Taxis in Portugal, and the Bolt app

Bolt is the app Portuguese use most and is often the cheapest, so install it first. Uber works well too, and FreeNow connects you to licensed taxis. All three cover Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve, and they show the fare and driver up front.

Apps are usually cheaper than a street taxi for the same trip and remove any doubt about the meter, so they are the easy default for visitors.

Lisbon airport (LIS) sits right on the metro (red line), which is the cheapest way into the city (a couple of euros plus a reusable card). An app is the easy door-to-door option, clean and priced in advance from the designated pickup area.

A regular taxi is metered and the city is not large, so central rides are cheap, but the airport rank is where the occasional meter or route game happens, so an app is the safer bet on arrival. From Porto (OPO), the metro also reaches the city cheaply.

Portuguese taxis are mostly honest and cheap, but the exceptions cluster at the airport rank and tourist spots: a driver runs the meter on the higher tariff 2 in town when tariff 1 applies, takes a long route, or quotes an inflated flat price.

The fixes: make sure the meter is running on the correct tariff (tariff 1 is the standard daytime city rate), have a rough idea of the route on your phone, and for arrivals just use an app, which prices the trip in advance.

Fares are cheap by Western European standards: metered in a regular taxi, shown in advance in an app. There can be small legitimate extras (a night or weekend tariff, an airport fee), which appear on the meter. To tip, round up the fare; there is no set percentage.

For more, see tipping in Portugal, cash or card in Portugal, and the Portugal money guide.

Common questions

Quick answers.

More on Portugal

The little money things nobody warns you about.

• Do I need cash in Portugal, or can I use cards?Short answer: a card for most things, a little euro cash for the rest. Portugal is card-friendly, especially in Lisbon and Porto, but small shops, markets and rural spots still like cash. Here is how to handle it.
• Tipping in PortugalPortugal is a light-tipping country. Staff earn a wage, nobody expects a US-style percentage, and a modest tip for good service is welcome but never required. Here is what you actually owe, and what that couvert on the table is.
• How to avoid the yellow Euronet ATMs in LisbonThe bright yellow machines by the airport exits and in the tourist squares are the most expensive way to get euros. Here is how to spot them, what to use instead, and the one habit that matters more than the machine.
• The IVA tax-refund kiosk at Lisbon airport, step by stepIf you shopped in Portugal and want the IVA (VAT) back, it comes down to a self-service kiosk at the airport and one green screen. Here is the exact sequence, and the one timing mistake that costs people the refund.
• Does tram 28 in Lisbon take contactless?The short, honest answer is: not reliably. Tapping your own card is solid on the metro, but on the historic 28 tram it is hit or miss, so here is the cheap way that always works.
• Bringing your dog or cat to Portugal.Portugal runs on the single EU pet-entry process for a US-origin dog or cat: microchip, rabies in the right order, and an EU health certificate on a 10-day clock. No quarantine, no rabies titer. Here is what that means for Portugal, and the local parts worth knowing.