Living in Portugal - Transport

Air

Portuguese airlines run regular domestic flights between the various airports throughout national territory, i.e.: Lisbon - Portela Airport; Oporto - Dr. Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport; Faro - Faro Airport; Funchal - Funchal Airport, and the Azores - Ponta Delgada - João Paulo II Airport.

Rail

Alfa Pendular trains are the quickest link between Lisbon and the Algarve and Lisbon and the north of the country, including Oporto, Braga or Guimarães, stopping in Coimbra and Aveiro. The InterCity service provides connections on the Lisbon-Oporto-Braga, Lisbon-Guarda, Lisbon-Covilhã, Lisbon-Alentejo and Lisbon-Algarve lines. An extensive network of regional, inter-regional and suburban trains covers the remainder of national territory.

Road

The road network includes Auto-Estradas (AE) [motorways], Itinerários Principais (IP) [trunk roads], Itinerários Complementares (IC) [secondary roads], Estradas Nacionais (EN) [national roads] and Estradas Municipais [local roads].
All motorways are marked with their own symbol and usually have tolls.

Bus

Regular bus services connect the main cities, towns and villages in Portugal. Public urban transport systems exist in almost all cities, operated either by public companies (Lisbon and Oporto), private companies or companies belonging to the municipalities. The transport operator is subject in all cases to public service obligations.

The cities of Lisbon and Oporto also have an underground network that operates between 06:00 and 01:00.

Taxi

When travelling by taxi in urban areas the price is shown on the meter and the charges are affixed inside the vehicle or can be requested from the driver. The same service in non-urban areas is paid for by the kilometre, the fare being agreed beforehand between driver and passenger.

Text last edited March 2008

Source: European Union
© European Communities, 1995-2009
Reproduction is authorised.