Day Trips to Guimaraes and Braga from Porto

When you have completed the list of the best things to see and do in Porto it becomes important and highly recommended that you spend some time in the cities and regions closest to what is popularly known as the capital of northern Portugal. Braga and Guimarães are two cities that also stand out individually for their beauty and culture. Therefore it is a good idea to visit them if you are interested in leaving Porto for a short time

To facilitate your research of alternatives that are favorable to your schedule and your pocket, I have taken care to find the best excursions to Guimarães and Braga from Porto. This so you can make a decision based on concrete and real data about what you would do and know in a trip like this. Do not hesitate and find out all the details you need to undertake a quick, but fun visit to this jewel of northern Portugal.

The first excursion I can mention if you are looking to get to know Braga and Guimarães knowing that your departure point would be Porto, are those that extend for a whole day, with a pick-up at a point in the city center. Almost always in the early hours of the morning and with a return to the same place in the late afternoon.

They are a trip that takes place in a transport that meets the best standards of comfort, as they have internal air conditioning that can keep away the heat of summer and the bearable cold of the Portuguese winter. They also include a professional guide as part of the service that details all the historical information you need to know about these two cities in northern Portugal.

Keep in mind that they are not a sightseeing tour that includes lunch as part of the fare paid. Although there are small stops on the trip where you can buy snacks at gas stations or sit down to eat at some of the restaurants in the area selected by the tour guide.

Now, if I focus on what you would know in both cities I can highlight the fact that this type of tours include tickets to the main attractions of each location. So you wouldn't have to pay any extra amount to enter the very famous medieval castle of Guimãres or you wouldn't pay another cent extra to enter the cathedral of Braga either.

Details of interest:

• Price: these types of tours are the cheapest of the ones I will tell you about in this post, as they do not include lunch and it is a shared vehicle. On average, it usually costs about 65 euros for adults and the price drops to 35 euros for children between 12 and 4 years old. Babies usually join the excursion free of charge.
• Duration: as I mentioned, they usually last about 9 or 10 hours on average. However, it should be taken into account that the route from Oporto to Braga and Guimarães usually has a high traffic flow and this doubles during the summer season. So it is not unusual to have traffic that can increase the duration up to 11 hours in total.
• Type of vehicles: most commonly a single level bus for 30 to 40 people, but it is also possible to take a coach that would only carry a medium sized group of up to 20 people.
• Advantages: although it is a long tour that is part of the best day trips from Oporto, it is also true that there are guarantees that at around 7 or 8 pm you will be back in the city. That means you are left with the night completely free to enjoy the cultural scene, just like the best Fado shows in Porto.

The next alternative that I put at your disposal if you want to enjoy a day trip to Guimarães and Braga are those that do include lunch in the required rate.

As I mentioned, the most usual is that this lunch break is in Braga because it is almost always the second stop on the itinerary. However, it is also common that the roles are reversed and Guimarães becomes the place where you can enjoy typical elements of the gastronomy of northern Portugal. Such as fried cod, Cabidela rice, Posta a Mirandés and Caldo Verde.

As for the itinerary you can have peace of mind knowing that it also includes a guide who will accompany you with all the relevant information of each of the sites visited on the trip. You also have an extremely comfortable vehicle and in this case it is more common for groups to be limited to about 25 participants. This is for convenience and comfort when choosing the restaurant to visit in either of the two cities.

Keep in mind that this alternative is very convincing in the sense that tours that do not include lunch usually require you to eat at the same restaurant. The return trip usually takes place in the same conditions, that is, you will arrive at the same pick-up point and for a scheduling issue you will also enjoy a completely free night in the nocturnal splendor of Oporto. Plans such as a cruise on the Douro River on the Porto riviera or an elegant dinner in some historic city tavern are good ideas to occupy the rest of your day.

Details of interest:

• Price: as these excursions include lunch it is logical and predictable that they are a bit more expensive. For example, they usually cost around 88 or 90 euros, while the rate for children is 70 euros per person. The conditions for free access for infants are maintained, but it is not usual to calculate the inclusion of a specialized lunch for the child under 4 years of age.
• Duration: the duration is usually the same as in the previous alternative due to the fact that both include a lunch break, but in this case this privilege is included in the paid rate. So you can expect about 9 or 10 hours of pure fun in these two beautiful and impressive cities of northern Portugal.
• Type of vehicles: for smaller groups it is common to prefer a large coach rather than a much more significant bus. However, it is also valid to choose buses with empty seats.
• Advantages: if you have a pre-paid lunch you are guaranteed to have food for the exact time when the whole group will have the appetite for it. At the same time, there is also no guarantee that you will get food quickly and at affordable prices in the restaurants near the one you go to with the tour guide.

The third and last alternative that I put at your disposal if you are interested in getting a day trip to Guimarães and Braga are those that work under the modality of an exclusive and private transfer. That is, they are a tour that is intended for a very small group of people that can not exceed 3 or 4 people depending on the number of seats in the private car.

It differs from the other option by the fact that in this case the guide does not accompany you to the tourist attractions that you will visit in the historical centers of Guimarães and Braga. Actually, there would not be a guide accompanying you and the one in charge of narrating the historical details of your interest would be the driver of the vehicle, who is almost always also a specialist in the most important aspects of the history of both cities.

It is an ideal option for those who do not have financial limitations and for those who have no interest in sharing their tourist tour with people who do not belong to their group of companions. Keep in mind that a tour like this usually has the same duration of 9 to 10 hours, but it also does not include the payment of a lunch, although the driver will point out the best places to enjoy a typical Portuguese meal.

Anyway, this is a good alternative for those who are looking for privacy in their tour and have the time and money to enjoy a trip like this in their 4-day visit to Porto. Or even for those who have a full week, but still prefer a trip planned by specialists in the field.

Details of Interest:

• Price: a trip like this usually costs about 280 euros per passenger. That means that if 3 people travel in the vehicle the price can go up to almost 900 euros per transfer. Keep in mind that the chosen season also influences the prices, since in the winter there are usually discounts for almost all tourist services that are extremely demanded in the summer.
• Duration: they almost always have the same duration as the other two alternatives mentioned. That is to say, about 9 hours that can be extended to about 10 hours depending on the traffic on the highways that connect the 2 cities with Oporto.
• Type of vehicles: it is usually a modern and elegant vehicle, but it does not necessarily have to be a luxury car. It can be a four-door sports car of medium exclusivity or a sports van.
• Advantages: in spite of the cost, an experience like this can be one of the best moments of your trip if you know how to take advantage of it properly. It is not for nothing that private car tours in the north of Portugal are one of those things to see or do if you are in Oporto during February or any other month with low tourist influx.

Some alternatives offer you a direct pick-up from your hotel if it is in certain designated areas of downtown Porto or downtown Vila Nova de Gaia. However, the most usual is to designate a centrally located and accessible departure point on the outskirts of the historic center and from there start this trip that on average usually takes about 9, 10 or even 11 hours.

Keep in mind that Guimarães will almost always be the first stop on this type of excursion and in this town you will marvel at the medieval architecture of a territory credited with the formation of Portugal as a kingdom that eventually became an empire and today is a democratic Republic. In fact, the historic center of Guimarães is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Meanwhile, the second stop in Braga is just as interesting, as it is seen in Portugal as the birthplace of religion for this country and is a vibrant and significantly large city. In fact, it is the third largest in size and population after Lisbon and Porto. Keep in mind that this city is usually the place to have lunch and this is convenient due to the fact that it is characterized by its wide range of Codfish recipes.

The best option you have to book any of the tours to Guimarães and Braga from Oporto that I have mentioned is online. First for the fact that they are fixed rates where you see a detailed breakdown of why you are paying what you are paying.

Second for the fact that they are an instant confirmation purchase which in most cases also offers you a free cancellation if you do it well in advance.

This applies to all kinds of tours from the city. As well as those excursions to Aveiro from Porto that are also a good option if you are looking to get to know the most beautiful communities around the most populated city in the north of Portugal.

There are several recommendations that I can make if you are planning to participate in these excursions that I have mentioned and each and every one of these tips have to do with decisions that favor your comfort.

For example, something that can make this trip more bearable is to take snacks with you to calm your anxiety on the route. It's not nice to have to hold your appetite until it's time to sit down for lunch in the middle of the tour itinerary.

Having children's entertainment with you is another good idea if you are participating in these excursions with small children. For the parts where you tour the cities keep them busy, but the car, bus or coach rides can get boring for the little ones in the house. At least if they are not used to them.

Choosing the right clothes for the season is also very important. In the bus you will have a favorable climate, but as soon as you get off the bus you will have to deal with the extreme heat of summer or the cloudy and rainy winter of northern Portugal.

Both cities have an equally significant historical and cultural appeal as Porto. So if you have the time and money to visit them, it is an excellent idea to do so, as you can get to know a more complete panorama of the north of Portugal. In addition, you can also rest a little from the environment of Porto, while you know what the most important places outside the region of Minho.

Moreover, the fact that these excursions are so favorable from an economic perspective makes it a good investment, especially if you value the fact that at the end of the day you will be returning to the hotel with two other cities on your list of known places around the world.