Porto in May

Lisbon airport is on the metro red line one stop from Oriente Station.
getting from Lisbon to Porto- I use the CP app Comboios de Portugal- fairly easy to use but a bit frustrating learning curve so practice before to learn nuances. May be easier to use their web site vs app, but I find the app easier as the tickets can be scanned from my phone.
Train station in Lisbon is Oriente, Porto is Campanha. You end at Porto-Campanha but you can connect using your ticket to take any train from Campanha to Sao Bento which is right in town.
You can reserve 3 months from date of departure at a substantial discount, ie 1st 36 full fare vs promo 22 & 2nd e24/9.5. When to choose a fare you must put select promo fares! You have to put in each travelers name & passport # save it then go back to purchase screen. I find I have to do this with each ticket purchase.
There are lots of train and the fastest is 2hr41min and is more expensive promo =26/18.5. The only stop on this train is Coimbra B station, hence same web page for Coimbra visit ticket as well.
You can also re choose your seat and the train shows you the direction of travel which is nice.

I stayed at RS recommended Hotel Moov Porto Centro and loved the location. St. Idelfonso Church is right there so a great landmark, tram #22 stops in the square one stop from the funicular down to Ponte Dom Luis bridge. Sao Bento train station 2 block walk downhill from hotel. Run Santa Catarina pedestrian shopping street right there. The price is great. Breakfast optional. A few permanent homeless that don’t bother you near by. Always felt safe both day and night in the area.
Things to do, we did the port wine tour directly to the left off the bridge which was phenomenal right on the waters edge. Harry Potters inspired locations were a must, the bookstore & Cafe Majestic, food was great! Boat tour. Just walking and looking up, I find Porto beautiful & people kind & helpful.
I can’t emphasize enough to sign up with the government STEP program. It alerted me to the taxi strike in September so instead of waiting for a taxi at the taxi stand line I went directly to metro & bus for transportation. Also I got the fires notice in Sintra alert too.
Traveled 9/2018 & returning again soon!

Thank you both for your responses. This information helps out a lot.

Chris

chris,

You might also have a look at Hotel da Bolsa in Porto. I found the room to be very modern and clean, and the hotel is in a great location within easy walking distance to the waterfront. The Stock Exchange Palace is in the next block, and it's an easy walk uphill to the main plaza, with lots of nice restaurants. There's also a very convenient laundromat not far from the hotel. Finally, as I recall there's an office right across the street from the hotel that sells tickets for tour buses and other attractions.

My husband and I just got back from Portugal last week- loved it! We took the train from the Santa Apolónia station in Lisbon to Porto (Campanha). We took trains, trams, and buses throughout the country and found them to be to very easy to navigate. A couple people told us that they had issues buying the train ticket online, so we bought the tickets for Porto a couple days ahead. You can go to any of the three stations in Lisbon to do this. There’s a lot of excursions from Porto into the Douro Valley, but we did a day trip on our own by taking the train from the Sao Bento station to Pinhao and then visiting a couple vineyards that were close by topped off with a delicious lunch at Quinta de la Rosa Vineyard. From Porto we flew to Sao Miguel in the Azores and that was absolutely gorgeous. Have a wonderful trip!

Great, thank you for your responses! I really appreciate the help and suggestions.

Chris

We went on the RS Portugal tour a few years ago. We flew on TAP nonstop from Boston-Lisbon and then Porto-Lisbon-Boston home. Porto has surprisingly large airport and which is easily reached by the metro from the center of Porto. The metro was more pleasant than the bus we took on arrival from the Lisbon airport to the Lisbon train station. Most people on our tour took the train back to Lisbon to fly home but our flight home on TAP from Porto either didn't cost any more than from Lisbon or was minimally more. We were very happy with our decision to fly back from Porto.

Thanks Carol for the advice. We will definitely look into it and pricing it out.

Chris

The In Patio Guesthouse is a wonderful B&B in a great location in Porto. So a side day trip to Santiago de Compostela.
Book early, they only have five rooms.

I appreciate the suggestion and will look into it.

Chris