---
title: "Santiago to Porto: what works and what no longer does"
description: "Direct buses several times a day, several straight to Sá Carneiro airport, from €22.99 (indicative). The Celta train won't run Vigo-Porto end to end until April 2027."
url: https://santiago.es/en/santiago-to-porto
locale: en
---

# Santiago to Porto: what works and what no longer does

Checked on 1 September 2026; ALSA timetable still to be re-checked

There is a direct bus several times a day between the two operators, and several stop at the airport door. The thing almost everyone searches for first, the train, is exactly the one that does not work right now.

![Autobús urbano en una avenida de piedra de Santiago, grabado dorado](https://santiago.es/img/illus/bus.jpg)

[© santiago.es · Ilustración](https://santiago.es)

By [Cesar Rodriguez](https://santiago.es/en/author) · updated 1 September 2026

This is the most asked-about journey once the [Camino](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago) ends, because flying out of Porto is usually a good deal cheaper than flying out of Santiago, and because plenty of people string the two cities together. The short answer is **the bus**: about three hours, from 22.99 € indicative, no changes. The long answer is more interesting, because the option everyone types in first, the train, is cut in half until 2027, and that is why half the internet will tell you a route that takes a morning is impossible.

## The direct bus, which is the answer

Two operators run a direct service, and the one with most departures is ALSA: it gets its own section below, because its timetable changes with the season. Starting with BlaBlaCar Bus, which runs **direct services several times a day**year-round. What matters is not the fare, which barely moves, but **where it drops you**: some go to Francisco Sá Carneiro airport and some to the city centre, at Porto-Campanhã station. If you are flying out of Porto, the 08:00 to the airport saves you crossing the city with your bags.

**BlaBlaCar Bus direct services Santiago → Porto, as they stood on 17 Aug 2026 (indicative)**

| Departs | Arrives at | Duration | From |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 08:00 | Sá Carneiro airport | 3 h 10 | 26.99 € |
| 08:00 | Porto-Campanhã | 3 h 35 | 24.99 € |
| 09:55 | Sá Carneiro airport | 3 h 30 | 26.99 € |
| 09:55 | Porto-Campanhã | 3 h 55 | 24.99 € |
| 12:25 | Sá Carneiro airport | 3 h 25 | 29.99 € |
| 16:45 | Porto-Campanhã | 3 h 40 | 22.99 € |

Fares are dynamic and rise as the bus fills, so treat 22.99-29.99 € as indicative: it is what was showing in August for September and October departures. The cheapest is the 16:45 to Campanhã; the dearest, the midday one to the airport.

FlixBus also runs a direct service, at **17:05**, 3 h 10 to Campanhã. The departure time is good if you want a [full last day in Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/itineraries), but it costs a lot more: between **53 and 80 €** depending on the date, across the three dates we checked. None of theirs reaches the airport without a change, and with one you are looking at 3 h 40 to 5 h 55 for 45-65 €. Their option with a change in Vigo, on the other hand, is **the cheapest of the lot**: 21-23 €, for an hour or two more.

The Celta train does not run Vigo-Porto end to end until April 2027

The Celta is the international train linking Galicia with Porto, and it is the first thing everyone looks for. **Right now you cannot do Vigo-Porto by train from end to end.** Because of engineering works, the Vigo-Guixar–Valença stretch is covered by a **replacement bus** until **7 April 2027**, and that bus takes no wheelchairs, bicycles, unpacked scooters or animals. Two services each way, around **16.75 €** one way.

So if you search for “Santiago Porto train” and nothing adds up, it is not you. It is also why the direct bus wins comfortably until 2027.

## The Valença route, which is a real train

If you like trains and do not mind changing, there is a version that works well: get yourself to **Tui or Valença** (same border, one bridge apart) and take the **CP Regional to Porto** from there. That leg is the easy, cheap one: around **11.30 €**, between 1 h 30 and 2 h, and **13 or 14 departures a day**, so it needs no planning ahead.

The reason almost nobody knows about it is mundane: **Rede Expressos is not in Google Maps**, and CP does not show up properly either, so the planner tells you there is no way through. There is, and it is comfortable. You just have to look it up on two separate sites.

## Side by side, with the catch in each

**Santiago → Porto, option by option (indicative, 1 September 2026)**

| Option | Duration | Price | The catch, or the upside |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ALSA, direct | about 3 h | 23 - 31 € | Several a day, all calling at the airport; the timetable changes with the season, check it in their booking engine |
| BlaBlaCar Bus, direct | 3 h 10 - 3 h 55 | 22.99 - 29.99 € | Several a day, some to the airport and some to Campanhã |
| FlixBus, direct (17:05) | 3 h 10 | 53 - 80 € | Campanhã only; the fare climbs hard with the date |
| FlixBus with a change in Vigo | 4 h - 6 h | 21 - 23 € | The cheapest, if you don't mind the change |
| Bus to Vigo + Celta + CP train | 5 h - 6 h | around 30 € | Three changes; see the warning below |
| Bus to Tui/Valença + CP train | 4 h - 5 h | around 25 € | The Portuguese train is the easy part: 11.30 € |

## If you are flying out of Sá Carneiro

Take one of the direct airport services and ignore everything else: there are several a day, from ALSA and from BlaBlaCar. Sá Carneiro is north of Porto, so going into the centre and back out to the airport is forty minutes of metro you do not need to spend. BlaBlaCar’s 08:00 puts you at the terminal at 11:10; the 09:55, at 13:25.

Allowing the usual two hours for an international flight, the 08:00 covers anything from 13:15 onwards, and the 12:25 covers evening flights. For an early morning flight no bus works: you need to sleep in Porto the night before.

## ALSA: the operator with most services, and the airport before the centre

ALSA runs more direct services to Porto than any other operator, and **every one of them calls at Sá Carneiro airport before reaching the centre**, about thirty minutes earlier. In Porto it makes only those two stops, the airport and **Porto-Campanhã**. It does not stop at Casa da Música or Campo 24 de Agosto. Its timetable changes with the season, so the list of departures is something to look up in their booking engine on the day you buy: we do not publish it here because it goes stale in weeks.

Fares run **€23 to €31** indicative, a single FLEX tariff, and they do not behave the way you would expect: **booking earlier is not cheaper**. It is priced by demand for the specific day, so if one date comes out expensive it is worth trying the day before or the day after.

The ALSA timetable we checked no longer applies

What we saw in August was ALSA’s **summer timetable**, and it ran out in early September 2026. The low-season one we **have not been able to check**: their site has been behind a virtual queue for days and does not respond. So if you are travelling from October onwards, count on fewer ALSA departures than in summer and on **BlaBlaCar Bus**as the operator with the most departures. Check yours in the operator’s own booking engine before relying on it.

## Frequently asked questions

**How long does it take to get from Santiago to Porto?**

By direct bus, between 3 h 10 and 3 h 55 depending on the service and on whether it ends at Sá Carneiro airport or at Porto-Campanhã station. With a change in Vigo or Valença you are looking at 4 to 6 hours.

**Is there a train from Santiago to Porto?**

Not a direct one, and right now not a complete one from Vigo either. The Celta, which is the international service, has its Vigo-Guixar–Valença stretch covered by a replacement bus because of engineering works until 7 April 2027, with no wheelchairs, bicycles, unpacked scooters or animals. The Portuguese CP train between Valença and Porto does run: around 11.30 € and an hour and a half.

**How much is the bus from Santiago to Porto?**

Between 22.99 and 29.99 € on the BlaBlaCar Bus direct services and between 23 and 31 € on ALSA's, indicative August 2026 fares. The 17:05 FlixBus direct is a good deal more, 53 to 80 €. The cheapest option is FlixBus with a change in Vigo, 21-23 €. One difference worth knowing: on BlaBlaCar the fare rises as the bus fills, while on ALSA it depends on the specific day, so booking ahead guarantees nothing and one date can cost a good deal more than the following week's.

**Is there a direct bus from Santiago to Porto airport?**

Yes, and plenty. ALSA runs the most and every one of its direct services calls at Sá Carneiro before entering Porto, but its timetable changes with the season and the list of departures has to be looked up in their booking engine. BlaBlaCar Bus also runs direct services to the airport year-round: 08:00 (3 h 10), 09:55 (3 h 30) and 12:25 (3 h 25), times as of August 2026. A warning: ALSA's summer timetable ran out in early September 2026 and we have not been able to check the low-season one, so from October onwards count on fewer departures of theirs.

**Why does Google Maps say there is no way from Santiago to Porto?**

Because Rede Expressos is not integrated into Google Maps and CP does not display properly either, so the Valença route is invisible. The direct buses do exist: you have to look them up on each operator's own site.

**Is it worth flying out of Porto instead of Santiago?**

It depends on your destination, but it is common: Sá Carneiro has far more routes and usually works out cheaper, and the three-hour-plus bus costs under 30 €. The sums change if you fly early in the morning, because then you have to add a night in a Porto hotel.

## Keep reading

**[Leaving Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/leaving-santiago)** — The other ways out — Madrid, Ferrol, Finisterre and the coast: buses, trains and checked fares. — Read the guide

**[Santiago airport](https://santiago.es/en/airport)** — If you fly from here — How to get there from the centre, what the bus costs and how early to leave. — Read the guide

**[How many nights to stay in Santiago?](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/how-many-nights)** — Before you go — What 51 pilgrims who had just finished the Camino told us. — Read the guide