Travelling from Porto airport to a different start point (Ponte de Lima)

[MaxHelado]

Anyone help me with information on travelling from Porto airport to a Camino start-point. I want to get to Ponte de Lima but any general points about the airport transport options would be very helpful and any advice on getting to Ponte de Lima would be a wonderful bonus!

It seems to me that there is no train station at the airport, only a metro station which offers a 45 minute ride into the city centre.
So trying to get anywhere by train would not be the best option as it would add at least an hour onto any journey (allowing for getting to the right station in Porto and then getting the right train out again).

I believe there is a coach/bus station at the airport and it looks like there are two routes from there that might work for me.

One is a bus direct to Ponte de Lima which takes about 1hr 20m and goes through Viana do Castelo before turning sharp right and heading into Ponte de Lima. This looks like the best option.

Second option appears to be a different bus from the airport to Ponte de Lima but this time going through Braga where I would have to change bus. Takes 2 hours.

Anyone able to comment on a) arriving at Porto and the travelling on to a different start point or b) getting from Porto airport to Ponte de Lima?

 

[trecile]

It looks like there are buses that go from the airport to Ponte de Lima.

Rome2rio

Discover how to get anywhere by searching plane, train, bus, car and ferry routes

www.rome2rio.com

Here is one of the companies that Rom2Rio lists: https://barquense.pt/Home.php#!/Seats

 

[andycohn]

Anyone help me with information on travelling from Porto airport to a Camino start-point. I want to get to Ponte de Lima but any general points about the airport transport options would be very helpful and any advice on getting to Ponte de Lima would be a wonderful bonus!

It seems to me that there is no train station at the airport, only a metro station which offers a 45 minute ride into the city centre.
So trying to get anywhere by train would not be the best option as it would add at least an hour onto any journey (allowing for getting to the right station in Porto and then getting the right train out again).

I believe there is a coach/bus station at the airport and it looks like there are two routes from there that might work for me.

One is a bus direct to Ponte de Lima which takes about 1hr 20m and goes through Viana do Castelo before turning sharp right and heading into Ponte de Lima. This looks like the best option.

Second option appears to be a different bus from the airport to Ponte de Lima but this time going through Braga where I would have to change bus. Takes 2 hours.

Anyone able to comment on a) arriving at Porto and the travelling on to a different start point or b) getting from Porto airport to Ponte de Lima?

Along with Rome2Rio, as Trecile points out, Google Maps is also very helpful for identifying local public transit options, even within cities themselves. In the search box, enter Porto airport as your starting point and Ponte de Lima as your destination. Then click on the train icon and it will give you those public transit options. Here, it shows that Rede Expressos services that route, and under "Details" it gives you a link to the Rede Expressos web site. Whether you're using Rome2Rio or Google Maps, I suggest that you always go to the web site of the transit company identified for the most accurate information.

 

[trecile]

Google Maps is also very helpful for identifying local public transit options, even within cities themselves.

Thank you for mentioning Google Maps for finding transport options. That's what I use when I'm in cities.

 

[naplesdon]

The metro you mentioned also goes west as far as Povoa de Varzim which is a nice place to start walking the coastal route.

 

[MaxHelado]

It looks like there are buses that go from the airport to Ponte de Lima.

Rome2rio

Discover how to get anywhere by searching plane, train, bus, car and ferry routes

www.rome2rio.com

Here is one of the companies that Rom2Rio lists: https://barquense.pt/Home.php#!/Seats

This is really useful, thank you so much.

I do try to use Rome2Rio but after a first useful page that lists bus times (or trains) I select one and find I am faced with "no buses on that day" which is in direct conflict with the previous page! I then lose confidence and start to doubt the information itself.
I guess you are diving deeper into the individual bus operators' websites? Or did you access this timetable directly from Rome2Rio?

 

[MaxHelado]

Along with Rome2Rio, as Trecile points out, Google Maps is also very helpful for identifying local public transit options, even within cities themselves. In the search box, enter Porto airport as your starting point and Ponte de Lima as your destination. Then click on the train icon and it will give you those public transit options. Here, it shows that Rede Expressos services that route, and under "Details" it gives you a link to the Rede Expressos web site. Whether you're using Rome2Rio or Google Maps, I suggest that you always go to the web site of the transit company identified for the most accurate information.

Great tip, Andy. I use google maps all the time but did not know that it had this functionality.
That said, when I follow the google maps link to the operator's website (in this case Rede Expressos) I get slightly different times than in the table that Trecile gave me the link for. Very odd.

 

[andycohn]

Great tip, Andy. I use google maps all the time but did not know that it had this functionality.
That said, when I follow the google maps link to the operator's website (in this case Rede Expressos) I get slightly different times than in the table that Trecile gave me the link for. Very odd.

That's right! I find Google Maps, and Rome2Rio, too, are useful for pointing out the availability of local transport, and the name of the transit company, but there's often a discrepancy between what they say and the actual schedule. That's why I recommend drilling down to the website of the transit company itself. With respect to local transit, especially within a city itself, I actually find Google Maps more useful (as Trecile notes above). For example, when I was in Lisbon earlier in the year, I would use Google Maps to plot my way from our hotel to a museum we wanted to visit, and it would show me the walking directions to the appropriate bus or tram stop, any connections we needed to make, and then walking directions from the bus stop to the museum. Almost made navigating too easy! Also helpful if you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, having planned a too ambitious stage, and all you want to do is stop walking and get to the nearest bar.

 

[sifog]

Anyone help me with information on travelling from Porto airport to a Camino start-point. I want to get to Ponte de Lima but any general points about the airport transport options would be very helpful and any advice on getting to Ponte de Lima would be a wonderful bonus!

It seems to me that there is no train station at the airport, only a metro station which offers a 45 minute ride into the city centre.
So trying to get anywhere by train would not be the best option as it would add at least an hour onto any journey (allowing for getting to the right station in Porto and then getting the right train out again).

I believe there is a coach/bus station at the airport and it looks like there are two routes from there that might work for me.

One is a bus direct to Ponte de Lima which takes about 1hr 20m and goes through Viana do Castelo before turning sharp right and heading into Ponte de Lima. This looks like the best option.

Second option appears to be a different bus from the airport to Ponte de Lima but this time going through Braga where I would have to change bus. Takes 2 hours.

Anyone able to comment on a) arriving at Porto and the travelling on to a different start point or b) getting from Porto airport to Ponte de Lima?

I will be doing the same journey porto to Ponte de Lima early June to start ( finish my Camino ).Unfortunately an Achilles injury forced me to stop early last year in Lima , must add it’s a wonderful little town . I found the Bus route very easy to follow .and very cheap if I recall .I am hoping for a very early bus to Get to Ponte De Lima in time for breakfast prior to walking the short but uphill stretch to Rubiaes

 

[MaxHelado]

I will be doing the same journey porto to Ponte de Lima early June to start ( finish my Camino ).Unfortunately an Achilles injury forced me to stop early last year in Lima , must add it’s a wonderful little town . I found the Bus route very easy to follow .and very cheap if I recall .I am hoping for a very early bus to Get to Ponte De Lima in time for breakfast prior to walking the short but uphill stretch to Rubiaes

Reassuring to hear that you are choosing the same route to get to Ponte de Lima!
Are you planning to spend a night in Porto before your bus ride?

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I do try to use Rome2Rio but after a first useful page that lists bus times (or trains) I select one and find I am faced with "no buses on that day" which is in direct conflict with the previous page! I then lose confidence and start to doubt the information itself.

I like Rome2rio, but don't really fully trust it either, although it is a good source to get an overview of potential options for travel going from "here to there".

 

[sifog]

Reassuring to hear that you are choosing the same route to get to Ponte de Lima!
Are you planning to spend a night in Porto before your bus ride?

I would say yes , but realistically the Camino brain will decide when the plane lands

 

[sifog]

Reassuring to hear that you are choosing the same route to get to Ponte de Lima!
Are you planning to spend a night in Porto before your bus ride?

I would say yes, but realistically my Camino brain will decide when the plane lands

 

[MaxHelado]

I like Rome2rio, but don't really fully trust it either, although it is a good source to get an overview of potential options for travel going from "here to there".

Agree completely. I guess it's the drill-down that's important thereafter. But I confess that I do like to plan well ahead - in fact, for me, the planning is an important part of the journey - and that means that things like bus and train time-tables can be a bit flakey.

 

[dillsburger]

I’ve made the trip from the Porto airport to Ponte de Lima many times and will be taking a group again in May. As a previous poster noted, use Barquense transport. Email them to reserve a spot on the shuttle van.

Barquense

barquense.pt

If you get lucky, the driver will drop you off close to the bridge (and albergue) instead of the bus station.

Also, in the past, the shuttle was a good chance to start the peregrino lifestyle of serving others. Many in our group sat on backpacks in the aisle as a result of giving up seats to elderly passengers at stops on the way to Ponte de Lima.

 

[daleb]

Download mapy.cz and you will see that the Camino goes right past the airport - start there if you are not wanting to start at porto cathedral. I found rome2rio very good for the most part but sometimes it kept reverting to car shares. Don’t over plan it is my advice - situations or other options arise and you may want to divert, or carry on with a group you’ve met, or do the spiritual variant which so many people don’t seem to know about. Bon Camino!

 

[Former member 102963]

Agree completely. I guess it's the drill-down that's important thereafter. But I confess that I do like to plan well ahead - in fact, for me, the planning is an important part of the journey - and that means that things like bus and train time-tables can be a bit flakey.

Agreed it’s a fantastic overview site to give you the options but then you need to go to the sites of the transport providers! I love it tho! If it wasn’t for R2R I once would have caught three flights to go from A to B when you could go direct by boat!

 

[KariC]

Anyone help me with information on travelling from Porto airport to a Camino start-point. I want to get to Ponte de Lima but any general points about the airport transport options would be very helpful and any advice on getting to Ponte de Lima would be a wonderful bonus!

It seems to me that there is no train station at the airport, only a metro station which offers a 45 minute ride into the city centre.
So trying to get anywhere by train would not be the best option as it would add at least an hour onto any journey (allowing for getting to the right station in Porto and then getting the right train out again).

I believe there is a coach/bus station at the airport and it looks like there are two routes from there that might work for me.

One is a bus direct to Ponte de Lima which takes about 1hr 20m and goes through Viana do Castelo before turning sharp right and heading into Ponte de Lima. This looks like the best option.

Second option appears to be a different bus from the airport to Ponte de Lima but this time going through Braga where I would have to change bus. Takes 2 hours.

Anyone able to comment on a) arriving at Porto and the travelling on to a different start point or b) getting from Porto airport to Ponte de Lima?

Not sure your reason for wanting to start outside of Porto, but a fairly common starting point just outside it is Matosinhos, on the outskirts of Porto - that's an inexpensive taxi ride from the airport. Then you can start walking past all the urban stuff, if that's your reason for asking. Bom caminho!

 

[trecile]

Not sure your reason for wanting to start outside of Porto, but a fairly common starting point just outside it is Matosinhos, on the outskirts of Porto

I would guess that it's a time constraint issue - Ponte de Lima is a few days walk from Porto or Matosinhos.

 

[MaxHelado]

I’ve made the trip from the Porto airport to Ponte de Lima many times and will be taking a group again in May. As a previous poster noted, use Barquense transport. Email them to reserve a spot on the shuttle van.

Barquense

barquense.pt

If you get lucky, the driver will drop you off close to the bridge (and albergue) instead of the bus station.

Also, in the past, the shuttle was a good chance to start the peregrino lifestyle of serving others. Many in our group sat on backpacks in the aisle as a result of giving up seats to elderly passengers at stops on the way to Ponte de Lima.

Just seen your post and I am reassured to hear this is a trip you've taken a number of times.
Can I just check that we're talking about the same bus service?

 

[dillsburger]

Yes, that's the online schedule. BUT, I would strongly recommend an email confirming the time and making a reservation. Also, I'd scout out the shuttle bus location at the airport. There are a bunch of shuttles and Barquense is just one of them.