Tag 16: From Madeira to Porto / Mainland

31.7.2025

Today's Highlights:

• Porto

Today is flight number 4. We are not flying back home yet, but taking advantage of TAP's offer to make a stopover in Porto. Unlike Lisbon, we don't know Porto at all. We actually have no idea what to expect and are therefore excited.

We leave our beloved holiday house at 4:30 and drive for almost an hour to the airport. Luckily, there isn't much traffic on the roads this early.

The farewell to our little holiday house cat is heart-wrenching. I had hoped that she would still be out and about early in the morning, but she was already sitting meowing at the door when our alarm rang 😭

Also, the small kitten with the bloody jaw was only a few meters away. I scattered the remaining sausage in front of him, which he immediately devoured hungrily. The little cat seemed to sense that we would be leaving and followed us to the car. As we drove off, she jumped onto the wall beside us and followed us for a while... it was really heartbreaking 😭

When we arrived at the airport, the question arose:

'Where do we actually return our rental car???'

Upon arrival, two employees were on the parking lot where all the rental cars stood, distributing keys from a van and explaining everything. But at 6:30 this morning, there isn't a soul in sight! We parked the car in a space marked GUERIN and headed into the terminal to the arrivals area. Next problem: the rental car counters are located inside the arrivals area -- we can't get there at all. We considered briefly explaining our situation to the security guard when two GUERIN employees approached, getting something to drink at the coffee stand. They just laughed when we asked where we could drop off our car keys, saying they would take them as they were heading to the parking lot.

Alright... we'll do it that way.

Seems like everything worked out because shortly after, I received an email confirming the successful return of the rental car.

We check in our luggage and head towards security. Out of the corner of my eye, I see our flight on the board: Delayed!

Oh no. Our flight was supposed to take off at 8:45, but now the departure time on the board reads 9:20. We sit by the window, eat and drink a bit (we'll have to dispose of the drinks anyway), go through security, and head directly to the gate. From here on out, everything goes smoothly. Our plane is parked on the tarmac right in front of the gate. We walk to the plane, and there's no wind. Great, so hopefully a relaxed start.

We take off on time and land shortly after 11 a.m. in Porto. I sleep through most of the flight, but just before landing, it's worth taking a look out the window.

In Porto, the search for the rental car companies begins. We also booked a rental car with GUERIN here, but at the counter, we only find a sign indicating that we should take a bus to the station.

Upon arriving at the station, we are once again required to enter all the data at a computer and are supposed to get a mid-range Seat Leon.

In the yard, we give our ticket to an employee. She types a few combinations into a machine and then hands us the keys to a brand-new Hyundai i30 station wagon! Wow, upgrade!

Now, I get to drive in and around Porto after successfully avoiding it in Madeira.

The i30 also has an automatic transmission - how relaxing.

We roll off the lot and head straight to the sea - we are hungry!

At the restaurant Ondas Sobre do Mar, we find a table, eat a delicious sandwich, and then head to the beach. While it’s over 30 degrees behind the dune at the restaurant, there are a good 5 degrees less right by the sea with the wind.

The beach Praia Cabo do Mundo isn't particularly beautiful. Due to the low tide, we only see algae-covered rocks against which the waves crash.

We see many backpackers wandering around the beach. Is that a sport?? On the way, we see signs with pilgrimage symbols - this is the Camino Portuguese Interior - The Portuguese inland way, which leads from Porto to Santiago de Compostela!!! Interesting, learned something new 🤪

We drive one parking lot further south, passing a large refinery, and check out the beach Praia do Aterro. We like this one much better!

After a short stroll and another detour at the Miradouro and the Capela da Boa Nova, we drive to the hotel.

My absolute nightmare will be the hotel parking. I have been wondering where the parking in the middle of the city might be - or the entrance to the underground garage...

Well, the hotel has a 'car elevator'!!! With constant beeping (my car display lights up and blinks like a UFO), we go into the elevator - I might lack a few centimeters on all sides. The garage below is far from 'generous' - I manage to maneuver the car into a parking space around the pillars in what feels like 20 moves. 😱🥵

Fortunately, the car stays parked for a while!

Our hotel rooms are okay, everything at a 3*** level, beds and furnishings are new, and the bathroom seems to have been recently renovated, but they haven’t updated the old 80s wooden doors. Maybe it's the style of the hotel!? Whatever, it works for us - everything is clean!

While our son gets to settle into the room with a king-size bed, we make ourselves comfortable in the twin room.

Now it's off to downtown Porto! It's hot outside! +34 degrees and by the afternoon it is expected to reach +37 degrees. Sigh.

We walk a few minutes to the next subway station Marquês, buy an Andante card (rechargeable subway card). The cost for 3 stations (round trip) per person is 3.40 €. Works for us!

Additionally, we notice: the Portuguese love tiles!

We take the Ponte Luis I bridge to General Torres, stroll the distance back to the bridge, and dine deliciously at the pizzeria Gallo Grigio . As an aperitif, of course, we have a Port wine 🍷🍷 - in Porto. The pizza is really good! Highly recommended!

We watch the sunset from Miradouro da Serra do Pilar , the spot high up in front of the Igreja do Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar.

From up here, we have a great view of the bridge and the Douro River. The main attraction is the hill Jardim do Morro across the way, where hundreds of people are waiting for the sunset, singing and dancing. A sunset party! Cool!

After sunset, the party at the foot of the hill begins to pick up pace. People start dancing in the street, and more and more join in. We watch the spectacle for a while before taking the train back toward the hotel.

Porto has certainly exceeded our expectations - we didn't expect this much tourism and 'party' here!

Fun Fact: A week later I found out that this afternoon, after we left Funchal airport in the morning, there were severe windshear conditions, and planes had to go around up to 5 times when landing, with many being diverted to Porto Santo or returning to Lisbon instead 😱

Wow, we were lucky!!

For Statistics:

Walked: 9.4 km

Drove in Madeira: 50 km

Flight: TAP (TP1710)

Embraer E195LR

Scheduled: 08:35 - 10:30 / actual: 9:20 - 11:05

Drove in Porto: 22 km

Rental car: Hyundai i30 station wagon automatic

Overnight stay: 3*** Tryp Porto Centro

Weather: Sun galore, up to +37 degrees