Aveiro is a charming Portuguese city famed for its canal network and colourful fishing boats. Close to Aveiro is Costa Nova, one of the prettiest beach resorts in Portugal. Aveiro and Costa Nova are both fascinating tourist destinations and make for an enjoyable day trip from Porto.

Porto is connected to Aveiro by frequent and inexpensive public transport, which includes fast express trains and cheaper urban rail services.
This article will detail how to travel from Porto to Aveiro and includes timetables, station information, and fare details.
Related articles: Guide to Aveiro

Aveiro on a hot summer’s day

Aveiro is 57km to the south of Porto, and the fastest method of travel between the two cities is by car. Having a car is particularly useful for a day trip to Aveiro as it removes the need to catch the bus from Aveiro to Costa Nova, which can get very busy in the summer months.

If you are reliant on public transport, the train is the recommended means of travel, providing a direct service with frequent departures. In Porto, the train to Aveiro departs from São Bento train station, which is conveniently located in the heart of the city and close to the main tourist areas.

There are two types of train services from Porto to Aveiro: the Urban trains and the express trains (called Intercidades (IC) or Alfa Pendular (AP)). For the journey to Aveiro as part of a day trip, we would recommend catching the Urban train for a number of reasons:
• The Urban train is significantly cheaper (€3.80 for a single ticket as opposed to €16.10 or €13.00 for the express trains)
• The express trains require seat reservations, which needs an extra level of planning and reduces flexibility for the return train journey home.
• The express trains depart from Campanhã train station in Porto, and you will have to catch an additional train from São Bento train station. This extra train ride makes the entire journey by express train take almost the same time as the Urban train.

The Urban train from São Bento train station takes 1 hour and 15 minutes, while the express train (with the extra connection to Campanhã) takes 54-60 minutes. So, given the extra cost, the need to change platforms, and the requirement to reserve seats, the express trains are not worth the small time savings and extra level of comfort.

The train services between Porto and Aveiro are operated by Comboios de Portugal (CP), the national train company of Portugal. Their website is www.cp.pt/

Warning: When buying train tickets, only purchase them from the Comboios de Portugal website. There are third-party websites that sell these tickets but include additional booking fees and only offer the more expensive express train services. The urban train tickets cannot be purchased online.

The train to Aveiro in São Bento train station

The urban train is the service most visitors take when travelling between Porto and Aveiro.. This service departs from São Bento train station in central Porto and terminates at Aveiro station.

As the Aveiro train is part of the urban network, there are many stops along the route, and the journey takes approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. Although the journey may seem lengthy, once past Miramar station (about 20 minutes from Porto), the railway follows the coastline, and offers scenic views.

A single ticket from Porto to Aveiro costs €3.80 for adults and €1.90 for children. There are no return tickets so the fare is the price of two singles, costing €7.60 for adults and €3.80 for children. The journey falls within the "Zone 9" pricing bracket of the Porto urban train lines. For a detailed fare guide, please refer to the CP website:
www.cp.pt/StaticFiles/Passageiros/1_horarios/precos/pt/oporto-urban-trains-prices.pdf

(link opens a PDF, which may download on certain mobile phones)

There are at least two departures every hour (Monday to Friday) with at least one per hour at the weekends and bank holidays. The latest timetable can be seen on the CP website at:
www.cp.pt/StaticFiles/timetables/oporto-aveiro-urban-trains.pdf

Please note that the timetable is complex, with many variations depending on the day of the week. It is much easier just to visit the Comboios de Portugal website and use the search feature on the home page.

The interactive map below shows the route of the train from Porto to Aveiro and marks all of the stations along the route. The orange line shows the connecting service between São Bento station and Campanha station. (Note: zoom in or out to see all of the points)

Key: 1) São Bento 2) Campanha 3) Vila Nova de Gaia 4) Granja 5) Espinho 6) Esmoriz 7) Aveiro

Tickets for the urban train services cannot be purchased online, and passengers must buy their tickets at a train station. The ticket machines at the station provide instructions in all common European languages and accept both cash and card payments. Be aware that the main ticket office in São Bento train station can become very busy, particularly during rush hour.

It is essential to purchase and validate tickets before boarding the train. Passengers should expect ticket inspections during the journey, and those with invalid or non-validated tickets may face fines.

Small group tours are an enjoyable and informative way to discover Aveiro while providing a chance to meet fellow travellers. We have worked with GetYourGuide.com for the past seven years, and some of the best tours they offer for Aveiro include:
• Half-day tour of Aveiro from Porto with cruise on a Moliceiro boat
• Full day tour Aveiro and the Arouca 516 - the World's Longest Suspension Footbridge
• Ful day to Aveiro and the Ílhavo coastline (including Costa Nova)

The urban trains to Aveiro depart from São Bento train station (GPS 41.145, -8.610) (link to Google Maps). This is conveniently located close to the main tourist areas of Porto and is a short walk away from the Ribeira and Baixa districts. São Bento is served by the D metro line (yellow line), which is the main north-south metro line in Porto.

Trains to Aveiro also stop at Campanhã train station (GPS: 41.150, -8.584), Porto's main intercity station. However, São Bento is closer to central Porto, making it the recommended starting point for your journey to Aveiro.

Aveiro train station (GPS: 40.643, -8.640) lies to the east of the city. From the station it is a 1km walk along the Avenida Dr. Lourenço Peixinho to the historic area of Aveiro.

The modern train station of Aveiro sits next to the older one which is decorated with beautiful azulejo tile paintings.

The old train station in Aveiro adorned with beautiful tile paintings

Aveiro is not the easiest place to reach from Porto Airport, as there is no direct public transport.

The best method of onward travel is to take the metro from the airport to Campanhã train station and then catch the urban train to Aveiro.

A single metro ticket from the airport to Campanhã costs €2.25 (plus €0.60 for an Andante card), and there are departures every 20 minutes. The journey from the airport to Campanhã station takes approximately 40 minutes. Alternatively, you may wish to take an Uber, Bolt or taxi for this stage of the journey.

There is no point in taking the intercity bus from Porto to Aveiro as the journey is much longer, the fares are more expensive, and there are fewer departures.

The intercity bus network is operated by Rede Expressos, and their fastest route takes 1h25, but some services take over 2 hours.

Rede Expressos uses dynamic pricing with fares varying based on demand, but a single ticket is typically around €12. Further information and the booking of tickets can be made on the Rede Expressos website: www.rede-expressos.pt

In Porto, the intercity bus station is the Terminal Intermodal de Campanhã (TIC), and is connected to the Campanhã train and metro station, at GPS 41.151, -8.582.

The departure level of the Terminal Intermodal de Campanhã bus station