Porto Portugal
Do I need a visa? How do I acquire one?
Will there be computer/internet access?
What should I Bring?
What is the typical cuisine? What will I be eating, especially with my family?
What is the nightlife like?
What will the homestay be like?
Should I bring gifts to my family and teachers?
What will I want to buy when I'm there, including gifts to take home, clothes, crafts?
How much extra money should I bring?
How much are CD's and DVD`s?
What is the tipping situation (taxi, restaurant)?
Mail, Exchanging money and Phone Calls
Is there a movie theatre?
What is the overall opinion/stereotype of Foreigners?
Will I be picked up at the airport?
How do I get to school on the first day?
What happens in a typical day at school?
Where can I play sports?
Do I need a Visa? How do I acquire one?
If you are from an EU country you do not need a visa. If not you will need to go to the Portuguese Embassy or Consulate in your country and ask for one.
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Will there be computer/internet access?
In the school you will have a computer with free internet access. In case you wish to use the internet during the weekends or when the school is closed, there are a lot of internet cafés where you can access the internet (about 1€ per hour ).
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What should I Bring?
Porto has a temperate climate but in the winter you’ll have to bring warm clothes, a rain coat and an umbrella because we have many rainy days. In the summer you can bring light clothes but don't forget a sweatshirt for some cold nights. If you need to buy some clothes during your stay here there are a lot of different shops with reasonable prices.
Always bring some fancy clothes because in some discos and restaurants they are needed
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What is the typical cuisine? What will I be eating, especially with my family?
In Portugal most of the dishes are served with rice, potatoes or pasta and a salad. Meat and fish are widely used in our cuisine and soup is very common too. In Porto, you will also find a lot of Italian, Chinese, Japanese and vegetarian restaurants. There are also lots of places where you can eat fast-food and grilled meat or fish. Eating will never be a problem in Porto, the cuisine is greatly varied and tasty.
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What is the nightlife like?
Nightlife in Porto only stops on Mondays! We have a lot of discos, pubs and bars open all week. There are lots of places where you can spend your nights and the music is varies a great deal. We also have specific bars where you can listen only to salsa or dance music or rock… that will only depend on your mood! And if you like fado… well you’re in the right place!.
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What will the homestay be like?
On average, our homestays are two or three-bedroom apartments. Students have their own bedrooms and will share the rest of the house with the family. Portuguese families are very friendly but they will respect the students’ privacy. Students are given a key so they can leave the house and come back whenever they want.
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Should I bring gifts to my family and teachers?
That will only depend on you. . . but it is always nice.
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What will I want to buy when I'm there, including gifts to take home, clothes, crafts?
Some Porto Wine or Vinho Verde bottles since these are rare outside of Portugal, some traditional handicrafts or sweets. There are a lot of traditional markets and stores where you can find the perfect gift to take home.
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How much extra money should I bring?
Portugal is not an expensive country, there are a lot of restaurants where you can eat a very good meal for 5 €. If you prefer to buy your own food there are a lot of supermarkets where you can buy all types of food for very reasonable prices.
Clothes are not expensive either. Books and music are a little bit more ( around 15 € ), public transportation is 0.55 € and a taxi might be around 5 €.
The extra money always depends on how long your stay will be, but it is easy to get money from the ATM’s so you don’t need to carry much money with you, especially at night.
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How much are CD's and DVD`s?
It depends on which CD you want to buy but normally CD’s are around 15€.
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What is the tipping situation (taxi, restaurant)?
We do not have tipping rules here, everybody gives a tip but that depends on how much money each one wants to spend.
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Mail, Exchanging money and Phone Calls
That is quite easy to do in Porto since we have a lot of posts offices and banks. To make phone calls, you can always buy telephone cards and use the public telephones all over the city.
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Is there a movie theater?
There are lots of movie theaters in Porto. They are mainly located in shopping malls and there is always a huge variety of films playing at any time.
You can find some Portuguese movies and a lot of international ones. Most of the films are in English with Portuguese subtitles. We also have Portuguese plays all year and a lot of cultural events like ballets, operas and concerts .
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What is the overall opinion/stereotype of foreigners?
People here are very nice and friendly. They will do whatever they can to help you and you will be very well treated in Porto. Foreign students say that in Porto everyone is nice.
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Will I be picked up at the airport?
If you wish we can pick you at the airport in your arrival and also take you to the airport in your departure.
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How do I get to school on the first day?
Your family will tell you how to get to the school in your first day.
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What happens in a typical day at school?
You will have classes in the morning with a 20-minute break. After classes we all have lunch together. In the afternoons we have activities for our students to get to know more of the city.
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Where can I play sports?
We have a lot of gyms in the city, public swimming pools and places where you can play tennis, basketball and golf. Our beaches are good for surfing and body boarding and you can always try rowing in the Douro River!.
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