Airplane: Domestic flights in Portugal are very expensive and hardly necessary due to the short distances. Both PGA Portugália Airlines and TAP Air Portugal offer flights several times a day on the Lisbon – Porto and Lisbon – Fargo routes. Anyone from Porto to Fargo to fly have to change in Lisbon.
Ship: Along the Rio Douro starting in Porto and along the Rio Tejo from Lisbon, travelers can take river cruises landscape Discover Portugal. Ferries allow commuters and visitors to put across the Rio Tejo to Lisbon as well as across the mouth of the Rio Sado.
Train: Traveling on the trains of the state railway company Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses (CP) is often cheaper than long-distance travel by bus. However, it often takes a little longer. There are three types of remote connections. Regional trains marked with an “R” on the timetables stop at every station. There are also interregional trains (IR) and the express trains called Rápido or Intercidade (IC). Alfa is a more luxurious and slightly faster IC variant. It operates mainly on the Lisbon-Coimbra-Porto route.
The remaining historical narrow-gauge railway lines that meander from the valley of the Rio Douro are particularly attractive for tourists. The most beautiful lines are the Linha da Tâmega from Livração to Amarante, the Linha da Corgo from Peso da Régua to Vila Real and the Linha da Tua Tua around Mirandela.
There are a number of discount offers for rail travel that can be requested. Children under the age of twelve travel at half price, as do travelers over 65. Timetables and tariff overviews are available at all train stations and from the railway company.
Automobile: A well-developed, mostly toll motorway network (Estradas) runs through the whole of Portugal. The motorways marked with an “A” are in good condition and in some areas hardly used. The longest motorways are those between Lisbon and Porto and between Lisbon and the Algarve. In Portugal, however, the Itinerários Principais (IP) or Itinerários Complementares (IC) are free of charge.
In contrast to the roads in the country, Portuguese drivers do not have a good reputation for driving recklessly – often under the influence of alcohol. Driving in small Portuguese towns can be a bit tiring due to the tapering, numerous one-way streets.
Fuel is very expensive in Portugal. There are numerous self-service petrol stations; most of them accept credit cards.
With its DB Autozug, the state railway company Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses (CP) offers motorists the opportunity to comfortably transport their cars on various routes by rail. The offer applies to the Lisbon-Porto, Lisbon-Guarda, Lisbon-Castelo Branco and Porto-Faro routes.
Car
If you want to rent in Portugal a car, at least 25 years must be old and have a driver’s license for a year. Some companies also rent to younger drivers – but at higher rates.
The largest selection of rental car agencies can be found at the airports of Lisbon, Porto and Faro. The best conditions are in the Algarve. Rental cars are a popular target for thieves in larger cities. Therefore, no valuables should be left in the car.
Bus: a large number of small private bus companies, most of which have merged into regional companies, form a dense network of connections that extends across the entire country. The largest companies include the Algarve line Eva, Rodonorte and Expressos Rede.
There are three types of bus or connection in Portugal: Expressos are comfortable, fast buses that run between the larger cities. An express bus ride from Lisbon to Porto takes around three and a half hours, and the journey from Lisbon to Faro takes around four hours.
Rapidas are fast regional buses and Carreiras, buses marked with a “CR”, stop at every intersection. Some companies also offer a fast luxury category called Alta qualidade. In contrast to express bus connections, local bus connections are severely restricted on weekends and during the summer holidays.
At bus stations there are overviews of connections and tariffs for printing. There are discounts for travelers under the age of 26 as well as for seniors.
Local transport: According to homeagerly, there are tram networks in Lisbon and Porto. The two cities also have their own S-Bahn (suburbano) system. Lisbon’s network extends over Sintra, Cascais, Setúbal and the lower Tagus Valley. Porto’s suburban rail network extends to Braga, Guimarães and Aveiro. Suburbanos also operate between Coimbra and Figueira da Foz.
Bicycle: Mountain biking is very popular in Portugal and there are some special cycle routes. Tours are possible in the mountains and national parks in the north – especially in the Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês -, along the coast or on the Alentejo plains. Due to the prevailing winds, coastal trips are easiest to tackle in a north-south direction. The mountainous Serra da Estrela and the Serra do Marão between Amarante and Vila Real are more demanding. Local cycling clubs regularly organize guided tours.
In many cities, especially in the Algarve and in other tourist areas, it is possible to rent bicycles. Bicycles can often be transported free of charge on regional and national trains, but not on buses.
