Portugal Travel Mistakes: 18 Things Tourists Get Wrong

Portugal is an easy country to visit, but the same few mistakes cost visitors time, money and booked slots every year. Most come from old advice: lifts that have closed, rules that changed in 2024 and 2026, and trains that aren’t running. Here are 18 to avoid, each with a quick fix and a link to the full guide.

Quick answer: the five biggest mistakes are cramming Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve into one week, turning up at Pena Palace without a timed ticket, hiring a car without a toll device, eating the couvert and then being surprised by the bill, and paying in your home currency at a Euronet ATM. Also allow extra time at the airport for the new EES border checks.

Planning mistakes

1. Trying to see Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve in a week

Portugal is bigger than it looks. Fit all three into seven days and you spend much of the week on trains and packing.

Fix: a week covers Lisbon, Sintra and Porto, linked by a three-hour train. Add the Algarve or the Douro Valley with 10 days or more. See first time in Portugal and 10 days in Portugal.

2. Landing without time for the EES queue

The EU’s Entry/Exit System has been fully running since 10 April 2026. On a first visit, non-EU travellers give four fingerprints and have a photo taken. At busy times the queue can take an hour or more at Lisbon and Faro.

Fix: build an extra hour or two into your arrival day, and don’t book a tight onward train or flight. ETIAS hasn’t started and isn’t expected before 2027, so don’t pay any website for it. See Lisbon airport passport control and Portugal entry requirements.

3. Not checking for strikes

Strikes on trains, flights and the metro happen fairly often in Portugal. easyJet cabin crew have already called one for 19 to 23 December 2026.

Fix: check the news, your airline’s app and cp.pt the day before you travel, or search for greve (strike); see strikes in Portugal. If CP cancels your train, it usually refunds or rebooks you. See flight delays and compensation.

4. Packing the wrong shoes

The polished stone pavements (calçada) are slippery, especially when wet, and the hills in Lisbon and Porto are steep. On Madeira’s PR1 hike, rangers can turn away people in sandals.

Fix: bring comfortable shoes with grip, and pack light, as cobbles and stairs make big suitcases hard work. See the Portugal packing list.

Getting around

5. Leaving the Lisbon to Porto train to the last minute

Seats are reserved on the Alfa Pendular and Intercidades, and popular trains sell out, especially on Fridays, Sundays and in summer.

Fix: book on the CP website or app. Tickets go on sale 60 days ahead, and Promo fares take up to 65% off a limited number of seats if you book at least five days ahead. See Lisbon to Porto by train.

6. Hiring a car without a toll device

Some motorways have no booths, just cameras that read your number plate. Nothing happens on the day, but the bill and admin fees can reach you through the rental company weeks later.

Fix: add the rental company’s electronic toll device, usually Via Verde, when you collect the car. The A22 across the Algarve has been toll-free since 1 January 2025, but the A1 to Porto and the A2 to the Algarve still charge. Compare hire cars on DiscoverCars and read Portugal tolls explained.

7. Driving into Sintra

Electronic gates have closed the core of Sintra’s old town to most cars since 2023. Private cars can’t drive up to Pena or the Moorish Castle, and parking is very limited.

Fix: take the train from Rossio, about 40 minutes, then the 434 bus up the hill. If you do drive, park at Lourel or by Portela station. See Lisbon to Sintra and visiting Sintra.

8. Following old airport taxi and Uber advice

Since 15 October 2026, taxis at Lisbon airport that join the new scheme charge fixed fares into the city: €16 or €19 on weekdays between 7am and 10pm, and €20 or €23 at night, at weekends and on holidays, luggage included. Since 1 September 2026, Uber and Bolt surge pricing has had no legal cap.

Fix: check the fixed fare for your zone before you get in. For Uber or Bolt, follow the TVDE signs to the P2 car park next to Terminal 1, and compare both apps. See Lisbon airport to the city centre and Uber vs Bolt vs taxi.

9. Expecting trains to Óbidos or along the whole Douro line

There have been no trains south of Caldas da Rainha on the Oeste line since storm Kristin in January 2026, and trains from Lisbon to Óbidos aren’t expected back before early 2027. On the Douro line, buses replace trains between Marco de Canaveses and Régua from 3 November 2026 to 24 March 2027.

Fix: for Óbidos, take the Rápida Verde express bus from Campo Grande, about an hour. In the Douro, trains still run from Régua to Pinhão, Tua and Pocinho, but the trip from Porto takes longer, so check cp.pt. See Óbidos and the Douro Valley in winter.

Money and eating

10. Eating the couvert without checking the price

The bread, butter and olives put on your table aren’t free. If you eat any of it, expect to pay for what you ate.

Fix: if you don’t want it, say não, obrigado (or obrigada) and it will be taken away. Under Portuguese law, a restaurant can’t charge for anything you didn’t ask for and didn’t touch. A simple couvert usually adds around €2 to €5. See the couvert in Portugal.

11. Paying in your home currency, or at a Euronet ATM

When a card machine or ATM offers to charge you in your home currency, that “dynamic currency conversion” can add 3 to 7%. The yellow and blue Euronet machines commonly charge €5 to €8 per withdrawal on top.

Fix: always choose euros, and take cash from bank-run Multibanco ATMs. Cards work almost everywhere, so €20 to €50 in cash is plenty. See money in Portugal.

12. Turning up for dinner at 6pm

Many restaurant kitchens close from about 3pm until 7pm, and dinner rooms are often almost empty until 8pm.

Fix: make lunch the big meal, with a weekday prato do dia (dish of the day). Have a lanche, a coffee and a pastry, at about 5pm, and plan dinner for 7pm or later. See meal times in Portugal.

Sightseeing

13. Turning up at Pena Palace without a timed ticket

Pena tickets are for a set date and time, and weekend and summer slots sell out. Miss your slot and you can be refused entry with no refund. Quinta da Regaleira also uses timed slots and needs its own booking.

Fix: book Pena (€20 for the Essential Visit) and Regaleira online before you go, and allow at least 20 minutes from the park gate up to the palace. Go on a weekday, arrive by 9am and pick two or three sights, not five. See Sintra palace tickets, or book Pena Palace tickets and tours.

14. Planning your day around Lisbon’s funiculars

The Glória, Bica and Lavra funiculars and the Santa Justa lift have been closed since the Glória accident in September 2025. Glória isn’t expected back before about 2029, and the others have no reopening date.

Fix: walk, or use trams, buses and the metro. The modern Graça funicular reopened on 30 April 2026 and runs daily from about 7am to 9pm. See the Lisbon trams guide.

15. Riding tram 28 at midday

Between mid-morning and late afternoon you may wait for several trams before you can get on, and tram 28 is a pickpocket hotspot.

Fix: board at Martim Moniz before 9am, or ride the quieter western end from Campo de Ourique. At midday, tram 12, a short loop round the castle hill, has fewer people. Keep your bag zipped and in front. See is Lisbon safe?

16. Saving the museums for a Monday

Many museums close on Mondays. In Lisbon, the Coach Museum, the Museu do Fado and Jerónimos Monastery all shut that day. The National Tile Museum is closed for works, and the National Museum of Ancient Art reopens partly on 21 November 2026.

Fix: make Monday your Sintra day. Pena, the Moorish Castle, Monserrate and the National Palace open every day except 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January. See Lisbon museums and Porto museums.

Beaches, trails and islands

17. Swimming or paddling to Benagil Cave on your own

Since August 2024, nobody can land on the beach inside the cave, swimming to it is banned, and solo kayaks and paddleboards aren’t allowed.

Fix: book a licensed boat, guided kayak or guided paddleboard tour, such as a Benagil boat tour. Tours are cancelled when the sea is rough, so don’t leave it to your last day. For a free view, walk the Seven Hanging Valleys trail. See the Benagil Cave guide.

18. Walking Madeira’s trails without a booking

Since January 2026, every official PR trail needs a 30-minute start slot on the SIMplifica portal and a fee: €4.50 per trail for independent hikers, or €10.50 for PR1. Rangers check bookings. PR1, from Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo, has also been one-way only since it reopened on 1 May 2026.

Fix: book before you set off, as there’s often no signal at the trailheads, and check the trail status the day before. For PR1, arrange a taxi or pickup from Achada do Teixeira, or join a guided levada walk with transport. See Madeira levada walks and Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo.

Plan it: get maps and ride apps working the moment you land with a Portugal eSIM, book a fixed-price Lisbon airport transfer, or let a full-day Sintra tour handle the Pena slot and the hill.

FAQ

What is the biggest mistake tourists make in Portugal?

Trying to see too much in too little time. A week covers Lisbon, Sintra and Porto comfortably. Add the Algarve or the Douro Valley with 10 days or more.

Do you have to pay for the bread and olives?

Only if you ask for them or eat them. Send them back untouched and they can’t be charged.

Is tipping expected in Portugal?

No. Rounding up or leaving around 5 to 10% for good service is appreciated, but not expected. Card machines rarely have a tip option, so leave it in cash. See tipping in Portugal.

What should you book before you go?

Pena Palace and Quinta da Regaleira slots, Madeira trail slots, the Lisbon to Porto train for Promo fares, and summer hotels. Belém Tower reopened in May 2026 with timed entry, so book that too.

More: things to know before visiting Portugal, what’s changed in Portugal for 2026, Portugal etiquette and overrated places in Portugal.

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