Portugal Travel Essentials Resource List

Travel basics

For rules, regulations, business hours, prices and facilities, Visit Portugal's page gives you basic but fairly comprehensive information: https://www.visitportugal.com/en/sobre-portugal/info-util

Emergency number (Police/Fire/Ambulance) = 112 but if you are in an emergency situation and dial 111 by mistake, it will get redirected. There should be someone who speaks English to take your call.

If travelling from a European country, bring your up to date European Health Insurance Card (not a replacement for travel insurance but reduces the cost of medical care).

Travel insurance is advisable regardless of where you’re coming from.

Practical tips for visiting Portugal

25 Essential Tips for first timers in Portugal: http://juliedawnfox.com/2014/04/28/tips- expat-holiday-portugal/ - if you only have time to read one article, start with this one.

These articles go into a little more detail about eateries:

Restaurants: http://juliedawnfox.com/2012/10/22/how-to-order-like-a-local-at- restaurants-in-portugal/ Coffee: http://americaninportugaltours.com/how-to-order-savor-coffee-in- portugal/ (with handy phrases) Cafés: https://juliedawnfox.com/2012/11/26/how-to-order-like-a-local-at-cafes-bakeries- and-cake-shops-in-portugal/

If you need to avoid gluten, read this article by Legal Nomads: http://www.legalnomads.com/gluten-free/portugal/

Tipping in Portugal

There is no fixed % for tips. Most people round up the bill in cafés and taxis and leave between 5% and 10% in restaurants. Do what you feel comfortable with.

Language

In major cities, you should have no difficulty finding people who speak English. Further afield, especially in the more rural areas, you can’t always count on it so it’s best to

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brush up on the basics. Combined with gestures, and possibly a phrasebook or language app, you’ll get by.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/portuguese/talk/ for the basics like greetings, ordering in a restaurant and getting around Portuguese food vocabulary: http://www.luz-info.com/food2.htm More resources: https://juliedawnfox.com/2014/04/07/learn-european- portuguese-free/

Weather forecasts

None are completely reliable but I find this one most useful, especially the 10-day and hourly regional forecasts: https://www.ipma.pt/en/index.html. Check before you pack!

Wifi access

Your accommodation should have wifi and many cafés and other establishments provide it, too - just ask for the password.

An increasing number of towns, cities, buses, trains, parks and even beaches offer free public wifi.

Mobile data

In rural areas, and especially if you're relying on GPS/Google maps, you'll need 3G or 4G coverage, although this can drop out in remote areas. If you haven't got this covered through roaming with your service provider but have an unlocked phone and want to buy a Portuguese SIM card, this should help you understand the options: http://prepaid- data-sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/Portugal The easiest option would be to pop into the Vodafone shop at the airport and pick one up there.

Public transport / maps

Google Maps is fully integrated with Lisbon and Porto's public transport system so use it to work out bus, tram or metro routes or find out how long it will take to get somewhere on foot or by car.

Pick up a paper map from the tourist information desk at the airport.

Portuguese train website: https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/pt Lisbon Card (transport and discounts): http://bit.ly/lisboncard Lisbon Zapping system: https://juliedawnfox.com/2015/11/01/zapping-public- transport-lisbon/

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Lisbon metro: http://www.metrolisboa.pt/eng/ Lisbon buses and trams: http://www.carris.pt/en/ Porto Card (transport and discounts): http://bit.ly/PortoCard Metro in and around Porto: http://www.metrodoporto.pt/en/ Porto buses and trams: http://www.stcp.pt/en/travel/ Coimbra buses and trams: http://www.smtuc.pt

Note: In Porto, you’ll need a rechargeable blue Andante card http://www.linhandante.com to travel on the metro, buses and urban trains. Think carefully about how many individual journeys you should buy, especially if you’re starting at the airport. You can’t change the zone level of your card until it’s empty so if you buy four journeys at the airport but use two of those to travel within the city centre, you’ll be paying more than you should for those journeys.

Driving in Portugal

Tips for driving in Portugal: http://juliedawnfox.com/2012/11/27/25-essential- tips-for-driving-in-portugal-without-losing-your-cool/ Toll information – essential reading: http://www.portugaltolls.com/ Tips for renting a car in Portugal: https://juliedawnfox.com/2016/06/01/rent-car- portugal/

Events in Portugal

Whether you want to observe, participate in, plan around or avoid major events, it’s wise to check what’s on during your stay.

Regional tourist board websites usually have an events calendar: Algarve: http://www.visitalgarve.pt/visitalgarve/vEN/NaoPerca/?categoria=0 Alentejo: http://www.visitalentejo.pt/en/ Lisbon: https://www.visitlisboa.com/whats-on Look out for (or sign up to receive) the next issue of Follow Me Lisboa, a monthly magazine and agenda for Lisbon http://www.visitlisboa.com/Publications_UK.aspx Central Portugal: http://www.centerofportugal.com/events/ Northern Portugal: http://www.visitportoandnorth.travel/Porto-and-the- North/Agenda Madeira: http://www.visitmadeira.pt/en-gb/what-to-do/events Azores: http://www.visitazores.com/en/calendar

This site http://www.getportugal.com/en/artigos/events has a fairly comprehensive list of concerts and events around the country.