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Long-Distance Buses in Portugal

Researched and written with AI tools from official sources. How we make our guides

How express coaches work in Portugal: the main terminals, buying tickets, free luggage, children, refunds, delays, and how to complain.

The Portugal Brief 8 min read

Long-Distance Buses in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

  • You want to travel between Portuguese towns, or into Spain, by express coach.
  • You have a coach trip booked and want to know your rights on luggage, refunds, and delays.
  • You travel with children, a pet, a bicycle, or a disability and want to plan ahead.

Not for you if: you want monthly passes for buses, metros, and trains in your city. Read Public Transport Passes in Portugal instead.

Express coaches (autocarros expresso) link most Portuguese towns, often more directly than the train. Several private companies run them, each licensed by the transport institute, IMT. You buy a ticket before you travel, online or at a terminal, and the price depends on the operator and the date. The law gives you rights whichever company you choose. You get up to 20 kg of hold luggage free, and children up to four travel free if they do not take a seat. You can get a partial refund if you cancel in time, and a full refund or compensation for long delays.

How express coaches work

An express service is a coach route of at least 50 km with few stops, using coaches built for seated passengers on longer trips. Any licensed company can apply to IMT to run one. That is why you will see several operators on the same routes, with different stops and prices.

The largest national network, Rede Expressos, says it serves over 300 destinations and is based at Sete Rios in Lisbon. Other Portuguese and international operators also run express routes, including into Spain and the rest of Europe. Compare timetables, stops, and prices on each operator's own website before you book.

Every express operator must have a website or app that shows:

  • who the operator is
  • its routes, stops, and timetables
  • its general terms of carriage and its fares
  • online booking with an electronic ticket
  • a customer support contact that is always available
  • its complaints book (livro de reclamações)

Operators must publish price changes at least five days before they start.

The main terminals

Lisbon: Sete Rios. Many express coaches use the terminal at Praça Marechal Humberto Delgado, in Sete Rios. The nearest metro station is Jardim Zoológico, which also connects to CP suburban trains. Some operators use other stops in Lisbon, so check your ticket.

Porto: Campanhã Intermodal Terminal (Terminal Intermodal de Campanhã, TIC). It is on Rua de Bonjóia, next to Campanhã train and metro station. Metro lines A, B, C, E, and F stop at Campanhã; follow the TIC signs from the platform. Inside, on the first floor, you find the ticket office, an information desk, luggage storage, lost and found, a waiting room, and live departure boards showing your boarding bay. The terminal car park has 230 spaces and a short free stop for dropping off passengers.

Other towns. Most towns have a central bus station or a stop shown on the operator's website. Évora, Lisbon Sete Rios, and Braga are Portugal's designated terminals for assisting passengers with disabilities (see below).

Buying and using your ticket

  1. Book. Use the operator's website or app, or a ticket office at a terminal.
  2. Keep your ticket. You must have it for the whole journey and show it when asked. A ticket on your phone is fine. If your ticket is digital or damaged, the invoice or receipt proves you paid.
  3. Board the right service. A ticket is valid only for the service you bought it for, unless the operator's terms allow otherwise.
  4. Arrive early. At large terminals your boarding bay appears on the departure boards.

Travelling without a valid ticket can lead to a fine. The driver can refuse to let you board if you are visibly drunk or carry dangerous objects.

Luggage, pets, and children

Luggage. On coaches with a luggage hold, the operator must carry your hold luggage free up to 20 kg per passenger. This includes suitcases and bags, folding chairs, pushchairs, portable musical instruments, and sports or work equipment packed so it cannot damage other bags. You may also keep hand luggage and personal items with you for free if they fit in the space provided. The operator's terms can set how many hand items you may bring, and what it charges above 20 kg.

Pets. You may bring one pet free, if it is not dangerous and travels in a closed carrier that fits as hand luggage. Assistance dogs travel free and need no muzzle. Dangerous and potentially dangerous dogs are not allowed.

Children. Children up to four travel free if they do not take a seat. Other child, youth, and senior discounts are set by each operator.

Bicycles. The law does not give a free right to take a bicycle. Check the operator's terms before you book.

Cancelling, changing, and refunds

If you cancel. On services with a reserved seat, you can get back up to 75% of the fare if you ask at least three hours before departure. If you simply do not travel, you get nothing back, unless the operator's own terms are more generous.

If the coach leaves late (most journeys). On Portuguese journeys under 250 km, if departure is more than 90 minutes late through the operator's fault, you can get your full fare back. If you travel anyway and arrive more than 90 minutes late through the operator's fault, you can claim 50% of the fare, unless that would be €4 or less. Neither applies if you knew about the delay when you bought the ticket, or if you travel on a pass. For delays over an hour, ask the operator for a document confirming the delay.

On long-distance services of 250 km or more, EU passenger rules apply. The 250 km is the scheduled length of the whole service, not your own trip. If your coach is cancelled or overbooked, or its departure is more than 120 minutes late, the operator must offer you a choice:

  • your money back within 14 days, plus a free return to your starting point if needed, or
  • the rest of the journey or a reroute, at no extra cost, at the earliest opportunity.

If the operator does not offer this choice, you can claim your money back plus 50% of the fare. Some journeys are scheduled to last more than three hours. On those, a delay of more than 90 minutes or a cancellation also gives you snacks or meals. If you are stranded, you also get up to two nights in a hotel at up to €80 a night. The hotel rule does not apply in severe weather or a natural disaster. You must be told about a cancellation or delay as soon as possible, and no later than 30 minutes after the scheduled departure time.

Lost or damaged luggage

If the operator loses your luggage, you can claim the value you prove, up to €1,500, or €7.50 per kilo if you cannot prove the value. These limits are updated each year for inflation. Your luggage counts as lost if it is not delivered by the eighth day after it was due. You can also claim back the fare. For damaged luggage, the operator pays the loss in value, up to the same limit.

Items left on a coach or in a terminal are kept for at least 30 days. Ask the operator or the terminal's lost and found.

Travelling with a disability or reduced mobility

On long-distance services, you have a right to free help at the designated terminals and with getting on and off the coach. If you need a companion for safety reasons, the company must carry that person free. To get help:

  1. Tell the coach company or ticket seller at least 36 hours before your trip what help you need.
  2. Go to the meeting point the operator or terminal tells you. It can ask you to arrive up to one hour before departure.

You cannot be refused transport because of a disability, except for safety reasons or because of the design of the coach or terminal. For other transport, see Using Portugal's Trains, Metros, and Buses with Reduced Mobility.

How to complain

  1. Complain to the operator first. Every operator must have a complaints book. For long-distance rights under EU rules, complain within three months of the trip. The company must reply within one month and give a final answer within three months.
  2. If you are not satisfied, contact Portugal's national enforcement body for bus passenger rights, the Authority for Mobility and Transport (AMT).
  3. Use dispute resolution. Disputes between passengers and operators can go to an alternative dispute resolution body. The European Consumer Centre can also advise on cross-border trips.

Coach or train?

The coach reaches some towns the railway does not serve. The train is usually better if you need to move around during the trip or already hold a rail pass. For train fares and timetables, check CP's own website.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Operators' fares and terms change often; check the operator's website before you book.

Sources

This guide is written from official sources and, where relevant, organisations' own websites.

Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.

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