From the terminal to your room

Francisco Sa Carneiro is eleven kilometres north of the centre, and the metro goes there. Line E, the violet one, starts under the terminal and runs to Trindade — the interchange in the middle of Porto where every other line meets — in about half an hour.

That is the answer for most arrivals. It is cheap, it is frequent, it runs from early morning until around one at night, and it puts you within a short walk or one change of almost anywhere you are likely to be staying.

What to buy, exactly

Porto's fares work on a rechargeable card called Andante. You buy the card once and then load journeys onto it. From the airport into the centre is zone Z4.

• The blue Andante Azul card itself costs EUR 0.60, once. Everyone in your party needs their own.
• A single Z4 journey is EUR 2.30, valid 75 minutes from validation, so one ticket covers the ride in and a change onto another line.
• An Andante 24 day pass for Z4 is EUR 8.55, which is worth it only if you plan several more metro journeys the same day.
• Validate on the platform, at the small yellow pillar, every time you board. Nobody stops you, and the inspectors do check.

The one thing that catches people

Line E does not go to Ribeira, or to the river, or to Gaia without a change. It goes to Trindade. If you are staying in Baixa or around Aliados you walk from there. For anywhere else you change at Trindade onto the yellow line, which is the one that crosses the bridge to Gaia, or onto another line, and the same Z4 ticket still covers it inside 75 minutes.

When to take a taxi instead

The metro is a bad idea in exactly three situations: you land after the service stops, you are carrying more luggage than you can lift up a flight of stairs, or you are staying somewhere in the old town where the last five minutes are steep and cobbled. A taxi or a ride-hailing car takes twenty to thirty minutes depending on traffic and drops you as close as the streets allow — which in parts of Ribeira is still not at the door.

Airport transfer services booked in advance are a fourth case, and mostly a convenience purchase. They cost more than a taxi and their real value is a name board and a fixed price when you arrive tired with children.