Lisbon: Sintra Cascais & Pena Palace Small Group Tour
3.229 reviews
Buy now
From 59,00€ per person
Whether you’re exploring the cobbled streets of Lisbon, driving along the scenic coastal roads of the Algarve or trekking across the volcanic trails of the Azores, staying connected has become a practical necessity for any trip. Real-time maps, last-minute bookings, calls home, photos to share — all these activities require a reliable and, ideally, affordable mobile connection.
The good news is that Portugal has a modern and efficient telecommunications infrastructure, with comprehensive 4G coverage across the country and rapidly expanding 5G networks in urban and tourist areas. However, the situation varies considerably depending on where you’re travelling from: European tourists benefit from free roaming guaranteed by EU regulations, whilst visitors from outside the EU should prepare themselves with a local SIM or eSIM to avoid hefty bills.
In this guide you’ll find everything you need to know about calling and browsing in Portugal without surprises: how roaming works for EU citizens, what to do if you’re coming from outside Europe, which operators to choose, where to find free WiFi and which numbers to keep at your fingertips. For all other practical information about the country, consult our useful information for Portugal section.
For citizens of the 27 European Union countries and the three European Economic Area countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway), Portugal is a destination where you can call and browse exactly as you would at home, with no additional charges. This is thanks to the European regulation Roaming Like at Home (RLAH), which has been in force since 15 June 2017 and is extended until 30 June 2032.
The principle is straightforward: the call minutes, text messages and gigabytes of data you use in Portugal are deducted from your home country tariff plan exactly as if you were at home. There’s no need to activate any additional service or notify your operator before departure: roaming activates automatically when your phone connects to a Portuguese network. As soon as you cross the border (or land at the airport), you’ll receive an automatic SMS from your operator confirming the applicable conditions.
The regulation applies to calls made and received, SMS sent and received, and data traffic. Incoming calls in roaming are always free, even though the person calling you from abroad pays the normal international rate under their plan. If you call a Portuguese number, you’ll pay the same rate you apply to calls to foreign numbers in your home contract. If you call a number in your home country, you pay as if you were at home.
Free data roaming is not unlimited. Even if your plan offers unlimited data at home, in Portugal you might have a reduced maximum volume. EU regulations set a fair use threshold calculated based on your subscription’s monthly cost: the more you pay, the more GB you have available for roaming.
The formula applied by operators for 2025–2026 is as follows: the GB available for EU roaming must be at least twice the result obtained by dividing your contract’s monthly cost (VAT excluded) by the maximum wholesale data price, which from 1 January 2026 will fall to €1.10 per GB. In practical terms: if you pay €10 a month, you’re entitled to at least 18 GB of roaming data; if you pay €20 a month, you get at least 36 GB. If you exceed the threshold, your operator can apply a surcharge, but must notify you by SMS first. The maximum cost for data above the threshold is currently set by EU regulations at €0.1342 per MB (VAT included) until 31 December 2026.
There’s also another condition to respect: free roaming applies only to occasional travel, meaning you spend more time at home (or in your country of residence) than abroad. If you’re staying permanently in Portugal for work, study or other reasons, you can’t rely on long-term roaming and should consider purchasing a local SIM.
Be careful: European roaming rules apply exclusively to terrestrial networks. If you connect to a ferry or aircraft network via satellite systems, regulated roaming tariffs don’t apply and costs can be very high. On the ferry connecting mainland Portugal to the islands or on board aircraft, disable data roaming or activate aeroplane mode to avoid unwanted charges.
For travellers from countries outside the EU and EEA — the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Brazil and everywhere else — international roaming can be very expensive. Standard international roaming charges from non-European operators for data traffic in Europe vary considerably but are rarely competitive: without a specific roaming package, a week of normal browsing can result in a bill of hundreds of pounds or euros.
There are three practical and affordable alternatives: buy a Portuguese prepaid SIM, activate an eSIM before you leave, or rely on WiFi (free or from your accommodation) for browsing and use apps like WhatsApp or FaceTime for calls. The first and second options are definitely the most convenient for those who need continuous connectivity.
Portugal has three main mobile network operators: MEO (owned by Altice Portugal), Vodafone Portugal and NOS. All three offer prepaid SIMs for tourists, with plans that include data, domestic calls and usage throughout the EU area. Network quality and coverage vary slightly between operators, but for major tourist destinations — Lisbon, Porto, Algarve, Madeira — all three guarantee reliable 4G coverage.
To purchase any prepaid SIM in Portugal, you must present your passport: the retailer will take a copy and register the SIM in your name, as required by EU regulations. Prices at the airport are generally 10–20% higher than those in shops in the city, so if you’re not in a hurry to connect as soon as you land, it’s worth waiting until the next day and visiting a store. Alternatively, many tobacconists (tabacaria), supermarkets like Continente and Pingo Doce and convenience stores sell prepaid SIMs with predefined packages, without needing to go to an official store — although the selection is more limited.
An eSIM is a virtual SIM that activates directly on your smartphone without needing to insert a physical card. If your device is compatible with eSIM technology (most iPhones and mid-to-high-range Android phones produced from 2019 onwards are), this is the most convenient solution for non-EU tourists: you buy and activate it online before you leave, it’s ready when you land and allows you to keep your home country SIM active in parallel.
While you’re in Portugal, to call a number in your home country you’ll need to follow this procedure:
Practical example: to call a landline whilst in Lisbon, the sequence will be: 00 + country code + full number.
For mobile phones, the sequence is the same: 00 + country code + full mobile number.
If you need to contact a Portuguese number from your home country, here’s the correct procedure:
Practical example: to call a Lisbon landline number like 21 123 4567, you’d dial: +351 21 123 4567 (or 00 351 21 123 4567).
For a Portuguese mobile: +351 9XX XXX XXX.
The single emergency number in Portugal is 112, valid for ambulance, police and fire services throughout the country, including Madeira and the Azores. You don’t need the country code to call 112 from a local number or whilst roaming. European emergency numbers work whilst roaming without consuming credit or plan minutes.
Portugal’s international dialling code is +351. If you’re calling a Portuguese number from your home country, dial +351 followed by the local number (which always starts with 2 for landlines and 9 for mobiles). If you’re already in Portugal with a local SIM, you can call local numbers directly without a prefix.
Hotel 
Budget accommodations 
Apartments 
Family Hotel 
Luxury Hotel