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Can I hail a taxi from the Porto Leixões Cruise Terminal near Porto? Or do I need to book? Next quickest transport to Ribeira?

I should be at the Cruise Terminal at around 9 am, and will have no luggage with me. Google Maps says around 12 minutes by car to Ribeira. But an hour or over by public transport. Any further details on the local transport that might suggest faster times by public transport?

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    For public transport it probably depends a lot from where in the port (cruise terminal?) to where in Ribeira and what day and time. I haven't found a single itinerary by car taking 12 minutes though. cruisecrocodile.com/cruise-port-information/leixoes-portugal says there's a shuttle to get your out of the port, then taxis, or the metro. The issue with taxis in these kind of locations is that there's usually a limited number of them and a lot of people, so either you run out of the boat or you may have to wait a long time (no experience there myself).
    – jcaron
    Commented Aug 24, 2022 at 22:37
  • Also note that the "metro" is actually a tram. Fastest public transport option, from the port shuttle bus drop-off point at the exit of the port to Riberia seems to be 34 minutes using bus 500 (3 minutes walk + 29 minutes bus + 2 minutes walk).
    – jcaron
    Commented Aug 24, 2022 at 22:41
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    Uber works quite well in Portugal.
    – lambshaanxy
    Commented Aug 24, 2022 at 23:20
  • +1 thank you @jcaron good comparison of options in that article.
    – therobyouknow
    Commented Aug 25, 2022 at 9:02
  • @RodrigodeAzevedo I would say downhill - nearer to the river? No luggage. 2 persons. We will be looking around Ribeira for a few hours.
    – therobyouknow
    Commented Aug 25, 2022 at 9:14

3 Answers 3

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When you hop off the Cruise Terminal, you can walk by the beach for a few minutes until Rotunda da Anémona and then take bus 500 to Praça do Infante, in Ribeira. On your way back to Leixões, you may want to take the classic tram from Praça do Infante till Passeio Alegre, which is slow, but surely quaint — especially on a sunny afternoon.

elétrico

Photo allegedly courtesy of Rui Jorge Pires

I would not recommend that you take the metro from Leixões till Ribeira. Firstly, it is infamously slow, as it is actually a (surface) tram until it reaches central Porto. Also, it is slow while traveling in uninteresting parts of Matosinhos and Porto — unlike the classic tram, which is surely slow but slow while traveling by the beautiful riverside. Secondly, the metro does not stop in Ribeira. It stops in Trindade. Then, you either take the metro to São Bento or Jardim do Morro and then walk downhill, or you walk downhill from Trindade itself.

Related: Looking for a sunset spot in Porto, Portugal

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    That's a phenomenal picture! Is that actually a photograph or a painting? Also, please include the source of your image.
    – FreeMan
    Commented Aug 25, 2022 at 14:33
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    @FreeMan There is a name written on the southwest corner of the photograph. Hopefully, that is the name of the photographer. I did a reverse image search, but so many people have "stolen" the photograph that finding a source is hard. I will keep trying.
    – Rodrigo de Azevedo
    Commented Aug 25, 2022 at 14:57
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    Until you pointed out the signature, I totally missed it. Maybe one of the multiple versions you found is higher resolution and you could read the name. The artist may have his/her own website.
    – FreeMan
    Commented Aug 25, 2022 at 15:02
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    @FreeMan I added the name of the alleged author. Hopefully, when he googles his own name, he can find this post and provide a link.
    – Rodrigo de Azevedo
    Commented Aug 25, 2022 at 15:03
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    +1. And Accepted answer because of the details on the metro and where it goes from and to and explanation as to why it is slow. Also for details on the bus, where to get on it and where it goes. It looks like the 500 bus is the best option.
    – therobyouknow
    Commented Aug 25, 2022 at 22:46
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This page has lots of details about the port and transportation options, including pictures and detailed itineraries.

Arriving at the Cruise Terminal, it goes like this:

  • You take the shuttle bus from the terminal to the exit of the port
  • At the exit, you have several options, including:

    • Taking a taxi there

      Note that when looking at Google Maps Street View, I don't see a taxi on any of the pictures over the years. They probably come when a cruise ship arrives. The usual issue in that case (don't know if that applies here or not) is that there may not be many taxis, so if you're not among the first there you may have to wait a while for a taxi. You could also book one in advance, or call for one, or call for an Uber or other equivalent service.

    • Taking the "metro" (light rail, really), which is a few minutes away but is quite slow

    • Taking the bus (250m, 3 minutes), which seems to be the fastest option in your case. Line 500 gets you to the city centre in less than 30 minutes, you'll have a few options about where you get off depending on where exactly you want to go.

    • The page linked above also says you may find an hop-on hop-off bus at the port exit. Those can be a good way to get around the city but they are generally a bit slow, infrequent and more expensive than regular public transport, so it depends on if you want to go quickly to some place or if you want the bus to show you around.

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  • +1 upvote - useful link here. Good points about the Taxi availability. I think that can certainly be an issue in any location and that makes it harder for someone like me coming to the place for the first time. Also good point about the hop-on hop-off bus - some good general points about them being expensive and slow.
    – therobyouknow
    Commented Aug 25, 2022 at 22:48
  • Hop-on hop-off buses are privately run by tour companies and therefore profit-driven and because of that I believe they try to wait long enough at stops to attract more people to maximise ticket sales. For the driver, I think it is a trade off between getting as many passengers versus annoying those already onboard who understandably become annoyed sitting on an non-moving bus. I think I wasn't the first person to realise this haha. It became apparent to me in Santander. We got bored so got off, had our own lovely walk along the beach and got a local public bus back to our cruise ship.
    – therobyouknow
    Commented Aug 25, 2022 at 22:52
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In the end. We booked a Tuk Tuk which picked us up from the cruise terminal and gave us a tour of Porto. Very enjoyable. Plenty of stops.

If I was on my own or with people my age or younger I would have walked from the cruise port into town. It is about 1 hour, according to a couple we met who did that.

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