Comments on: The Ultimate Guide to Toll Roads in Portugal. What Every Traveler Should Know.

By: Martina

Martina — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 11:07:03 +0000

In reply to Anonymous. Wish I had read this before renting our car in Portugal... We declined to pay for the transponder service, thinking we could pay all the tolls with cash/card, but we passed by accident two electronic-only tolls and now I don't know how much of administration fees we will have to pay to Thrifty :(

By: sophie newell

sophie newell — Tue, 31 May 2022 19:02:29 +0000

In reply to Charles Kosman.

Hi
Great post. We are in Portugal at the moment and just got stung for 50 euros at an automatic booth outside Lisbon. We were totally green and didn’t even realise we had a Via Verde transponder in the hire car so paid at a couple of toll booths then one wouldn’t take euros and the disembodied voice that came from the speaker made us pay 51 euros before it opened. We didn’t know what was going on and by that time there was a queue of cars behind us so no getaway! Really annoying.
Hey ho live and learn but confusing when there’s a different system operating on the lanes and no time to make a decision.

By: Jenny vega

Jenny vega — Tue, 31 May 2022 15:59:23 +0000

The TollCard is only useful in the algarve on their roll roads. Suggest you get the via verde transponder instead for the balance of any road trip

By: Max

Max — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 09:37:31 +0000

That was maybe not the best solution, but during our time in Portugal we just decided to skip every toll road. Much slower, but rather rewarding as we managed to find some off-the-beaten tracks places!

By: Anna Robinson

Anna Robinson — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 16:36:57 +0000

I didn’t know about the tolls so now I need to pay fines to both the electronic tolls system and tue other one. I have no idea how to do this and everyone I’ve asked hasn’t known either ….. can anyone point me in the direction of a helpline or information I’m English . I need to pay the fines or I think they go up and up ….

By: T C

T C — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 08:25:09 +0000

In reply to Steve. So have you paid, how can they collect the fine, practically speaking. Or do they just keep sending paper?

By: Jacob Alexander

Jacob Alexander — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 21:09:29 +0000

I love the photos you posted, its amazing especially the valley. Thanks for sharing your travels and experience with everyone. Keep it up and continue sharing magnificent journey in Portugal.

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 19:44:15 +0000

In May 2019, we drove in a Spanish rental car from Seville to Lisbon and Porto, and exited through northern Portugal into Galicia. I read everything I could on the Portugal toll roads, including this site, and thought I understood it. Because we were crossing over the southeast border from Spain on a quiet two-lane highway, the IP-8, an east-west toll-free road that had no EASYtoll dispenser, I decided to buy a €20.00 TOLLcard online at tollcard.pt before we entered the country.
Understand that as a non-resident of Portugal, you cannot create an account on the CTT website because it requires a permanent Portuguese address. You can purchase the TOLLcard with your credit card, however, receiving only a confirmatory email that you bought it. The website says you can get a refund of any unused balance.
When we did encounter the toll roads, starting with the A-2 south of Lisbon, and later the A-12, A-8, and E-1 all the way to the northern border, we were always confronted with toll stations that required cash payment. We were never able to use the TOLLcard.
At that time, I was unable to find out online what payments the different toll roads would require or accept. In Lisbon, I went to the main visitor center at the downtown plaza, Praça de Comércio, and asked them about it, and they threw up their hands and said the road tolls in Portugal were incomprehensible. These were the official tourist representatives! In Porto, realizing that we were unlikely to be able to use our TOLLcard, I went to a post office but was told there was no way they could interact with an online purchase.
After returning to the US, I emailed a request for a refund of the unused €20. I was assigned a ticket number and asked to provide identification documents, proof of online purchase of the tollcard (all I had was an email), and a copy of the rental agreement. I sent all that back, then received a reply that asked for all that info again, plus “Proof of IBAN issued by the bank or taken from Homebanking with the name of the bank account holder/BIC/SWIFT.” After a couple more email exchanges, it became clear that bureaucratic obstructionism would prevent me from ever getting the refund.
So my recommendations on the horrible Portuguese toll road system is to do the EASYtoll if you are entering at one of the four border points where they have a dispenser. Since my trip, they now have a map (https://gotoportugal.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Mapa-estradas-Portugal.jpg) which shows color-coded electronic toll roads that presumably accept the TOLLcard. If you are not entering the country on the A-22, A-24, or A-25, you should be able to avoid the electronic toll roads and pay cash. Or, just don’t drive into Portugal.

By: Cato

Cato — Sat, 27 Jul 2019 10:36:22 +0000

In reply to Anon. I can confirm your links work now 07/19. A Brit living in the Netherlands I hired a car in Bordeaux to drive to the Lisbon environs. Just before the Portuguese border with Spain there was a sign informing me of the exclusivity of automatic tolls. I stopped in the café at the former border and asked what I should do. I was told at the service station further up it would become clear clear. Indeed it did. There was a sign saying foreign cars yeah and I was greeted by an agent who asked if I knew the system. I didn't but she explained the easy total linked the car number plate with a credit card. It would be valid for 30 days and I could cancel it at any time . I too was confused at the portagem outside Porto, not being clear whether I was an aderente for ViaVerde, eventually correctly plumping for the cash payment lanes. On leaving Porto I couldn't find my receipt, and a Portuguese friend was able to retrieve the unique reference number. Thank heavens! I was unfortunate enough to lose the credit card linked to the car. I phone by credit card company and asked what the take was , but they didn't know.. I phoned the number on the Portugal tolls website and after patiently listening through the recorded info in Portuguese clicked on the English option. As I am driving back tomorrow (a Sunday) I didn't want to get stung! The operator was fantastically helpful, canceling the existing coupling and proposing two solutions. She suggested either leaving Portugal, turning around immediately and linking another card in the same way as I had done in the first place: this would then collect all automatic tolls incurred over the course of the day. The option I chose was to buy a 10euro card online. No problem at all. It was not possible to change the card linkage online. In response to an earlier comment, the tolls are collected cumulatively at the end of the 30 days, so there is as far as I am aware no issue with multiple foreign cc usage. Also, the administration fee?74cents is paid the start. I haven't had the bill yet, but it would surprise me if there were a surcharge for each gantry. Thanks for all the info.

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 16:39:59 +0000

We have just received a bill from europarking collection plc (3/6/19) from when we were in Portugal four years ago… We were driving a rental car that we assumed had a electronic thingy in it!