Riding in Portugal - Tips?

[BumbleBeeDave]

The bike tour company I work for is sending me on this tour to do marketing photography. My only assigned duties are to ride, schmooze the guests, and shoot great stills and video.

https://ciclismoclassico.com/tours/b...ross-portugal/

I'll be riding one of these, so should be able to give some feedback when I get back.

Flying Air France into Paris then over to Lisbon. Travel tips?

Any other tips for just about anything in Portugal? Customs? Useful phrases? Bike related? How to avoid problems?

Thanks for any information!

BBD

[BumbleBeeDave]

What's the best way to get some Euros? At departing airport? After arrival in Lisbon?

Thanks.

[ltwtsculler91]

Originally Posted by BumbleBeeDave

What's the best way to get some Euros? At departing airport? After arrival in Lisbon?

Thanks.

Exchange rate will be better with your bank here, figure 500-1000 depending on where you'll be and the amount you'll be out. I like to carry some extra cash to cover in case anything goes wrong with my card or otherwise.

Most places do take cards, so I tend to use those when I'm in Europe and save the cash for the cafe or other quick stops. Can't say much about Portugal other than everyone I know really enjoys their time there. My family is all in Spain so we're usually on that side of the Peninsula.

[paredown]

Originally Posted by ltwtsculler91

Exchange rate will be better with your bank here, figure 500-1000 depending on where you'll be and the amount you'll be out. I like to carry some extra cash to cover in case anything goes wrong with my card or otherwise.

Most places do take cards, so I tend to use those when I'm in Europe and save the cash for the cafe or other quick stops. Can't say much about Portugal other than everyone I know really enjoys their time there. My family is all in Spain so we're usually on that side of the Peninsula.

Jealous!

FWIW, it's worth checking if your credit cards charge a foreign currency transaction fee, and use the one that doesn't. Also worth notifying the card that you are going to use that there will be foreign transactions coming.

Also check what the deal is with your phone--we used to (as a matter of course) buy a cheap prepaid SIM, but last trip to Italy we found out that the phone we had could not use a Euro SIM. Lot of people on the forum are Apple peeps, so I have no idea how roaming (etc) is handled.

We have Portugal and Asturias, Spain on our list so we need a report after the fact!

[makoti]

Went last year with Trek. Was in Lisbon for a day, the out to a region near the Spanish border.
Every last person spoke much better English than my basic Portuguese. Even the random guy on the street I stopped to ask directions. The pleasantries are polite, of course, but past that I wouldn't be too concerned.
Granted, almost everyone I came in contact was in the tourism trade, but everyone was helpful and friendly.

Lisbon is much hillier than I expected. Bring good walking shoes. Take a tour bus trip around town to get a feel for it. Only took the train/subway to/from the airport, but very easy to understand and navigate.

Every place takes Visa from what I could tell (with Trek, I never reached for my wallet anywhere except Lisbon), and I called my card company (Capital One) to tell them I was going, and they told me we don't bother with that anymore.

I got an e-sim for my phone for $10 that covered me for the week. It was only good for Portugal, but there are others for the EU, longer durations, more data. I think mine was 7GB, which was plenty. Easy to install and use. MUCH cheaper than roaming with Verizon or their travel card plans. I think those were $10 a day. If it matters and you have Youtube TV, it will not work on your tablet or phone. Geofenced. I got a VPN and was able to watch what I wanted while resting in my hotel.

In Sept, but the weather was hot, clear, and dry for the entire week I was there.

Have fun. I loved it there.

[FastCanon]

We were just there. Lisbon was not a bicycle friendly city, but it seems you're going away from the city. It's like San Francisco - hills, Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars and a lot of things happening.

One thing to note. We took some taxis, and they are prohibitively expensive. When we used Bolt, it was 1/3 the cost so we tipped him a lot. And if you don't eat bread or cheese, etc., don't touch them when they bring them out. They charge you for them.

Bring your sunblock and a couple boxes of your bars/gels. They probably don't have the brands that you're used to and on a long ride, it can make a difference. We didn't see supermarket where we were staying.

[jemoryl]

Originally Posted by BumbleBeeDave

What's the best way to get some Euros? At departing airport? After arrival in Lisbon?

Thanks.

The best way is to only use an ATM labeled “Multibanco” or “MB”, which is easy because it is a system associated with all the major banks. You will see other ATMs (IIRC especially the ones with orange signs), but they will give you a poor exchange rate. The other tip: the machine will ask you if you want to use their conversion rate. Select “Decline” (sometimes it asks twice) - this will cause the conversion to be done by your bank, likely at a better rate.

BTW, I once took 200 euros out on arrival at Frankfurt airport while waiting to transfer planes to Madrid. The Deutsche Bank ATM spit out a 100 euro note as part of the transaction. I found it almost impossible to spend in Spain and rural Portugal.

Country riding should be a blast, but I wouldn’t ride in Lisbon or Porto. Drivers are aggressive, but not mean. I found taxis to be cheap relative to the US. Try traditional foods and wine, very good and inexpensive at the right places. Bring good walking shoes.

[joeminglin]

Portugal is great and very safe! We have a place in the Azores islands. Lisbon is a nice sized city with lots to see and do. The majority of people speak English but have your Google Translate ready. For euros, try to avoid the ATMS in the airport. They charge pretty hefty fees. Use the ones at the banks if you really want cash. CC use is very common and I try to avoid using cash...but we have a bank acct in PT.

I use a Solis hotspot and just pay by the gig ($8). You do need to buy the hardware. A gig can last me a week if I don't spend time death scrolling. Coverage has been very good.

Enjoy!

[PSC]

When I flew in the Air Force, I just used wifi calling. I got stung by some pretty hefty roaming charges, so I just kept my phone in airplane mode. I have T mobile and they have a good international plan, just never used it.

[mstateglfr]

Advice- they drive on the right side over there and use metric.

[Spinner]

Originally Posted by joeminglin

CC use is very common and I try to avoid using cash.

When using a CC at a restaurant, you will not find line item space for a tip on the payment form. Tipping is done discretely and in cash.

If English is not spoken, Spanish fluency is common.

Enjoy your trip.

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by BumbleBeeDave

What's the best way to get some Euros? At departing airport? After arrival in Lisbon?

Thanks.

Not ever at airports. Do this with your bank. You may need to coordinate in advance, depending upon the significance of your bank. That’s no shade - I bank with a super local credit union and suspect they don’t keep Euros on property, though I don’t know.

But airport money exchanges and ATMs generally aren’t consumer friendly ways to get cash.

Regarding tipping: do a search on local customs and tipping traditions. It’s not universal and not in the same manner as in the States. Often a few coins of Euros, not 15-25% like is customary in the US. Find out what’s customary where you’re going.

[weisan]

Riding 450 miles across Portugal in 3 days with Laurens ten Dam and Ted King on a Pinarello Dogma - Ben Delaney
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgLwlXRo_GU

[BumbleBeeDave]

Thanks to all!

Euros-I'm getting these at my bank locally for tipping, etc. and will make sure to get smaller bills.

Phone-I already checked with my carrier and will forego the international calling and just use email to communicate. I'm essentially working on this trip and "on duty" dawn to dusk filling a looong shoot request list from the owner.

Language - I've already got Google Translate loaded in my phone

Weather for all next week calls for highs in the mid 70's and overnight low's in the 60's and negligible chance for rain.

We have a native Portugese guide, so he will e there to answer questions.

We are van shuttling from Lisbon to near the eastern border, then riding back essentially southwest to the Atlantic, then van shuttle back to Lisbon.

Any further advice is much appreciated.

[jemoryl]

Originally Posted by saab2000

Not ever at airports. Do this with your bank. You may need to coordinate in advance, depending upon the significance of your bank. That’s no shade - I bank with a super local credit union and suspect they don’t keep Euros on property, though I don’t know.

But airport money exchanges and ATMs generally aren’t consumer friendly ways to get cash.

Regarding tipping: do a search on local customs and tipping traditions. It’s not universal and not in the same manner as in the States. Often a few coins of Euros, not 15-25% like is customary in the US. Find out what’s customary where you’re going.

Last October I spent a few weeks in Portugal and took out some cash from the Multibanco ATM at the Santander Bank branch on the departure level of Porto Airport. You will be OK if you use these ATMs. Unfortunately, the ripoff ATMs (apparently a US company...go figure!) are at the arrivals level..don't remember what they have in Lisbon.

BTW, there are three cellular providers in Portugal: NOS, MEO and Vodaphone. All are said to have a similar level of service and shops are easy to find. I went to a NOS shop near where I was staying and the guy there sent me to a kiosk in the same center where they sold prepaid SIMs. He smirkingly told me their pre-paid brand is called ***. Purchased a 1 month *** card with a Portuguese phone number (unlimited) and 30 G data plan for around 12 euros. Coverage and service was very good, and I could have my phone serve as a wifi hotspot for a laptop if needed.

Just realized W-T-F is a banned acronym!