Braga Travel Guide

After beating Sparta Prague 1-0 over two legs, FC Braga now stand in King Kenny’s way on route to the final in Dublin, with the first leg of the round of 16 being away on March 10^th.

Given the short notice, there’s been a struggle to find flights to Portugal after the Sparta game on Feb 24^th; so we’ve looked to find the best way of getting to Braga, as there are no direct flights from Liverpool or Manchester.

If you’re based in London, or don’t mind the drive down there, then you can fly directly to Porto from either Gatwick, Heathrow or Stansted, while if you’re planning on going from Liverpool airport, then your best bet is to fly to Madrid or Geneva, and get a connecting flight to Porto from there.

To save you spending hours looking online, below is a list of flights from the London airports, and the flights to Madrid and Geneva from Liverpool, along with their connecting flights to Porto:

Heathrow to Porto

Stansted to Porto

Gatwick to Porto

If you can’t make it down to London first to fly from there, then try and get yourself on one of these flights to Madrid or Geneva, and make your way to Portugal from there:

Liverpool to Madrid

Liverpool to Geneva

Madrid to Porto

When you arrive in Porto, if you want to get to the city centre then bus numbers 56 and 87 will take you straight there, or if you land during the night, the 76 goes to the centre of Porto. Single tickets €1.20 and the bus should take around half an hour.

Also, the Aerobus runs every 30 mins from the airport to Porto and back, costing €4. Trains run from the airport to the centre of Porto, using Line E. A single ticket costs €1.35, and the journey will take around 25 minutes.

Getting to Braga & the stadium

From Porto, either a train or taxi will be the best way to get to Braga. Trains from São Bento station in the city centre run 25 and 45 minutes past the hour, and take around 40 minutes to get to Braga. If there’s a group of you, then it may be easier to get a taxi, which will cost around €50, but between four of you then it won’t be too expensive.

If you’re heading back to Porto after the match, then the last train is at 23.28 from Braga, so try and get back to the station with plenty of time spare.
Braga is quite busy at night as it is a university town, plus the 30,000 fans who’ve just been the match, but if you want a drink before or after the game then head to Av. Central which is the main street in the town centre , and has a few bars such as Insolito, Populum, and Sardinha biba.

As with every European game, security information has been issued to supporters, the Portuguese Police stressing that alcohol and sharp objects will not be allowed into the stadium.

You are welcome to take flags and banners into the ground, but any flagpoles should not be more than one metre long. Anyone carrying a banner might be stopped to have it checked for anything concealed in it, but if it is just a regular banner then you’ll be fine.

Away supporters will kept in the stands for a while after the match has finished, but the delay should not be more than half an hour.

Shuttle buses have been arranged by the local council to take fans from the town square to the stadium and back, at a cost of €1.10

Other information

Should you need contact the British Embassy in Portugal for anything such as a lost passport; you can call them on: (+351) 21 392 4000

The weather in Braga between Wednesday 9^th and Friday 11^th is expected to be sunny, while maximum temperatures will be around 15°C.

On the day of the match, it is likely that there will be locals selling drugs, especially near the stadium. Keep an eye out for them, and make sure you wallet and phone are not in easy reach for any pickpockets.

Around the ground and the town centre on the day of the game, you may be approached by someone selling drugs, but beware that they don’t attempt to pick your pockets at the same time, so ignore them and move on.
If you want to know how much you are spending, below is a quick guide to how much Euros are currently worth compared to your pounds sterling:

£5 = €5.8

£10 = €11.67

£20 = €23.27

£50 = €58.16

Written by Tony from Travelsupermarket.com