Porto to Santiago de Compostela

Public transport is not easy so you are correct in that renting a car is best. I drove that route a few years ago. It was easy and quite a lovely drive in some places. There are no border checks ( except currently for World Youth Day). It’s like driving from one state to another in the US.

Flixbus has several bus options from Porto to Santiago de Compostela, the fastest (direct) takes about 3.5 hrs.
https://shop.flixbus.pt/

If you prefer trains, take train from Porto (Portugal) to Vigo ( Spain) and then take the train from Vigo to Santiago de Compostela.
Combined time is about 4hours plus waiting time.
Portugal trains: CP.pt
Spain trains: renfe.com

Driving is the most convenient, however car rental companies usually charge more if the car is to be driven out of Portugal.

No border controls except during special events ( soccer cup, Pope visit, etc.), but you need to have your ID with you at all times - don't leave it in the hotel in Portugal.

I'm planning a NW Spain road trip and just yesterday I looked at doing this in reverse in a rental car, knowing that one-way dropoff fees can be high. But how high, I wondered? A GRAND!!!

(One-way dropoff fees within Spain are coming up $50-100.)

I’m following this thread cause we plan to end our partial camino walk in Santiago then travel through Portugal for about 10 days. Looking at September 2024. Not too many choices up that way.

We were in Portugal and then headed north into Galicia. Our hotel in Porto arranged for a driver to take us to Vigo where we picked up our rental car. First place we stayed was Baiona, recommend it. Then we stayed in the Rias Baixas in O Grove. on our way north, beautiful area. One of the highlights of this six week trip was our time in Santiago de Compostela. Continued along northern coast, many stops, ended in Hondarribia before going into France.

If you’re returning to Porto (you don’t say if you are), then there wouldn’t be any one way drop fee. There shouldn’t be any fee associated with driving the vehicle from Portugal to Spain. There might be if going to France. You simply need to let the rental car company know when you pick it up. When making the rental reservation there should be a place on the website stating where you can drive the vehicle. If there is an associated fee, the website or reservation will tell you what that fee is, e.g., 55€. Crossing the border is no different than crossing a state border.

Here is what my Enterprise rental through Costco for my upcoming trip says. We’re picking up and dropping off in Madrid since it was significantly less expensive than renting in Portugal.

“Cross Border Policy: Vehicles can be driven in Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar without the need for additional coverage. Vehicles can also be driven in Austria, Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco and Switzerland (not in other countries) with the payment of a Cross Border Fee. The cost of Cross Border Fee will be of 55.00 EUR (VAT included) and it is acquired at the counter. In all cases, customers must inform at the counter of their intention to leave Spain with the vehicle and require the authorization of Enterprise to do so.”

I have done this in the opposite direction, Santiago to Porto. We went on the bus. It was faster, easier and a direct trip, rather than the train. I imagine going the other direction, Porto to Santiago is just as easy. The bus stops in the city of Porto as well as at the airport.
Have fun in both cities.

I appreciate all the input - can't wait to go!
Thank you!

There are only 2 trains a day Porto to Vigo, only one of which connects to Santiago-

Porto d 0813 Vigo a 1135, d 1230 Santiago a 1403;

Santiago d 1730 Vigo a 1850 d 1956 Porto a 2114

Alsa bus in conjunction with Rede Expressos (the long standing Spanish and Portugese companies, long before Flixbus apperared) also run several daily bus services- https://rede-expressos.pt/en

I am so thankful for all the advice - thank you again!

Hi,
We are leaving for Spain and Portugal and will be renting a car in Madrid and dropping it in Santiago De Compostela. We have booked a car ride with Mydaytrip com (used previously a few times by a friend in France and Italy) to take us to Porto with 2 stops on the way. Then we pick up another rental car after our few days in Porto.
We decided on this after much research and deciding that the train and bus times just didn't work well for us. The car is costly but not anywhere as much as taking the rental car from one country to the other (we are flying into Madrid and out of Lisbon) and gives us the chance to stop easily at Bragos.
Cheers, Louise

Good information - thanks for sharing.
Have a great trip - I'm still mapping Portugal out to maximize my experience.
Thank you.

going to tag on this as I'm interested in seeing a bit of Spain during our 12 night stay in Portugal.

I I was to add 2 nights up in Galicia somewhere easy to get to via public transport, where would you suggest? Coming from Porto

(spending the rest of the time with 4 nights in Porto, some in Lisbon (4-5 nights) and maybe in Algarve area 2 nights if we don't go up into Spain

When we were quoted that 1000€ drop fee from Porto into Spain, we left our car in Portugal, hired a taxi( hotel arranged it) and picked up a Spanish rental car in Vigo. Taxi was about 150€. We turned in our Spanish rental car in Barcelona. Big savings by doing it this way.