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• The term deficientes (Portuguese for 'disabled') gives some indication of the limited awareness of disabled needs. Although public offices and agencies are required to provide access and facilities for people with disabilities, private businesses are not.
• Lisbon airport is wheelchair accessible, while Porto and Faro airports have accessible toilets.
• Parking spaces are allotted in many places, but are frequently occupied. The EU parking card entitles visitors to the same street-parking concessions given to disabled residents.
• Newer and larger hotels tend to have some adapted rooms, though the facilities may not be up to scratch; ask at the local turismo. Most campgrounds have accessible toilets, and some hostels have facilities for people with disabilities.
• Lisbon, with its cobbled streets and hills, may be difficult for some travellers with disabilities, but not impossible. The Baixa’s flat grid and Belém are fine, and all the sights at Parque das Nações are accessible.

Download Lonely Planet's free Accessible Travel guide from http://lptravel.to/AccessibleTravel, or for more information, contact one of the following organisations:

Accessible Portugal This Lisbon-based association promotes accessible tourism and is the brains behind the excellent TUR4all Portugal app (Android and iOS), which works like a database of accessible tourist resources and services throughout Portugal and Spain.

Secretaria do Nacional de Reabilitação The national governmental organisation representing people with disabilities supplies information, provides links to useful operations and publishes guides (in Portuguese) that advise on barrier-free accommodation, transport, shops, restaurants and sights.

Gentle haggling is common in markets (less so in produce markets); in all other instances you’re expected to pay the stated price.

• Once behind the wheel of a car, the otherwise mild-mannered Portuguese change personality. Aggressive driving, such as tailgating at high speeds and overtaking on blind corners, is all too common. Portugal has one of the highest road accident rates in Europe. Police have responded by aggressively patrolling certain dangerous routes, such as on the cheerfully named ‘highway of death’ from Salamanca in Spain.
• Compared with other European countries, Portugal’s crime rate remains low, but some types of crime – including car theft – are on the rise. Crime against foreigners is of the usual rush-hour-pickpocketing, bag-snatching and theft-from-rental-cars variety. Take the usual precautions: don’t flash your cash; keep valuables in a safe place; and, if you're challenged, hand it over – it’s not worth taking the risk.
• Take care in the water; the surf can be strong, with dangerous ocean currents.

• Portugal’s network of pousadas da juventude (youth hostels) is part of the HI network. An HI card from your hostelling association at home entitles you to the standard cheap rates.
• A student card will get you reduced admission to almost all sights. Likewise, those aged over 65 with proof of age will save cash.
• If you plan to do a lot of sightseeing in Portugal’s main cities, the Lisboa Card and Porto Card are sensible investments. Sold at tourist offices, these cards allow discounts or free admission to many attractions and free travel on public transport.

There’s no New Zealand consulate in Portugal. The nearest New Zealand embassy is in Madrid. The following embassies are in Lisbon; the Spanish consulate is in Porto and the UK Consulate is in Portimão.

Australian Embassy

Canadian Embassy

French Embassy

German Embassy

Irish Embassy

Netherlands Embassy

Spanish Embassy

Spanish Consulate

UK Embassy

UK Consulate

US Embassy

From within Europe, you’ll have no problems entering Portugal by land or air. If arriving from further afield, check if you need a visa before arrival.

• Greetings When greeting females or mixed company, an air kiss on both cheeks is common courtesy. Men give each other a handshake.
• Visiting churches It is considered disrespectful to visit churches as a tourist during Mass. Taking photos at such a time is definitely inappropriate.
• 'Free' appetisers Whatever you eat, you must pay for, whether or not you ordered it. It's common practice for restaurants to bring bread, olives, cheese and other goodies to the table, but these are never free and will be added to your bill at the end. If you don't want them, a polite 'No, thank you' will see them returned to the kitchen.

Don’t leave home without a travel-insurance policy to cover theft, loss and medical problems. You should get insurance for the worst-case scenario; for example, an accident or illness requiring hospitalisation and a flight home.

Check the small print as some policies specifically exclude ‘dangerous activities’ such as scuba diving, motorcycling or even trekking. If these activities are in your sights, either find another policy or ask about an amendment (usually available for an extra premium) that includes them.

Make sure you keep all documentation for any claims later on. Some policies ask you to call back (reverse charges) to a centre in your home country, where an immediate assessment of your problem is made.

Worldwide travel insurance is available at www.lonelyplanet.com/travel-insurance. You can buy, extend and claim online any time – even if you’re already on the road.

Wi-fi access is widespread in Portugal. If you have your own laptop, most hotels, hostels and midrange guesthouses offer free wireless access. Many cafes and some restaurants also offer free wi-fi. Cybercafes are now rare.

We use the icon @ to indicate places that have a physical computer where guests can access the internet; the wi-fi icon indicates where wireless access is available.

Another option is using a biblioteca municipal (municipal library).

• Fines for illegal parking are common. If you’re parked illegally you’ll be towed and will have to pay around €100 to get your car back. Be aware of local road rules, as fines for other transgressions will also be enforced.
• It’s illegal in Portugal to drive while talking on a mobile phone.
• Narcotic drugs were decriminalised in 2001 in an attempt to clear up the public-health problems among drug users and to address the issue as a social rather than a criminal one. You may be brought before a commission and subject to fines or treatment if you are caught with up to 10 doses of a drug.
• Drug dealing is still a serious offence and suspects may be held for up to 18 months before coming to trial. Bail is at the court’s discretion.

In 2010 Portugal legalised gay marriage, becoming the sixth European country to do so. Most Portuguese profess a laissez-faire attitude about same-sex couples, although how out you can be depends on where you are in Portugal. In Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve, acceptance has increased, whereas in most other areas, same-sex couples would be met with incomprehension. In this conservative Catholic country, homosexuality is still outside the norm. And while homophobic violence is extremely rare, discrimination has been reported in schools and workplaces.

Lisbon has the country’s best gay and lesbian network and nightlife. Lisbon and Porto hold Gay Pride marches, but outside these events the gay community keeps a discreet profile.

National and natural park offices usually have simple park maps, though these are of little use for trekking or cycling. The following offer a good range of maps:

East View Geospatial (www.geospatial.com) US company that sells excellent maps, including 1:25,000 topographic maps.

Stanfords (www.stanfords.co.uk) Good selection of Portugal maps and travel products in the UK.

• Newspapers Main newspapers include Diário de Noticias, Público, Jornal de Noticias and the tabloid bestseller Correio da Manhã. English-language newspapers include the long-running daily, the Portugal News (www.theportugalnews.com).
• Radio National radio stations include state-owned Rádiodifusão Portuguesa (RDP), which runs the stations Antena 1, 2 and 3 and plays Portuguese broadcasts and evening music (Lisbon frequencies are 95.7, 94.4 and 100.3). For English-language radio there is the BBC World Service (Lisbon 90.2) and Voice of America (VOA), or a few Algarve-based stations, such as Kiss (95.8 and 101.2).
• Television TV channels include Rádio Televisão Portuguesa (RTP-1 and RTP-2), Sociedade Independente (SIC) and TV Independente (TV1), with RTP-2 providing the best selection of foreign films and world-news coverage. Other stations fill the airwaves with a mix of Portuguese and Brazilian soaps, game shows and dubbed or subtitled foreign films.
• Video system Portugal uses the PAL video system, incompatible with both the French SECAM system and the North American NTSC system.

ATMs are widely available, except in the smallest villages. Credit cards are accepted in midrange and high-end establishments.

Opening hours vary throughout the year. We provide high-season opening hours; hours will generally decrease in the shoulder and low seasons.

Banks 8.30am–3pm Monday to Friday

Bars 7pm–2am

Cafes 9am–7pm

Clubs 11pm–4am Thursday to Saturday

Restaurants noon–3pm and 7–10pm

Shopping malls 10am–10pm

Shops 9.30am–noon and 2–7pm Monday to Friday, 10am–1pm Saturday

Post offices are called CTT (www.ctt.pt). Correio normal (ordinary mail) goes in the red letterboxes, correio azul (airmail) goes in the blue boxes. Automated red postal stands dispense stamps, saving you the hassle of waiting in line at the post office. Post to Europe takes up to five working days, and up to seven for the rest of the world. Economy mail (or surface airlift) is about a third cheaper but takes a week or so longer.

Banks, offices, department stores and some shops close on the public holidays listed here. On New Year’s Day, Easter Sunday, Labour Day and Christmas Day, even turismos close.

New Year’s Day 1 January

Carnaval Tuesday February/March – the day before Ash Wednesday

Good Friday March/April

Liberty Day 25 April

Labour Day 1 May

Corpus Christi May/June – ninth Thursday after Easter

Portugal Day 10 June – also known as Camões and Communities Day

Feast of the Assumption 15 August

Republic Day 5 October

All Saints’ Day 1 November

Independence Day 1 December

Feast of the Immaculate Conception 8 December

Christmas Day 25 December

• Smoking Allowed in some restaurants and most bars. Restaurants that allow smoking are supposed to have separate smoking sections, but inadequate ventilation means nonsmokers will be breathing in the fumes. Many hotels still offer smoking rooms.

Prices in Portugal almost always include 23% VAT (some basic foodstuffs and services carry reduced rates of 6% and 13%, respectively). Non-EU passport holders can claim back the VAT on goods from participating retailers – be sure to ask for the tax-back forms and get them stamped by customs. Refunds are processed at the airport or via post.

To call Portugal from abroad, dial the international access code (00), then Portugal’s country code (351), then the number. All domestic numbers have nine digits, and there are no area codes. Most public phones accept phonecards only – available at most newsstands – though a few coin-operated phones are still around. You can also make calls from booths in Portugal Telecom offices and some post offices – pay when your call is finished.

Long-distance and international calls are cheaper from 9pm to 9am weekdays, all weekend and on holidays.

Portugal, like Britain, is on GMT/UTC in winter and GMT/UTC plus one hour in summer. This puts it an hour earlier than Spain year-round. Clocks are set forward by an hour on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October.

• Finding public toilets in major cities such as Lisbon and Porto can be difficult. Most towns and villages that draw tourists have free public toilets.
• The mercado municipal (municipal market) often has free toilets. These are generally fairly clean and adequately maintained.
• In more built-up areas, your best bet is to look for a toilet in a shopping centre or simply duck into a cafe.

• Turismo de Portugal, the country’s national tourist board, operates a handy website: www.visitportugal.com.
• Locally managed postos de turismo (tourist offices, usually signposted ‘turismo’) are everywhere, offering brochures and varying degrees of help with sights and accommodation.

The great thing about Portugal for children is its manageable size and the range of sights and activities on offer. There’s so much to explore and to catch the imagination, even for those with very short attention spans.

The Algarve has to be the best kid-pleasing destination in Portugal, with endless beaches, zoos, water parks, horse-riding outfits and boat trips.

Kids will also be happy in Lisbon and its outlying provinces. Attractions include: trams, puppet shows, a huge aquarium, a toy museum, horse-drawn carriages, castles, parks and playgrounds.

As for fairy-tale places, Portugal has these in spades. Some children enjoy visiting churches if they can light a candle, and they’ll enjoy the make-believe of the castles and palaces sprinkled about the country.

In towns, hop-on, hop-off tours can be good for saving small legs, and miniature resort trains often cause more excitement than you would have thought possible.

Kids are welcome just about everywhere. They can even get literary: the late Nobel Prize–winning author José Saramago wrote a charming children’s fable, The Tale of the Unknown Island, available in English.

For an entertaining guide packed with information and tips, turn to Lonely Planet’s Travel with Children.

Online resources such as Global Volunteers (www.globalvolunteers.org/portugal), Go Abroad (www.goabroad.com) and Transitions Abroad (www.transitionsabroad.com) list opportunities for volunteers in Portugal – including teaching English and helping out on social projects.

World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF; www.wwoof.pt) sometimes has opportunities in Portugal. In exchange for your volunteer help, you'll receive food and lodging, and learn about organic farming as well.

• Weights & measures Portugal uses the metric system. Decimals are indicated by commas, thousands by points.

• Women travelling alone in Portugal report few serious problems. Women should take the same precautions they'd take when travelling anywhere – be cautious where you walk after dark and don’t hitch.
• If you’re travelling with a male partner, people will expect him to do all the talking and ordering, and pay the bill. In some conservative pockets of the north, unmarried couples will save hassle by saying they’re married.
• If you’re a victim of violence or rape while you’re in Portugal, you can contact the Associação Portuguesa de Apoio à Vítima, which offers assistance for rape victims. Visit the website for office locations nationwide.

The most likely kind of work you will be able to find is teaching English, if you have Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification. If you’re in the UK, contact the British Council, or get in touch with language schools in the area where you want to teach.

Bar work is a possibility in the Algarve, particularly in Lagos; ask around. You can also try looking in the local English press for job ads.