We arrange freight from Portugal to Germany as full truckloads, part loads or groupage from one pallet. From Porto and Lisbon to Cologne, Frankfurt or Munich the goods are usually 3–4 days on the road, to Berlin 4–5 days. The Czech Republic is not the destination here: from Břeclav we plan the leg between a Portuguese manufacturer and a German consignee – for textile and footwear traders, furniture retailers and buyers of industrial parts.
An overview of Portuguese regions and border crossings is on transport from Portugal, and deliveries within Germany are covered on transport Germany. Below we focus on what is specific to the Portugal → Germany lane.
Porto or Lisbon: how many days to Germany?
| Route | approx. km | Usual transit |
|---|---|---|
| Porto → Cologne | 2,100 | 3–4 days |
| Porto → Frankfurt am Main | 2,150 | 3–4 days |
| Porto → Munich | 2,300 | 3–4 days |
| Porto → Berlin | 2,650 | 4–5 days |
| Lisbon → Cologne | 2,200 | 3–4 days |
| Lisbon → Frankfurt am Main | 2,300 | 3–4 days |
| Lisbon → Munich | 2,450 | 4–5 days |
| Lisbon → Berlin | 2,800 | 4–5 days |
The gap between northern and southern Portugal is smaller than it looks: from Lisbon the truck heads north on the motorway, and most loads from both areas leave the country at Vilar Formoso, or via Valença into Galicia from the north-west. What matters more is where in Germany the goods are going.
After Hendaye the road splits – which corridor for which German state?
The truck enters France at Irún / Hendaye. From there two routes are possible, and we choose by delivery point:
- western corridor via Paris, crossing near Saarbrücken – Saarland, the Palatinate, Frankfurt, the Rhineland and Ruhr, northern Germany and Berlin;
- southern corridor via Lyon, crossing near Mulhouse – Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Munich and Nuremberg.
When a truck has two drops – say Cologne and then Stuttgart – we route by the order of deliveries and check whether the second one can still be reached before the weekend. Tolls in Portugal, Spain and France and the German truck toll are included in the price.
Why does a Thursday collection deliver on Monday?
France bans trucks over 7.5 t from Saturday 22:00 to Sunday 22:00 and on public holidays; Germany bans them on Sundays and public holidays from 0:00 to 22:00. A truck loaded in Porto on Thursday therefore usually reaches Germany on Saturday, when most warehouses no longer receive, and unloads on Monday morning. If you need the goods within the same week, load on Monday or Tuesday. Some German holidays apply only in individual states, so for drops in Bavaria or Baden-Württemberg we check the calendar in advance.
Shoes, textiles, cork, furniture: do you pay for space or weight?
| Goods | Typical loading | What drives price and vehicle |
|---|---|---|
| footwear and textiles | cartons on pallets, small workshops often without a dock | volume – light cartons, loading metres count |
| cork and cork products | bales and pallets | very light, almost always by loading metre |
| furniture | side loading, straps and load bars | loading metres, often non-stackable |
| wine | pallets of cartons | weight, temperature in summer |
| car parts | dock, loading time per order | weight and exact delivery slot |
A full trailer offers 13.6 loading metres, 33 euro pallets and around 24 t; one euro pallet takes 0.4 ldm. Smaller quantities from one pallet travel as groupage, but on a lane this long it pays to combine shipments – ten pallets as a part load is often a sensible balance between price and lead time. With smaller workshops around Felgueiras or Paços de Ferreira we check in advance whether they load from a dock or from the side by forklift.
Can we add a pick-up on the way or drop part of the load in the Czech Republic?
Yes. Portuguese shipments can be combined with goods from Spain – as on freight Spain–Germany – and several Portuguese suppliers can share one vehicle. If part of the load belongs to a consignee in the Czech Republic, we add that drop after the German stop. We plan Portugal–Austria and Portugal–Slovakia the same way, and for French suppliers of German companies there is freight France–Germany. Return loads from Germany to Portugal can be arranged as well.
Who books the transport, and how do you get a quote?
Under EXW or FCA the German buyer books the haulage; under DAP the Portuguese seller does. EU goods move without customs – an invoice or delivery note and a CMR consignment note are enough.
- Send the town or postcode of collection in Portugal and delivery in Germany.
- State the pallets or loading metres, weight and whether pallets can be stacked.
- Add the ready date, the supplier's loading hours and the collection reference.
- Within 30 minutes during office hours you get the price; once confirmed, the vehicle is usually arranged within 24 hours.
We have been forwarding freight since 2011 and work with more than 500 vetted contracted carriers.
Shipping from Portugal to Germany every week? We set a fixed loading day, a stable rate and the corridor that suits your consignees – see regular transport, or get in touch.
Related guides: Importing goods from the EU · Textile transport · Preparing pallets