Lisbon Public Transport: Navegante, Zapping, Trams and Passes

Lisbon’s metro, buses, trams, funiculars, trains and ferries are cheap and good, but the ticket system confuses almost everyone at first. The green card used to be called “Viva Viagem”, now it’s “navegante”, and then there’s “zapping”. Here’s how it all works.

Quick answer: buy a reusable navegante card (€0.50) at any metro station and load it with zapping credit (start with €10–15). Tap in on every journey. Doing lots of trips in one day? Load a 24-hour pass instead.

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Fares at a glance (2026)

Ticket	Price	Covers
navegante card	€0.50 (one-off)	The reusable card everything goes on
Single journey (Carris/Metro)	€1.90	One trip, valid for an hour
Zapping (pay as you go)	€1.72 per metro/bus trip	Credit on your card, cheaper than singles
Contactless bank card (metro only)	€1.92 per trip	Tap your own bank card at the gates
24h Carris/Metro	€7.25	Unlimited metro, buses, trams and funiculars
24h Carris/Metro/Transtejo	€10.35	As above plus the Cacilhas ferry
24h Carris/Metro/CP	€11.40	All of the above plus trains to Sintra and Cascais
Tram/bus ticket bought on board	Around €3.30 (tram)	Much more expensive, so avoid

Prices checked October 2026 and can change. Check the machines or the Carris and Metro websites.

The navegante card

The green paper card (navegante ocasional) is sold at metro station machines and ticket offices for €0.50 and lasts about a year. A few things trip people up:

• One card per person. You can’t pay for two people with one card.
• One type of ticket at a time. A card can hold zapping credit or a 24-hour pass or single tickets, not a mix. Use up one before loading another (or carry two cards).
• Tap in every time, including when you switch from the metro to a bus or tram. Inspectors check, and fines are high.
• On the metro you can also tap a contactless bank card for a single fare (€1.92 in 2026), handy if you only need a couple of trips.

How to buy and top up

The machines at every metro station have an English option and take cash and cards. Choose “Buy navegante card” for a new card, or put your card on the reader to top it up. Don’t bend the card, as the paper ones can stop working. The 24-hour pass starts from your first tap, not from when you buy it.

Which ticket should you get?

• A few trips a day: zapping. Cheapest and most flexible.
• Five or more trips in a day, or lots of tram rides: the €7.25 24-hour pass.
• Sintra or Cascais day trip plus city travel: the €11.40 24-hour pass with CP trains.
• Sightseeing hard for 1–3 days: the Lisboa Card includes transport plus free or discounted entry to many sights. It’s worth it if you’ll visit several paid attractions.
• Staying a month or more: the monthly navegante Metropolitano pass (about €40) covers almost all transport in the Lisbon region, but it needs a personalised card (€7, or €12 for express issue), which takes time to issue.

A quick example: four metro or bus trips on zapping cost about €6.90, just under the 24-hour pass. Add a tram ride or two and the pass wins.

The metro

Four lines (blue, yellow, green and red), running from about 6:30am to 1am. It’s fast, clean and connects the airport (red line) to the centre. Handy stations: Baixa-Chiado, Rossio, Restauradores, Cais do Sodré and Oriente.

• Blue line: Restauradores, Baixa-Chiado, Terreiro do Paço and Santa Apolónia, plus Marquês de Pombal and São Sebastião (for the Gulbenkian).
• Green line: Cais do Sodré, Baixa-Chiado, Rossio, Martim Moniz and Alameda.
• Yellow line: Rato, Marquês de Pombal, Saldanha and Campo Grande (for buses to Óbidos and Ericeira).
• Red line: the airport, Oriente (for the Oceanário and long-distance trains), Alameda and São Sebastião.

From the airport to the Baixa, take the red line and change at Alameda for the green line; it takes about 25–30 minutes. A new circular line, joining the green and yellow lines with new stations at Estrela and Santos, is due to open in early 2027.

Trams

The old yellow trams are a highlight. Tram 28 runs through Alfama, Baixa and Estrela, but it’s often rammed and a pickpocket hotspot. Ride it early, start at the Martim Moniz end, or try tram 12 or 24 instead. Tram 15 (modern) goes to Belém. Pay with your navegante card, because tickets bought on board cost much more.

Tram 12 is a short loop from Praça da Figueira past the cathedral and Santa Luzia, good for a quick taste of Alfama. Tram 15 runs from Praça da Figueira along the river via Cais do Sodré to Belém. See our Lisbon trams guide for every route.

Funiculars and the Santa Justa lift (mostly closed)

Closed in 2026: after the Glória funicular accident in September 2025, the Glória, Bica and Lavra funiculars and the Santa Justa lift are still out of service, with no reopening date (Glória is not expected back before about 2029). The Graça funicular reopened in April 2026. For the hills, use the metro, buses 734 and 758, the trams, or a short Uber or Bolt. In September 2025 Carris also launched the 51E, a small electric bus that loops from Restauradores up to Largo do Carmo and past São Pedro de Alcântara in place of the Glória. Check the Carris website for current times. See our best Lisbon viewpoints for how to reach the views.

Buses

Carris buses go everywhere the metro doesn’t. Google Maps shows routes and live times well.

Useful routes include bus 737 from Praça da Figueira up to São Jorge Castle and bus 734 from Martim Moniz to Graça. Outside the city, the yellow Carris Metropolitana buses cover the wider Lisbon region, including Sintra, Cascais and the south bank, and also take the navegante card. Get on at the front, tap your card, and press the button to stop.

Trains

• Sintra: from Rossio station (about 40 minutes).
• Cascais and Estoril: from Cais do Sodré along the coast (about 40 minutes). Sit on the left heading out for sea views. Because of track works, since April 2026 buses have replaced trains between Caxias and Cascais in the evenings (from about 9:50pm on weekdays and earlier at weekends), so check the CP website if you’re travelling late.
• Porto and the Algarve: long-distance trains from Oriente and Santa Apolónia. See Lisbon to Porto by train.
• Évora: Intercidades trains from Oriente, Entrecampos and Sete Rios, about 1.5 hours. Book long-distance trains on the CP website or app.

Suburban trains to Sintra and Cascais take zapping or the 24-hour CP pass; you tap in at the station gates. Long-distance tickets are separate and have seat reservations.

Ferries

Ferries cross the river from Cais do Sodré to Cacilhas in about 10 minutes. It’s cheap, scenic and great for seafood lunches with views back at the city. Zapping works on most ferries.

From Cacilhas, a bus runs to Cristo Rei. Other routes go from Terreiro do Paço to Barreiro and Seixal, and from Belém to Trafaria and Porto Brandão, handy for the beaches of Costa da Caparica. See our ferries in Portugal guide.

Uber, Bolt and taxis

For late nights, steep addresses or lots of luggage, ride apps are cheap in Lisbon. See Uber vs Bolt vs taxi.

• New taxi fares: under the new national tariff (in force from 23 October 2026, with meters switching over by January 2027), taxis charge a €2 flag fall plus a rate per kilometre and per minute. Luggage and pet supplements have gone, but the supplement for calling a taxi by phone remains.
• App prices: since 1 September 2026, Uber and Bolt surge pricing is no longer capped, so prices can jump in rain or at peak times. A new law will also let licensed taxis take app jobs, but it hadn’t started by mid-October 2026.
• Airport: fixed taxi fares from Lisbon airport start on 15 October 2026. Check the price for your zone at the rank before you get in.

Getting around tips

• Accessibility: most metro stations have lifts, but the historic trams and many hilly streets are hard with wheelchairs and pushchairs.
• Pickpockets: keep bags zipped on tram 28 and in busy metro stations like Baixa-Chiado.
• Rush hour: roughly 8–9:30am and 5:30–7:30pm, when the metro and buses are packed.
• Night buses: a few Carris routes run after the metro closes; otherwise, use a ride app.

FAQ

Can I pay with a contactless bank card in Lisbon?

On the metro, yes: tap your bank card at the gate and it charges €1.92 a trip. Each person needs their own card. For trams and buses, a navegante card with zapping credit is the simplest option.

Do children pay on Lisbon public transport?

Children under 4 ride the metro free with an adult, as long as they don’t take up a seat. Older children need their own card and ticket.

Is tram 28 running its full route?

Yes. Buses have covered parts of the route during road works in 2025 and 2026, but in October 2026 tram 28 was running all the way from Martim Moniz to Campo de Ourique again. Check Carris service changes before you go.

Is the 24-hour ticket worth it?

Only if you’ll make five or more trips in a day, or ride the historic trams a lot. Otherwise zapping at €1.72 a trip works out cheaper.

Arriving soon? Start with Lisbon airport to the city centre.

See also: Lisbon trams, day trips by train, the Portugal train guide, Porto public transport, ferries in Portugal, parking in Lisbon and Lisbon’s hop-on hop-off buses.

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