Trying to figure out if buses and metros in Portugal take cards or if Ill need small cash. Any recent experiences?
It confused me that some buses still expect cash. In Porto, I tried boarding a bus from the university and they looked at me scornfully when I tried to hand over coins-pointed to the machine instead. I didn’t have an Andante card and had to queue at the station to buy one. The disconnect between paper route buses and card systems left my first day wasted. If you're visiting more than Lisbon or Porto, have cash on hand for smaller towns.
Portugal’s system felt smart once I understood it. The Viva Viagem card was cheap (€0.50) and charging it via card machines in Rossio and Cais do Sodré was seamless. No need to worry about coins. The trams through Belém and buses up to the airport went through smoothly. Sure, local town buses might take cash. But for central cities, it felt tech-savvy and efficient.
I stayed near Alfama in Lisbon and tried tapping my credit card on the tram-it didn’t work. I ended up using Viva Viagem; loaded €10 at Rossio station machine with my Mastercard, and it worked fine across trams, buses, and metro. On a day trip to Sintra, the tourist bus accepted cards at the stop to buy tickets, but older public buses didn't. Having both systems worked well-cash and card for tourist operators, dedicated card for city transport.
Portugal doesn’t allow direct bank cards on public transport. In Lisbon, you board via the Viva Viagem card for metro and buses-reloadable at machines in stations and kiosks. Machines accept cash and card. Porto uses an Andante card similarly. Single paper tickets are still available for buses and trams. However, some Carris boats and regional operators may take card payments from kiosks. In practice, if you visit Lisbon or Porto, cards mostly work to load fares-but you’ll need cash when paper ticket systems exist.