Hi everyone,
We are looking at traveling from Madrid to Porto. I know we can fly it, but we prefer to see the countryside via land transportation. We can take a train to Ourense-Empalme, but from there i am having a little difficulty finding bus information to Porto.
Can any of you fine folks help me with that?
Thanks
Overnight in Vigo ....
ALV 4275
Dep 07:15 MADRID-CHAMARTIN (Spain)
Arr 13:23 VIGO GUIXAR (Spain)
IC 420
Dep 08:58 VIGO GUIXAR (Spain)
Arr 10:18 PORTO - CAMPANHA (Portugal)
Ground links between Spain and Portugal are limited and often very slow. You can take a look at some of the options on the Rome2Rio website. Understand that it's pretty good about highlighting the existence of a particular mode of transportation, but less good at providing accurate information about how long it will take and how much it will cost. What you need to do is keep clicking through the links until you find the website of the appropriate bus or train operator. That's where you need to look for real-world info on schedules and fares.
If I were going to have a long layover somewhere along the way, I would prefer that it not be in Vigo. There is nothing wrong with Vigo, but there's nothing particularly interesting about it, either. It has a very, very tiny historic area down by the port, which is not very close to either of the train stations or the bus station. Much as I am not a fan of flying mid-trip, I'd very seriously consider doing it here, and then spending the time I saved seeing a bit of Santiago de Compostela, Pontevedra or even the tiny border town of Tui. Or perhaps Ourense is interesting and you could break the trip there; I haven't been to Ourense.
You can also take a 5-hour direct train from Madrid Chamartin station to Santiago de Compostela, which is a good town to visit. But the train connections Satiago-Vigo-Porto are not especially attractive, so you may prefer the direct bus departing Santiago at noon; www.alsa.com.
According to this search engine, which I don't doubt, there is no direct bus between Ourense-Empalme and Porto. You would connect at Pontevedra or Vigo.
Thanks to all of you.
Sounds like if we want to do land transportation the overnight train from Madrid to Lisbon would be one way to go, and then the train from Lisbon to Porto, a ride we have taken before.
I have no objection to flying, but along with the couple we are traveling with enjoy the occasional unique travel experience. I know we would not see much countryside at night, but I also understand the dining car is open late.
