Car Hire at Porto Airport

Airport travel guide

Porto, the capital of the Northern Region of Portugal, is a popular tourist destination both due to its cultural offerings and as a base from which to explore northern Portugal and its beaches and nature. With numerous flights, including many with Raynair and easyJet, taking Brits to Porto, it's no surprise that the city and regions are extremely popular with British tourists. 

Most tourists opt to hire a car for their trip. What would be a trip to sunny Portugal without hitting the beaches?

Tolls: Most of the motorways in the northern part of Portugal are toll roads. Some of these are tolled electronically, meaning you can not pay with a credit card nor cash at a toll gate. This includes the A28 and A24 motorways heading north (the A24 to the Spanish border) along with the A28 heading south and the A7 that leads to the Spanish border to the east. While most of these can be avoided, do be prepared to accept the supplier's e-toll device if you plan to travel on these motorways. 

Driving to Spain: The Spanish border north of Porto is only 120km from Porto Airport with Vigo, the first main city in Galicia roughly 150km from the airport.  

So don't wait! Plan your trip to northern Portugal, hire a car, and enjoy the sunny beaches and outstanding nature! And here are some destinations to put on your list: 

• Museums. A thoroughly cultured city, Porto is home to a wide variety of interesting museums and other cultural institutions. It would be impossible to name them all, but some of the notable ones include the Museum of Sacred Art and Archaeology, House of Music, Port Wine Institute, and Portuguese Photography Museum.
• Livraria Lello. Also known as Livraria Lello & Irmão or simply Lello, this Porto bookshop constantly ranks among the most beautiful in the world. Instantly recognizable for its Gothic facade, it is just as beautiful indoors and offers an extensive array of both Portuguese and global literature. While Livraia Lello is the most famous one, Porto is, in general, a great city for reading and has many other lovely bookshops and libraries that are also worth exploring. 
• Costa da Prata. The Silver Coast stretches for about 240 km (150 miles) from the border with Spain in the north to Greater Lisbon in the south, but many of its most beautiful parts are located near Porto. Significantly more rugged than the beaches of the Algarve in the far south, the Costa da Prata is known for traditional fishing communities, coastal hiking trails, and great surfing conditions.
• Peneda-Gerês National Park. One of the most scenic areas in Southern Europe, Peneda-Gerês is characterized by its granite peaks, highland forests, and stunning landscapes, as well as man-made landmarks such as the Roman bridge of Cava de Velha. The park gives home to a large variety of species of wildlife such as the Iberian wolf, Spanish ibex, and Garrano wild horses. The drive from Porto takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Top international routes

• Paris
• Madrid
• Lisbon
• Geneva
• Barcelona
• Funchal
• Luxembourg City
• London
• Zurich
• Amsterdam

Main airlines

TAP Air Portugal and British Airways are the national flag carriers flying between Porto and the UK. The low-cost carriers Ryanair, easyJet, and WizzAir also fly between Porto and the UK>

Terminals

There is only one terminal at Porto Airport serving domestic and international flights of both flag carriers and low-cost airlines.

Location

Porto's airport is located roughly 11 kilometres (7 miles) north of its city centre. It is well-connected to the motorways coming from every direction.

Most popular types of hire car

• Small cars - starting at £1 per day
• Medium cars - starting at £2 per day
• SUVs - starting at £2 per day
• Convertibles - starting at £7 per day
• Large cars - starting at £2 per day
• Station wagons - starting at £5 per day
• People Carriers - starting at £12 per day
• Premium cars - starting at £9 per day

Car hire desks

Avis, Budget, Europcar, Goldcar, Interent, Geurin, Enterprise, National, Alamo, Hertz, Thrifty, Dollar, and Sixt all have car hire desks in the airport's terminal just after baggage claim.

Others are located about 300m from the airport terminal. These include Firefly and Flizzer, and Drive&Go.

The rest provide either Meet&Greet service or a shuttle bus as their locations are not within walking distance.

Services and facilities

You’ll find several cashpoints, stores and duty-free shops, various cafés, restaurants and bars, three lounges, a help desk, and luggage storage services. Airport facilities are disabled friendly. You can find more information on the airport's official website.

Nearest petrol station

A Jumbo Gasiloneiras petrol station located at Avenida Fernando Távora 1570, and it takes about one minute to get from it to the airport. The petrol station is open 24/7. There are others along all of the motorways approaching the airport.

Popular one-way hires

• Lisbon (325 km / 202 miles)
• Braga (52 km / 32 miles)
• Guimaraes (51 km / 32 miles)
• Coimbra (141 km / 88 miles)
• Vila Nova de Gaia (22 km / 13 miles)
• Vigo (150 km / 93 miles)