TR AVEL ADVIC E Trav elling in Po rtu gal W h en plan n in g a trip abroad it is good to be aw are of an y requ irem en ts th at th e cou n try you are visitin g h as in place, su ch as drivin g regu lation s an d w h at type of passport or visas you m igh t n eed in order to en ter. O n th ese pages you w ill fin d u sefu l in form ation abou t travellin g to Portu gal to h elp you prepare for you r trip. C U L T U R E P o rtuga l is a w a rm a nd w e lco m ing co untry w he re fa m ily va lue s a re a big a pa rt o f the culture. H o lida y m a ke rs a re ve ry w e lco m e d a nd ca m pe rs fro m m o re no rthe rly clim a te s in pa rticula r ca n e njo y P o rtuga l's w inte r clim a te, e s pe cia lly o n the A lga rve. The picture s que co a s tline s, be a che s a nd a ttra ctive lo w e r co s t o f living a re a ha rd co m bina tio n to be a t! The o fficia l la ngua ge o f P o rtuga l is P o rtugue s e. So m e o f the m o s t co m m o n gre e tings yo u m a y find us e ful to kno w w he n vis iting a re : O lá - H e llo B o m dia Go o d m o rning A de us Go o dbye Sim - Y e s N ã o - N o P o r fa vo r / Se fa z fa vo r - P le a s e O briga do / O briga da Tha nk yo u Fa la inglê s? Do yo u s pe a k Englis h? A be rto / Fe cha do, Ence rra do O pe n / Clo s e d H o m e ns / Se nho ra s Ge nts / La die s P a rque de Ca m pis m o Ca m ps ite A s a rule yo u w ill find P o rtugue s e pe o ple ve ry po lite, w ith ple a s e a nd tha nk yo u be ing us e d fre que ntly. P e o ple a re ve ry he lpful, e s pe cia lly in the to uris t a re a s a nd s o m e w ill s pe a k Englis h, but it is po lite to a lw a ys a s k if the y do in P o rtugue s e firs t. C U R R E N C Y The curre ncy o f P o rtuga l is the Euro. B a nking H o urs Monda y to Frida y: 0830 1500 - So m e city ce ntre ba nks a re o pe n until 1800 Cre dit Ca rds & A TM The m a jo r cre dit ca rds (V is a, Maste rca rd, A m e rica n Expre s s a nd Dine rs Club) a re w ide ly a cce pte d by s ho ps, ho te ls, re s ta ura nts a nd pe tro l s ta tio ns. H o w e ve r, pe tro l s ta tio ns w ill a dd 0.50 to the co s t o f fue l if pa ying by cre dit ca rd. The re a re ca s h dis pe ns e r m a chine s (A TMs ) thro ugho ut the co untry w hich a cce pt de bit a nd cre dit ca rds. Tra ve lle rs ' che que s a re no lo nge r ge ne ra lly us e d, a ltho ugh the y m a y be e xcha nge d a t s o m e m a jo r ba nks, a irpo rts a nd ra ilw a y s ta tio ns.
D R IV IN G IN P O R T U G A L Driving re gula tio ns in P o rtuga l a re diffe re nt fro m tho s e in the U K. A lw a ys re m e m be r tha t the no rm a l rule is to give w a y to the right e a ch tim e yo u re a ch a n unco ntro lle d inte rs e ctio n. U s ing m o bile pho ne s w he n driving is fo rbidde n. H o w e ve r, us e o f a co m ple te ly ha nds -fre e unit is a cce pta ble. Spe e ding ca n re s ult in he a vy, o n the s po t fine s, a nd yo ur ve hicle a nd lice nce co uld be co nfis ca te d. The m a xim um s pe e d o n m o to rw a ys is 120kph (74m ph). Roads a re cla s s ifie d a nd num be re d a s fo llo w s : A o r E - 1 to 48 : Moto rw a ys IP - 1 to 9: P rincipa l ro ute s IC - 1 to 37: Com ple m e nta ry ro ute s EN - 1 to 400: N a tio na l ro a ds EM o r CM - 500 to 2,000: Municipa l ro a ds Many drive rs unde re s tim a te dis ta nce s a nd jo urne y tim e s in P o rtuga l. P la n yo ur jo urne y ca re fully, ta king into a cco unt unkno w n ro a ds, w e a the r co nditio ns a nd fa tigue. Make s ure yo u ta ke re gula r bre a ks. To drive in P o rtuga l yo u m us t be 17 ye a rs o ld a nd ha ve a va lid U K driving lice nce, ins ura nce a nd ve hicle do cum e nts. The a cce pta nce o f the o lde r s tyle a ll gre e n driving lice nce ca nno t be gua ra nte e d. If yo u do n t o w n the ve hicle yo u re driving, fo r ins ta nce if yo u ha ve a le a s e d ve hicle, yo u s ho uld ge t w ritte n pe rm is s io n fro m the re gis te re d o w ne r. A ltho ugh yo u a re no t re quire d to ca rry co m puls o ry ite m s in yo ur ve hicle s uch a s a w a rning tria ngle a nd re fle ctive ja cke ts, the re gula tio ns o n w ha t m us t be ca rrie d do cha nge fro m tim e to tim e, s o it is a dvis a ble to che ck the m o s t up to da te info rm a tio n be fo re yo u tra ve l. Fo r co m puls o ry a nd re co m m e nde d e quipm e nt a nd rule s o f the ro a d including blo o d a lco ho l lim it, click he re. It is re co m m e nde d to ke e p ve hicle do o rs lo cke d in s lo w m o ving tra ffic a nd s e cure yo ur ve hicle w he n it is le ft una tte nde d. In-ca r ra da r de te cto rs a nd s a te llite na viga tio n s ys te m s w a rning o f the pre s e nce o f s pe e d ca m e ra s o r ra da rs a re ille ga l w he the r in us e o r no t. So m e o f the P o rtugue s e m o to rw a y ne tw o rk is co ve re d by a n e le ctro nic to ll s ys te m. This m e a ns tha t the to ll bo o ths a re unm a nne d a nd re quire s drive rs to buy ticke ts in a dva nce, o r inve s t in a V ia V e rde de vice. A ll o f the o ptio ns a va ila ble to yo u, including links to the re le va nt o utle ts, ca n be fo und he re. Lo w Em is s io n Z o ne s (LEZ s ) a re pro life ra ting thro ugho ut Euro pe. W hile the num be r a nd va rie ty o f s che m e s m a y s e e m ba ffling, in fa ct m a ny a pply o nly to city ce ntre s a nd s o w ill no t a ffe ct the m a jo rity o f ca m pe rs. If yo u do w is h to vis it citie s w hile ca m ping, e ithe r cho o s e a city ce ntre s ite a nd us e the link be lo w to che ck fo r a ny a cce s s re gula tio ns, o r ca m p o uts ide the city s LEZ a nd us e public tra ns po rt to a cce s s the ce ntre. P le a s e click he re fo r m o re info rm a tio n. P le a s e vis it o ur Tra ve l P la nning pa ge s fo r info rm a tio n o n ro a d to lls, w e ight lim its a nd m o re. H E A L T H / S A F E T Y The Fo re ign a nd Com m o nw e a lth O ffice m a y m a ke s pe cific tra ve l re la te d re co m m e nda tio ns fo r vis ito rs to P o rtuga l. Fo r the m o s t up to da te info rm a tio n vis it w w w.go v.uk/fo re ign-tra ve l- a dvice /po rtuga l
H EA LTH The De pa rtm e nt o f H e a lth do e s no t m a ke a ny s pe cific he a lth re co m m e nda tio ns fo r vis ito rs to P o rtuga l; ho w e ve r yo u m a y like to che ck w ith yo ur do cto r be fo re de pa rture. Y o u s ho uld ge t a fre e Euro pe a n H e a lth Ins ura nce Ca rd (EH IC) be fo re le a ving the U K. The EH IC is n t a s ubs titute fo r m e dica l a nd tra ve l ins ura nce, but it e ntitle s yo u to s ta te -pro vide d m e dica l tre a tm e nt tha t m a y be co m e ne ce s s a ry during yo ur trip. A ny tre a tm e nt pro vide d is o n the s a m e te rm s a s na tio na ls o f the co untry yo u a re vis iting. If yo u do n t ha ve yo ur EH IC w ith yo u o r yo u ve lo s t it, yo u ca n ca ll the De pa rtm e nt o f H e a lth O ve rs e a s H e a lthca re Te a m (+ 44 191 218 1999) to ge t a P ro vis io na l Re pla ce m e nt Ce rtifica te. The EH IC w o n t co ve r m e dica l re pa tria tio n, o ngo ing m e dica l tre a tm e nt o r no n-urge nt tre a tm e nt, s o yo u s ho uld m a ke s ure yo u ha ve a de qua te tra ve l ins ura nce a nd a cce s s ible funds to co ve r the co s t o f a ny m e dica l tre a tm e nt a nd re pa tria tio n. If yo u re quire m e dica tio n w hile in P o rtuga l, re m e m be r to bring a pre s criptio n w ith yo u. If yo u ne e d e m e rge ncy m e dica l a s s is ta nce during yo ur trip, dia l 112 fo r a n Englis h s pe a king e m e rge ncy s e rvice a nd a s k fo r a n a m bula nce. If yo u a re re fe rre d to a m e dica l fa cility fo r tre a tm e nt yo u s ho uld co nta ct yo ur ins ura nce /m e dica l a s s is ta nce co m pa ny im m e dia te ly. SA FETY A s w ith a nyw he re in the w o rld, it is go o d pra ctice to be vigila nt a bo ut yo ur pro pe rty, bo th in te rm s o f yo ur ca m ping unit a nd pe rs o na l be lo ngings, ta ke s e ns ible pre ca utio ns to pro te ct yo urs e lf fro m pe tty crim e. Don t le a ve yo ur ha ndba g o r lugga ge una tte nde d. Le a ve co pie s o f im po rta nt do cum e nts w ith fa m ily a nd frie nds in the U K. Ca rry a pho to co py o f yo ur pa s s po rt fo r ID. P A S S P O R T S / V IS A S P A SSP O RTS Y o ur pa s s po rt s ho uld be va lid fo r the pro po s e d dura tio n o f yo ur s ta y; yo u do n t ne e d a ny a dditio na l pe rio d o f va lidity o n yo ur pa s s po rt be yo nd this. Sho uld yo u w is h to ta ke a pe t o n yo ur jo urne y, ple a s e s e e o ur Guide to Euro pe a n Ca m ping fo r furthe r info rm a tio n. If yo u inte nd to tra ve l o n o ne o f o ur Es co rte d Tours, ple a s e che ck o ur Tour P a ge s to find o ut w he the r pe ts a re pe rm itte d. V ISA S If yo ur pa s s po rt de s cribe s yo u a s a B ritis h Citiz e n yo u w o n t ne e d a vis a to e nte r the P o rtuga l. If yo u ha ve a no the r type o f B ritis h na tio na lity, yo u s ho uld che ck the curre nt e ntry re quire m e nts o n the w e bs ite o f the P o rtugue s e Em ba s s y a nd if ne ce s s a ry co nfirm re quire m e nts dire ctly w ith the m. Fo r s ta ys o f lo nge r tha n 3 m o nths, co nta ct the P o rtugue s e Em ba s s y fo r info rm a tio n a bo ut e ntry re quire m e nts. S H O P P IN G Most s ho ps a re ge ne ra lly o pe n s ix da ys a w e e k, Monda y to Sa turda y, w ith o pe ning tim e s fro m 0900 to 1300 a nd fro m 1500 to 1900. Sho rte r o pe ning ho urs a re us ua lly in fo rce o n Sa turda ys, w ith m o s t clo s ing fo r the da y a t 1300, tho ugh m o s t w ill be o pe n in the a fte rno o n during De ce m be r. Sho ps w ill a ls o be o pe n o n Sunda ys a nd ba nk ho lida ys in De ce m be r. La rge s upe rm a rke ts a nd fo o d s ho ps do no t te nd to clo s e a t lunchtim e a nd a re ge ne ra lly o pe n la te r in the e ve nings. T IP P IN G
Re s ta ura nts : Se rvice is o fte n include d in re s ta ura nt bills, ho w e ve r, if no s e rvice cha rge is in include d, it is cus to m a ry to le a ve a 10% tip if yo u fe e l it is de s e rve d. H o te ls : P o rte rs (1-2 EU R fo r e a ch ba g); cha m be rm a ids (1 EU R pe r da y). Ta xis : 10% o f the m e te re d fa re. T IM E Z O N E S GMT + 1 ho ur, w ith Sum m e r tim e (fro m the e nd o f March to the e nd o f O cto be r) be ing GMT + 2 ho urs, s o tha t thro ugho ut the ye a r the co untry is a lw a ys o ne ho ur a he a d o f the U K. C A M P S IT E S & T O U R S IN P O R T U G A L Y o u ca n e s ca pe the B ritis h w e a the r a nd ca m p in P o rtuga l thro ugho ut a utum n, w inte r a nd s pring - ta ke a lo o k. W e a ls o run a n Es co rte d Tour to P o rtuga l w he re yo u ca n e xpe rie nce a ll the w o nde rs o f this fa s cina ting co untry in the co m fo rt o f yo ur o w n unit - Find o ut m o re.