express service to Coimbra, Lisbon and points
south.
Domestic
Renex
(
www.renex.pt
; Campo Mártires de Pátria 37)
is the choice for Lisbon (€20, 3½ hours), with the
most direct routes and eight to 12 departures daily, including one continuing on to the Al-
garve. Renex also has frequent services to Braga (€6, 1¼ hours). Buses depart from
Campo Mártires da Patria 37.
