Visit Porto by electric scooter

Do you want to visit Porto in an original way and have fun? Use self-service electric scooters in the city! They are easy to use, available immediately and the price is reasonable. Follow our guide to travel around Porto on an electric scooter!

Report photo: Porto City Guide

Use electric scooters in Porto

There are two ways to get around on an electric scooter in Porto:

• You can rent the scooters in a store specializing in the rental of scooters, bikes and scooters
• You can use the scooters (and some bicycles that are sometimes found) in self-service

We mainly used free-use scooter rentals, which can be found almost everywhere, as in all major European capitals for several years.

Bird and Bolt are the two main brands for self-service rental of electric scooters.

The two brands we came across are Bolt and Bird, market leaders. To use them, you must download an application on your Smartphone and create an account by linking a bank card. You will simply scan a QR code on the scooter and off you go, it is activated! The scooters are personal but they can be used by 2 people simultaneously depending on the total weight. Depending on the model, you should not exceed 120 kilos in movement, approximately... Some models have the battery placed below, others in front or behind, this changes the center of gravity of the scooter, you will quickly have a favorite model (we liked the ones with the battery in front).

The rates are around 12 euros per hour, depending on the busy period and other criteria, which we have not always understood… It is a perfect means of transport to go from one point to another. If you want to walk around all day, check out a rental store for more attractive prices. The idea is to pick it up, roll it and put it down. We're not going to keep it to walk around with. Because it’s heavy, bulky and expensive!

Where to ride a scooter in Porto?

Porto is going up. Scooters aren't made for that... There's no point taking the steep, cobbled streets, you'll annoy passers-by, risk reprimands (and a fine) and at worst, hurt yourself! For the historic center, sneakers remain the best means of transport. When you start to arrive in the city center, in Porto west, Porto beach and the south in Vila Nova de Gaia it's better! Several examples of situations:

• Are you in the historic center and want to quickly reach a place in the city center? Hop, scooter! The application allows you to find in the blink of an eye a deposit spot marked by paint on the ground. In fact, you have to park the scooter in specific locations so that the network maintenance services can pick them up to move them and recharge them. You will see that there are certain stations always empty (at the bottom) and certain stations always full (at the top of the city!). If it's full, there's no need to force and knock down all the scooters present (we've seen this done several times), just go to a nearby station.
  
  

• Explore the docks of Porto on a scooter! A great walk to do: leave Ribeira towards Foz do Douro. There are depots all the way to Matosinhos, so you can walk for a long time and make a few forays into western Porto to appreciate the views. Arriving at Foz do Douro, you walk along the ocean, it's very pleasant and the maritime promenade is wide for getting around!
  
  

• On the other side, you can leave from Vila Nova de Gaia, also towards the ocean, passing through a pretty fishing village, reaching the marina, then the nature reserve to the beaches. They are less crowded than those in Foz and just as nice.
  

• The scooter is an excellent way to explore lesser-known neighborhoods, more functional and practical than touristy. For example, Vila Nova de Gaia, if you want to go shopping in a shopping center, it is sometimes more convenient and faster than waiting for the bus or metros. Set off to discover the Bonfim district which is currently undergoing restructuring. Go to western Porto to appreciate a more bureaucratic side of Porto (in Boavista), this is also where the big brands are.
  

• Another cool walk idea: Start from Jardim do Morro and follow the Douro to see the other bridges and go up the river towards picturesque neighborhoods.

Here you are with all the information in hand for a successful scooter trip in Porto! If possible, wear a helmet (even a cap or hat) as this remains a quick and dangerous means of transport in the event of a fall.

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