Portugal country information

Portugese Republic
Area: 92,345 sq km
Population: 10,617,575
Population density: 114 per sq km
Capital: Lisbon

Passport & Visa

Passport Required?
British	Yes
Australian	Yes
Canadian	Yes
USA	Yes
Other EU	1
Visa Required?
British	No
Australian	No
Canadian	No
USA	No
Other EU	No

Passports

Passport valid for at least six months beyond length of stay required by all nationals referred to in the chart above except:
1. EU nationals holding a valid national ID card.

Passport Note

(a) Sufficient funds are required for all except EU nationals. (b) Portugal is a signatory to the 1995 Schengen Agreement.

Visas

Not required by all nationals referred to in the chart above for touristic stays of up to 90 days.

Visa Note

Nationals not referred to in the chart above are advised to contact the embassy/consulate to check visa requirements.

Getting there

Getting There by Air

Portugal's national airline is TAP Air Portugal (TP) ( www.flytap.com ).

Approximate Flight Times

From London to Lisbon is 2 hours 30 minutes and from New York is 7 hours.

Main Airports

Lisbon (LIS) (Portela de Sacavem) ( www.ana-aeroportos.pt ) is 7km (4.5 miles) north of the city (journey time - 35 minutes). To/from the airport: Carris buses run from the airport to the city and the main railway stations. A special 'Aerobus' departs to the city centre every 20 minutes during the day. Taxi services to the city are available, with a 20% surcharge between 2100 and 0600, at weekends and on holidays. Facilities: Bureau de change, banks, tourist information, post office, duty-free shops and car hire.

Faro (FAO) ( www.ana-aeroportos.pt ) is 4km (3 miles) west of the city (journey time - 30 minutes). To/from the airport: EVA buses link the airport with different parts of the city. Taxis are available. Facilities: Duty-free shop, bank/bureau de change, car hire and a bar/restaurant.

Porto (OPO) (Oporto Sá Carneiro) ( www.ana-aeroportos.pt ) is 20 km (7 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: Underground trains, buses and taxis to the city are available. Facilities: Duty-free shop, bank/bureau de change, car hire and a bar/restaurant.

Departure Tax

None.

Getting There by Water

Main ports: Lisbon ( www.portodelisboa.com ), Leixões (Porto) ( www.apdl.pt ), Funchal (Madeira) ( www.portosdamadeira.com ) and Portimão (Algarve) are served by major cruise lines.

Getting There by Rail

Travelling from the UK, the quickest way is to travel by Eurostar through the Channel Tunnel to Paris (journey time - 2 hours 20 minutes) and, from there, to Portugal. The Sud-Expresso runs between Hendaye/Irun (linked to Paris by TGV) and Lisbon, offering first- and second-class seats, sleepers and a restaurant car. For further information and reservations, contact Eurostar (tel: 0870 518 6186, in the UK or +44 1233 617 575, outside the UK; www.eurostar.com ) or Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064, in the UK; www.raileurope.co.uk ). Caminhos De Ferro Portugueses (tel: 808 208 208, in Portugal or (213 185 990, outside Portugal; www.cp.pt ) offers an international rail service to Vigo, Madrid and Paris.

Rail Passes

InterRail: offers unlimited first- or second-class travel in up to 30 European countries for European residents of over six months with two pass options. The Global Pass allows travel for 22 days, one month, five days in 10 days or 10 days in 22 days across all countries. The One-Country Pass offers travel for three, four, six or eight days in one month in any of the 27 European countries. Travel is not allowed in the passenger's country of residence. Travellers under 26 years receive a reduction. Children's tickets are reduced by about 50%. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on Eurostar and some ferry routes. Available from Rail Europe ( www.raileurope.co.uk ).

Getting There by Road

The only land border is shared with Spain. From the UK, the quickest routes are via ferry to northern Spain, avoiding the need to drive through France. Brittany Ferries runs from Plymouth to Santander (tel: 0871 244 0744, in the UK; www.brittany-ferries.co.uk ) and P&O Ferries runs from Portsmouth to Bilbao (tel: 08716 645 645, in the UK; www.poferries.com ). Cars can be imported into Portugal for up to six months. Travelling from the UK, Eurotunnel operates trains 24 hours per day through the Channel Tunnel between Folkestone in Kent (with direct access from the M20) and Calais in France. All vehicles, from motorcycles to campers, can be accommodated. For further information, contact Eurotunnel Reservations (tel: 0870 535 3535, in the UK; www.eurotunnel.co.uk ).

Coach: Eurolines operates an extensive network of coach services to many destinations throughout Portugal, including Coimbra, Faro, Lagos, Lisbon and Porto. For information on timetables and fares, contact Eurolines (tel: 08717 818 181, in the UK; www.eurolines.co.uk ).

Cycling & Maps

Michelin Spain & Portugal
Tourist and Motoring Atlas (spiral) scale: 1:400,000

We actually bought the France, Spain/Portugal and Italy Michelin maps before we left and put them all together in one book. Knowing which route we were going to take, we didn't need all the pages and/or the search section. We made one decent size book out of it!

Spiral books are very handy for cyclists. Why? You can tear out the pages you need without ruining the rest of the book and put them in your map holder one at a time. Done with a page? Throw it out and loose weight/space while you go.

Cost of living

Portugal: all prices in European Euros (€)

drinks and snacks			food: local markets; restaurants; and stores
water (mineral) juice soft drink (can) soft drink (bottle)	1 litre 1 litre 300ml 1 litre	0.55 1.00 tba 0.90	bread loaf-white bread loaf-whole grain	700g 750g	0.80 1.45
			local market food veggie buffet veggie restaurant pizza-takeaway	one serving all u can eat 2 course/drink med	tba 12-20.00 8-10.00 tba
beer-local wine	330ml 750ml	0.40 1.50
tea coffee (cafe / bar) Nescafe instant coffee-ground	25 bags per cup 125g 500g	1.50 0.60 1.90 2.95	rice (white) pasta eggs tinned tomatoes	kg 500g per dozen 250g	0.55 0.15 0.80 0.60
milk yoghurt / curd cheese Magnum icecream	1 litre 180g kg each	0.40 0.50 7.50 tba	potatoes onions tomatoes green beans	kg kg kg kg	0.65 0.90 0.80 1.20
chips salted peanuts dried apricots	200g pack kg kg	tba tba tba	apples oranges bananas	kg kg kg	1.20 0.95 1.30
cornflakes chocolate biscuits-plain biscuits-chocolate	375g pack 100g block 200g pack 200g pack	2.50 0.55 0.55 1.10+	pineapple (can) oil (corn)	500g can 500ml	1.50 1.10
			peanut paste jam	500g jar 400g jar	tba 1.50

accommodation			personal
budget city hostel budget city hotel	10.00-18.00 per dorm bed 40.00 double with ensuite		deodorant - roll-on soap shampoo toothbrush toothpaste disposable razor toilet paper	50ml 150g bar 200ml each 100ml 5 pack each	2.50 0.35 1.90 tba 1.40 2.50 tba
eurocamping 1 star wild camping	8.00+ for 2 persons + tent legally no, but very possible
internet free internet	1.50-3.00 per hour at some tourist centres/ libraries

* tba = price to be announced
* January 2009: at time of writing 1.00 USD = 0.79 EUR
all prices have been taken from internet resources such as wikitravel, hostel world, leading supermarket chains, travel blogs, forums and of course our own travel experiences and purchases of everyday products in food markets, bazaars and local shopping facilities. They are only an indication and designed to give you a general impression of the cost of living in Portugal. Items are geared towards the budget conscious traveller with an occasional craving for a bit of luxury.

Source:www.exchange-rates.org