Survival tips for the first days in Porto!

I know exactly how you feel right now... Super excited and you can’t wait to go to Porto!

Well let me tell you that you are going to have the best time of your life! And to help you a bit forward and maybe release some stress, I will provide you with some (survival) tips for the first days in Porto!

If you don't have a room or apartment yet, there are many options to find one. There is Uniplaces and even on this website Erasmusu that provides places. A good option is to search on Facebook for different groups who provide rooms and apartments.

There are many supermarkets in Porto, like Lidl, Pingo Doce and Continente.

1. How to come from the airport to your apartment?

There is quite a big chance that you will arrive to Porto by plane and the first thing I can tell you is that you won’t be lost at the airport, because it’s not that big :)

If you are one of those people (like me) who arrives with lots of luggage and you want to have a smooth trip to your room/apartment, there are different options to choose from.

The cheapest way of transport in Porto would be the metro or busses (more about that later), but if you have a lot of luggage I would recommend you to take a taxi at the airport or already download the UBER app! More about UBER later. Another option would be to book a taxi via your airline in advance.

2. Travel in Porto: Metro, Uber, Bus

The best way of transport from one erasmus party to another (or from your apartment to your school) would be the metro. The metro in Porto is very easy, clean and fast. I would recommend to get a personal student card which you can top up every month. There are different zones in Porto and C1 directly in the city center is always included. I studied at ISCAP which is in zone C6 to Hospital Sao Joao. The metro stop at the beach is zone C3. You can top up your card at each metro stop at the ticket machine, however if you want to change or add different zones, you can only do this at one of the offices!

This is the metro Map with the different zones and metro lines. The yellow metro line drives through the city center and covers the most important places in Porto. The blue line drives to the beach in matosinhos and to the stadium. The purple line is the only line which drives to the airport. The red, purple, green and blue lines have the same stops from senhora da hora and the stadium.

Source

To get the metro card and if you want to have the student discount you need the official letter of your university in Porto that you have been accepted, your ID or passport and a passport photo, if I knew this beforehand, it would have saved me 3 times waiting a looong time… :D

To apply for the card, you can do this at the big metro stops, the main one is Trindade but it’s usually very busy there, I would recommend to go to Hospital Sao Joao metro stop or Sao Bento metro stop. During the week the metro stops driving around 1:15 AM and starts around 6:15 AM. Recently they changed the time for the metro in the weekend and Friday and Saturday night the yellow line for sure drives the whole night!

During the night or in the early morning glory after a party UBER is a perfect solution to get home safe, quick and cheap! For the ones who don’t know yet what UBER is, it is a very reliable and cheap taxi. Usually a ride in the city will cost you between 2-5 euros, depending on where you live and if you share this with friends, it’s nothing! If you live closer to the beach it would probably be around 7-9 euros. You can sign up for UBER with your phone number, some personal information and a credit card. There is a code which you can give to your friends which they can use once, so they will get a free ride up to 5 euros and in return back you will get the same!

The ticket for the bus is the same ticket as for the metro and is also divided in the different zones. If you download the app "moveme" this will help you with the busses or just use one of the maps available for the busses.

3. Time to socialize!

There are so many opportunities to meet people, you don’t have to worry about that! There are many organizations who will plan lots of events and parties where you can socialize and meet people. REMEMBER: everyone is looking for friends and is feeling the same way as you are so don’t be afraid to socialize.

One of the organizations is ESN Porto. Try to get your esn card as soon as possible at the University of Porto at the top floor and they are open on weekdays from 14:30-18. To get your card it costs you once 10 euros and they will take a picture of you at their office or you can bring your own. Go to as many events you want and trips, because these will make your experience even more unforgettable! In addition, ESN also has a "buddy program" for which you can apply and you will be linked to a Portuguese local. I did that and we became friends and saw nice places and clubs where you wouldn’t go if you weren’t with a local!

The pictures below are from the first ESN trip I went on in February!

The best bar to meet people in Porto is Adega Leonor, which is located next to the University of Porto. It is a very small bar with very cheap drinks, think of Somersby (Apple cider), beer, sangria and more. It’s always busy outside and from there you can go to all the clubs! Remember: partying in Porto in the clubs starts around 2 AM :D Because where I come from, we are already in the clubs around 11-12! On Thursday night most of the people go to PlanoB and on Saturday to Vila Porto! Both clubs have events and collaborate with ESN Porto. On monday nights there are cheap drinks at Ribeira at the river. The picture below is taken from the Gaia side with the beautiful Porto and ribeira on the right!

I hope you enjoyed this post and that you will have a great time in Porto, but I don't doubt that! :D

I will write more blogs about parties/public holidays/festivals/beach in Porto and more.

Photo gallery