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24 things to know before you go
The etiquette, the small charges, the safety realities and the seasonal quirks. Read this once and you will travel Portugal like someone on their third visit.
Home / Travel tips
The etiquette, the small charges, the safety realities and the seasonal quirks. Read this once and you will travel Portugal like someone on their third visit.
Multibanco is universal and contactless is standard, but ferries, some market stalls and a handful of old pastelarias remain cash-only. ATMs marked Multibanco are the ones to use; avoid the blue "Euronet" machines, whose exchange rates are poor.
When a card machine offers to charge you in your home currency, say no. Choosing euros saves 3–7%.
Bread, olives and cheese arrive unasked and appear on the bill at €1–4. Eat them or return them; nobody minds either way.
Round up a café bill, leave 5–10% after a good restaurant meal, €1 per bag for hotel porters. Service charges are not standard and nobody chases you down the street.
€70–95 per person per day covers a mid-range guesthouse, two restaurant meals and local transport. Under €50 is possible with hostels and market lunches; Lisbon accommodation is the one line that keeps rising.
Non-EU residents can reclaim VAT on purchases over €50 in a single shop using the e-Taxfree kiosks at the airport. Allow an extra 30 minutes.
Lunch 12:30–15:00, dinner from 19:30 and often 21:00. Restaurants that serve at 18:00 are usually aimed at visitors.
Half portions are normal, respectable and enough for most appetites. Two half portions and a salad feeds two people well.
Um café is an espresso (in Porto, ask for a cimbalino). Meia de leite is half milk in a cup; galão is milkier, in a glass; abatanado is the closest thing to an americano.
Everywhere on the mainland and the islands. Ask for água da torneira; some restaurants will look surprised but all will bring it.
Bom dia, por favor, obrigado (men) or obrigada (women), desculpe and a conta, se faz favor. The effect is out of all proportion to the effort.
Most Portuguese understand it; many find the assumption grating. English first, Portuguese if you can.
Violent crime is rare. Tram 28, Rossio, Santa Apolónia, Porto's São Bento and crowded festivals are where bags get opened. Front pockets, zipped bags, no phone on the café table.
On Rua Augusta and around Praça da Figueira. The product is fake, the interaction is a distraction technique, and a firm "não" walking on works.
Green cross signs; pharmacists diagnose minor complaints and dispense far more than in the UK or US. Every town posts a rota for the farmácia de serviço open overnight.
EU and UK visitors are covered for state care; everyone should carry travel insurance that includes hiking if you plan levadas or clifftop trails.
Polished limestone pavement plus rain equals an ankle injury. Shoes with grip, always, and take the handrail on Lisbon's staircases.
Atlantic breeze masks UV. SPF 30 minimum from April, and a hat on the Algarve clifftop walks where there is no shade at all.
Red means no entry to the water, and it is enforced with fines. Rip currents cause almost every incident; swim parallel to shore to escape one.
Jerónimos, the Gulbenkian, the Coach Museum, Serralves and most state collections. Castles, markets, viewpoints and churches stay open.
Many family restaurants close Sunday evening and all day Monday. Shops outside the big centres shut on Sunday afternoons.
1 January, Carnival Tuesday, Good Friday, 25 April, 1 May, Corpus Christi, 10 June, 15 August, 5 October, 1 November, 1 and 8 December, 25 December — plus city holidays: 13 June in Lisbon, 24 June in Porto.
The santos populares fill Lisbon's Alfama and Porto's streets with grilled sardines, paper garlands and all-night dancing. Book accommodation months ahead.
It is the hottest, busiest and most expensive. September gives you the warmest sea, the harvest and half the crowds. April–June and October are the connoisseur's windows.
| Month | Lisbon high | Sea | Crowds | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January–February | 15–16°C | 15°C | Lowest | Cheapest hotels; wet in the north; Madeira mild |
| March–April | 18–20°C | 16°C | Low | Wildflowers, Easter processions, variable rain |
| May–June | 22–26°C | 17–18°C | Rising | Best light, long evenings, Santo António festivals |
| July–August | 28–32°C | 19–22°C | Peak | Book three months ahead; inland Alentejo 38°C+ |
| September | 27°C | 20–24°C | Medium | Warmest sea, Douro harvest — the best all-round month |
| October–November | 20–23°C | 19°C | Low | Dramatic Atlantic light, chestnuts, excellent value |
The most common mistake we see is not overpacking or underplanning — it is adding one more city. Portugal rewards the traveller who stays put and eats lunch slowly.
EU/EEA citizens need only an ID card. UK, US, Canadian, Australian and many other nationals can visit visa-free for 90 days in any 180. From 2026 the EU's ETIAS authorisation applies to visa-exempt travellers — check before booking.
Exceptionally. It is safe, hostels are sociable, public transport is easy and eating alone in a tasca raises no eyebrows at all.
Mixed. Lisbon and Porto's hills, cobbles and older buildings present real obstacles, but metro systems, modern museums and most beaches with boardwalks are well adapted. Ask about lifts before booking any guesthouse.
Very. Children are welcomed in restaurants at any hour, the eastern Algarve's lagoon beaches are calm and shallow, and museums often admit under-12s free.
Ask before photographing people, especially in fishing villages and markets. Fado houses ban photography during performances, and several palace interiors ban flash.