Portugal's tourist tax, and the seven-night cap.

There is no Portuguese national tourist tax. Each camara municipal decides for itself whether to have one, what to charge, from what age, and after how many nights to stop, which is why a figure that is right for Lisbon tells you nothing about Evora. It applies to all licensed accommodation, so hotels, guesthouses, hostels and the alojamento local category that covers most Airbnb-style rentals are all in scope.

It is charged per guest, per night, so unlike the Greek and Icelandic versions it scales with the size of your party. It has to appear on your invoice as its own line, and it is not subject to VAT. One detail from Lisbon's own rules that catches people out: the rate that applies is the one in force during your stay, regardless of when you booked, so booking early does not lock in an older figure. For the wider picture see the Portugal money guide.

Lisbon charges 4 euros per guest per night, for everyone aged 13 and over, capped at seven nights per person per stay. The cap is the part worth understanding, because it turns the tax from a running meter into a fixed maximum: seven nights or fourteen, one adult pays at most 28 euros, roughly 32 dollars, and a couple at most 56 euros, about 64 dollars. Porto charges 3 euros, with no seasonal variation, and also caps at seven nights, so 21 euros per adult, about 24 dollars.

That makes Portugal's version gentler than it first looks on a long trip and sharper than it looks on a short one. A weekend for two in Lisbon adds about 16 euros; a fortnight for a family of two adults and two under-13s adds the same 56 euros as a week for the couple alone. If you are moving between towns, note the cap resets per stay, so a week in Lisbon then a week in Porto means paying both caps.

The Algarve is patchier than people expect: only some of its municipalities charge the tax, and those that do increasingly run it seasonally, commonly 2 euros a night in high season and 1 euro in low. Funchal on Madeira sits around 2 euros, also capped at seven nights. Smaller towns that have adopted one tend to land at 1 to 2 euros, sometimes with a much tighter cap and a seasonal window: Guimaraes, for example, charges only in the warmer months and stops after a couple of nights.

Everywhere else, and that is the large majority of the country, there is nothing to pay. The number of municipalities charging one has been climbing every year, so the honest expectation for a 2026 trip is that your city may have adopted one recently even if an older guide says otherwise. The reliable check is your own booking's fees section, or the town's camara municipal site.

In Lisbon the exemptions are broader than the usual child rule. Guests under 13 pay nothing. So do people whose stay is for medical treatment, covering the treatment or hospital period plus one further night, and that exemption extends to a companion. Students entering higher education in the city and research fellows are exempt for up to 60 consecutive days at the start of the academic year, and people housed by order of the council or social services are exempt too. Each of these needs documentation, and the minimum age is set town by town, so confirm yours rather than assuming 13 everywhere.

Two things that are not the overnight tax. Lisbon charges a separate maritime arrival tax on cruise passengers disembarking in the city, which went from 1 euro to 2 euros per passenger, so a cruise call is charged under a different rule from a hotel night. And where you book through Airbnb in Lisbon the platform collects the tax at the time of booking under a long-standing agreement with the city, so for those reservations it genuinely is in the price you paid, unlike most hotel bookings.

Common questions

Quick answers.

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