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Porto Airport — officially Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (IATA code OPO) — sits about 11 km northwest of central Porto, in the municipality of Maia. It’s not in Galicia, but it’s worth knowing about: budget carriers often make it cheaper to fly into Porto than into Santiago or Vigo, and it’s a genuinely practical gateway for trips into southern Galicia, including the Ribeira Sacra.
Key facts
- IATA code: OPO
- Location: Pedras Rubras, Maia, about 11 km northwest of Porto’s centre
- Terminal: single terminal, modern and well signposted
- One of the closest major airports to its city centre in Europe
Airlines and destinations
Porto is served by a wide mix of European carriers — TAP Air Portugal, Ryanair, easyJet, Vueling, Iberia, KLM, Air France, British Airways and Wizz Air among them — plus a handful of long-haul routes with airlines like Emirates, Turkish Airlines, United and Delta. Ryanair and easyJet in particular tend to make Porto noticeably cheaper than flying directly into Galicia, which is one of the main reasons travellers heading to southern Galicia consider it.
Getting from the airport to Porto city centre
- Metro (Line E, Violet): the best option for most people. The airport has its own metro station right outside arrivals, with trains every 8-12 minutes at peak times and every 20-30 minutes off-peak. The ride to Trindade, where you can change for the rest of the network, takes about 30 minutes and costs roughly €2.50-3 with an Andante card (bought at the airport station). A night bus (3M) covers the route hourly when the metro is closed, from around 12:30am to 5am.
- Taxi: official rank right outside arrivals. Expect €20-30 during the day and a fixed rate of around €20 at night (roughly 8pm-6am) to the historic centre, plus luggage supplements. Only use the metered, licensed taxis — avoid unofficial touts in the arrivals hall.
- Uber/Bolt: widely used in Porto, pickup from the departures level, typically 20-30% cheaper than a taxi.
- Car rental: available at the airport — the practical choice if Porto itself isn’t your final destination.
From Porto Airport into Galicia
Porto is closer to southern Galicia than it might seem. Vigo is roughly 130 km away (about 1.5-2 hours by car via the A3/A55), and Santiago de Compostela around 200 km (2.5-3 hours). Getting to the Ribeira Sacra takes longer still, typically 3-3.5 hours, since it means crossing the border and continuing well into the Galician interior. There’s no border control between Portugal and Spain (both Schengen), so the crossing itself is just a drive-through — but there’s also no train or bus link straight into Galicia, so a rental car is by far the most practical option if this is your route in.