Transports and Costs in Portugal

Hey there guys,

As I was leaving Portugal, I decided to do a list of tips that might be very useful if you are travelling Portugal and want to get around easy to explore outside big cities. I feel like these tips and hacks are essential for a traveller who loves solo travelling or even who like to explore not that popular places, where you can still find new beautiful signs, monuments or old building and museums.

PORTO ANDATE TRAVEL CARD - This travel card can only be used in Porto for, metro, bus and train. You can buy this card at any Andante shop that’s located in bus, train and metro stations. Prices do vary, but they are quite cheap. The map of the city is dived into Zones, if you want to travel to Zone 2 for example, for 1 title it's €1,20 and you can travel in Z2 for an hour until you have to pay again. If you are changing Zones that you will have to pay again. Also, the higher the zone is the more time you have until the title expires.

LISBON VIVA CARD- Just like the Andante transport card, VIVA card also works in buses, trains, metros and Ferry TT/SL. Prices also do vary from and to any destination. You can purchase this card at several local Pay Shop selling points in Lisbon as well as in metro, ferry and suburban train stations from any automatic ticket machine or ticket office. You can travel to nearby cities but not too far out, unfortunately.

For those of you who are just passing through, or are on small holiday, I would say buying a transport card can be a bit pointless, so here some tips on getting around without needing a travel card.

ALWAYS CARRY CHANGE- If you just outside the city and are getting a train or bus from a village for example, always carry change with you because not all places have the option to pay by card.

BE PREPARED TO PAY ON BOARD- Exploring outside the city can be really exciting to explore and I definitely recommend. Personally, I travel by train more often as it is very cheap, but although most villages have a train station, doesn't mean they are open, I say this because as I experienced, most villages have abandon/closed train stations, so you always have to pay when you inside of the train when the ticket agent passes by. If you luck like me, sometimes I am able to get away with not paying because the ticket agent didn't pass by, by the time I left the train.

REVOLUT APP- If you want a free digital banking app that as a pre-paid debit card, currency exchange, cryptocurrency exchange and peer-to-peer payments, Revolut is just perfect. I trust this app 100%. Although this app is free to use, there is a Premium Plan that you can use and you get extra benefits but personally I am really happy with the free plan, I get a UK current account, Euro IBAN account, Interbank FX rates, bank transfers in 25 currencies, you can also take money out on any ATM but you do have a limit, my limit per month is £500 but the app did change to £200 limit per month, which is still not to mad in my opinion. The app also offers discounts, credit and Insurance.

DISCOUNTS FOR YOUNG ADULTS - In Portugal, if you younger than 25 years old, you get entitled to train discounts in different areas of the country, so always show your ID/Passport. CP TRAINS APP - If you want to know the times of the trains, roughly know the price or even plan a trip. Download the app CP. This app has all schedule of the trains and lets you know how much it is. If you are a young adult I would recommend buying your ticket in advance on a ticket office, because as far as I am aware you cannot use your discount on the app when you pay.

I hope this bit of information and tips help all of you who are new to travelling in Portugal if you know about any tips and hacks that you would like to share in the comments below. Also, let me know if you enjoyed this blog and what other things you would like me to write about. All web links are listed below and don't forget to follow me on any social media to keep in touch.

Love Maria x

WEB LINKS:

ANDANTE - http://bit.ly/2F4gDDs

VIVA CARD - http://bit.ly/2BjR9Qi - http://bit.ly/2DpC4Pgx

REVOLUT- http://bit.ly/2BlgdX5

CP APP: ANDROID- http://bit.ly/2dEFiCn APPLE -https://apple.co/2diFkjM

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