In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Porto is a CP Alfa Pendular from Lisboa Oriente: 2 hours 39 minutes northbound, €35.70 single or €64.50 return in second class. The 7:09 out and the 18:40 back give about eight hours and fifty minutes in Porto and about five and a half hours on trains. Check CP’s notice before you book: from 3 October to 1 November 2026 a road transfer between Porto Campanhã and Aveiro applies to some Alfa Pendular and Intercidades services. A night in Porto is the better plan, because you keep the fare and gain a second morning. Or book a tour: the Porto, Óbidos and Nazaré coachad (from £57.90) is 13 hours and gives Porto only part of the day.
Is a day trip sensible?
It works, and it is the longest day trip on the day trips from Lisbon list. A day gets you the centre of Porto and one stretch of the river, not the city. If a night costs you nothing extra, take the first train, stay over and come back the next afternoon: the fare is the same and you see Porto in daylight twice. Take the day trip when you can’t stay a night.
The train
CP’s Alfa Pendular runs from Lisboa Santa Apolónia and Lisboa Oriente to Porto Campanhã. Times are from CP’s Alfa Pendular and Intercidades timetable valid from 20 September 2026; fares are from CP’s fare sheets, in force from 1 January 2026.
| Train | Leaves Lisboa Oriente | Reaches Porto Campanhã | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alfa Pendular 131 | 7:09 | 9:48 (2h39) | Daily |
| Alfa Pendular 121 | 8:09 | 10:55 (2h46) | Daily |
| Alfa Pendular 123 | 9:09 | 11:48 (2h39) | Monday to Saturday |
| Train back | Leaves Porto Campanhã | Reaches Lisboa Oriente | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alfa Pendular 134 | 18:40 | 21:23 (2h43) | Daily |
| Alfa Pendular 136 | 20:40 | 23:23 (2h43) | Not every day |
- Fares, second class (Turística): €35.70 single, €64.50 return. First class (Conforto) is €49.90 single and €90.00 return. A return that goes by Alfa Pendular and comes back by Intercidades is €57.50 in second class.
- Intercidades: slower, 3 hours 4 minutes on the 6:39 and the 9:39, and cheaper: €28.05 single and €50.50 return in second class.
- Advance fares: CP’s Bilhete Promo sells Alfa Pendular and Intercidades tickets at up to 65% off when bought ahead (cp.pt). A campaign that began on 29 September 2026 puts 7,000 Alfa Pendular seats on sale online from €7.50 Lisbon to Porto in second class and €10 in first, for travel from 8 to 28 October, bought at least 10 days ahead, until 19 October or until they sell out (CP, 29 September 2026).
- Reservation: seats on the Alfa Pendular are reserved with the ticket.
The northern line in October 2026
CP’s notices page lists the Linha do Norte for Alfa Pendular and Intercidades from 3 October to 1 November 2026, with a road transfer between Porto Campanhã and Aveiro: on the services it names, a bus replaces the train between those stations. Search your train on cp.pt for the date and read the notice for its number before you pay.
The works are not a one-month matter. Infraestruturas de Portugal began renewing 19 km of the line between Espinho and Válega on 24 June 2026, a three-year job costing €76 million (Público, 24 June 2026).
The bus
FlixBus runs from Lisbon Oriente to Porto’s Campanhã intermodal terminal in 2 hours 30 minutes at the fastest, with at least 74 trips a day listed and fares from £3.99 on its UK site (1 October 2026). The bus does not use the Porto Campanhã to Aveiro rail section that the CP notice covers. Oriente is a stop on the Red Line Metro (Lisbon public transport).
Tours and transfers
GetYourGuide’s Porto products either add other stops to Porto or are a private van. Prices are the lowest “from” price on 1 October 2026.
Porto, Óbidos and Nazaré by coach
From £57.90 · 4.5 stars from 1,608 reviews · 13 hours
From Lisbon: Day Trip to Porto, Óbidos, and Nazaréad is a guided day in a group or a private vehicle, with a medieval village, a fishing town and Porto. It is 13 hours long, so Porto gets part of the day; the Óbidos and Nazaré day trip covers the first two stops without it.
Private transfer with city stops
From £192.19 · 5.0 stars from 105 reviews · 4 to 10 hours
From Lisbon: Private Transfer to Porto with City Stopsad is a private van to Porto with up to three stops chosen from Aveiro, Coimbra, Fátima, Nazaré and Óbidos. It suits a group splitting the price and a one-way move to Porto.
What to do with a day
From Porto Campanhã, CP’s urban trains reach the central São Bento station in 4 minutes (Guimarães line timetable from 14 December 2025), and a single is €1.65 (CP Porto urban fares, 1 January 2026).
São Bento station tiles. Photo: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Torre dos Clérigos. The baroque church tower. The day ticket, tower and museum together, is €10, open 9:00 to 19:00 (torredosclerigos.pt, 1 October 2026).
- Livraria Lello. The bookshop, open daily 9:00 to 19:30. Its tickets are sold online at tickets.livrarialello.pt, and each is a voucher towards a book (livrarialello.pt). Buy it before you go.
- The Ribeira and the river. The old riverfront district below São Bento, on foot, with the Dom Luís I bridge to cross to the port cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia.
The Ribeira from the Douro. Photo: Jakub Hałun, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
A day, hour by hour
| When | What |
|---|---|
| 7:09 | Alfa Pendular 131 from Lisboa Oriente, 2 hours 39 minutes |
| 9:48 | Porto Campanhã; urban train to São Bento, 4 minutes |
| Morning | Clérigos Tower and Livraria Lello |
| Lunch | In the Ribeira |
| Afternoon | Across the Dom Luís I bridge to the cellars of Gaia, back to Campanhã by 18:00 |
| 18:40 | Alfa Pendular 134 to Lisboa Oriente, arriving 21:23 |
The Ribeira from the Dom Luís I bridge. Photo: Krzysztof Golik, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
If you stay the night, the same train in the morning and the 18:40 the next day gives two days for one fare. For the other trips, compare Évora at 1½ hours, Sintra and Cascais. The Alfa Pendular leaves from Lisboa Oriente, on the Metro Red Line from the airport (Lisbon airport to the city centre). For the days in Lisbon around it, see 3 days in Lisbon, and for what else to book, what to book before you go to Lisbon.
Common questions
Can you do Porto as a day trip from Lisbon?
Yes, but it is long. The Alfa Pendular leaves Lisboa Oriente at 7:09 and reaches Porto Campanhã at 9:48, and the 18:40 back arrives at 21:23 (CP timetable from 20 September 2026). That is about five and a half hours on trains for about eight hours and fifty minutes in Porto. A night in Porto gives you a second morning for the same train fares.
How long is the train from Lisbon to Porto?
On CP's timetable valid from 20 September 2026 the Alfa Pendular takes 2 hours 39 minutes to 2 hours 46 minutes northbound and about 2 hours 43 minutes southbound. The Intercidades takes 3 hours 4 minutes.
How much is the train from Lisbon to Porto?
On CP's 2026 fares a single in the Alfa Pendular is €35.70 in second class (Turística) and €49.90 in first (Conforto). A return is €64.50 in second class. The Intercidades is €28.05 single and €50.50 return in second class. CP sells cheaper advance fares: a campaign from 29 September 2026 starts at €7.50 Lisbon to Porto in second class for travel from 8 to 28 October.
Is the northern train line disrupted in October 2026?
CP's notices page lists the Linha do Norte for Alfa Pendular and Intercidades from 3 October to 1 November 2026, with a road transfer between Porto Campanhã and Aveiro. Infraestruturas de Portugal also began a three-year renewal of 19 km of line between Espinho and Válega on 24 June 2026. Look up your train on cp.pt before you book.
