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Public Transport Passes in Portugal

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

Which monthly pass you need in Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, or the Algarve, the €20 national rail pass, free travel for under 23s, and discounts.

The Portugal Brief 9 min read

Public Transport Passes in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

  • You live in Portugal, or are moving here, and want to know which monthly pass fits you.
  • You live around Porto, Coimbra, or the Algarve, or travel between regions by train.
  • You are 23 or under, over 65, on a low income, or paying for a family.

Not for you if: you live in the Lisbon area and want the step by step for the card. Read Getting a Navegante Pass in Lisbon instead.

Updated October 2026. Since September 2026 the €20 national rail pass also covers CP's urban trains in Lisbon and Porto. From 1 October 2026 the Coimbra pass covers CP trains and regional buses too.

Portugal has cheap monthly passes, but each region runs its own. In the Lisbon and Porto areas, one pass covers buses, metro, and suburban trains: €40 a month for the whole area, or €30 for one municipality. Young people aged 23 or under travel free on those networks. A separate €20 national rail pass covers most CP trains across the mainland. Getting a personal card usually takes a visit to a ticket office and costs €3 to €7.

Which pass you need

Start with where you live and how you travel.

  • You live in the Lisbon area. You need a navegante pass. See the Lisbon guide linked above for the card steps.
  • You live in the Porto area. You need an Andante pass. If your tax address is in the city of Porto, you can travel free.
  • You commute only by CP train. Compare the €20 national rail pass with your local pass. It is now often cheaper.
  • You live in or around Coimbra. You need a MOVE-C pass.
  • You live elsewhere on the mainland. Look for your town's or region's own pass. The Algarve is covered below.
  • You travel long distance often. The national rail pass can sit alongside your local pass.

Lisbon: the navegante pass

The Lisbon metropolitan area covers 18 municipalities. These are the monthly prices for 2026:

PassPrice a month
navegante metropolitano (whole area)€40
navegante municipal (one municipality)€30
navegante metropolitano +65€20
navegante municipal +65€15
navegante família metropolitano (whole household)€80
navegante família municipal (whole household)€60

Young people aged 23 or under travel free. People over 65 whose tax address is in the city of Lisbon can travel free on the city's transport, under the council's conditions. A personal navegante card costs €7, or €12 for an urgent card.

Porto: the Andante pass

One Andante pass works on the lines and operators of the Porto area's shared ticket system, including Metro do Porto, STCP buses, and CP urban trains. Pass prices have not changed for 2026.

Andante monthly prices

PassNormalOver 65 (25% off)Family (whole household)
Andante 3Z or Municipal (three zones, or one municipality)€30€22.50€60
Andante Metropolitano (all zones)€40€30€80
Andante 3Z IR or Municipal IR (adds neighbouring zones outside the Porto area)€40€30€80
Andante Metropolitano IR (all zones, inside and outside the area)€50€37.50€100
  • Family pass: each member of the household gets a pass, and the household pays the price of two.
  • IR passes: these reach the neighbouring regions of Ave, Cávado, Tâmega e Sousa, and Aveiro.
  • Andante plus CP: a combined pass costs €50.
  • Veterans (antigos combatentes): passes are free or reduced, depending on age and zone, if your tax address is in one of the 17 Porto area municipalities.

Occasional trips

If you travel only now and then, load single trips onto the blue Andante card, which costs €0.60. A single Z2 trip costs €1.40, and a Z3 trip costs €1.85. Longer trips cost up to €3.25 for Z6. A 24 hour Z2 ticket costs €5.35. Buy 10 identical single trips and you get one more free.

Free travel for Porto residents

If your tax address (domicílio fiscal) is in the municipality of Porto, you can travel free across the whole Porto metropolitan area. This started in July 2026. Students who study and live in Porto also qualify, even with a tax address elsewhere. People who only work or only study in Porto, and live elsewhere, do not qualify.

  1. Get a Cartão Porto, the free city resident card. Apply at cartao.porto.pt or at a council service point.
  2. Students without a Porto tax address show proof of enrolment, plus a rent receipt or a water, electricity, or gas bill in their name for a Porto address.
  3. If your Cartão Porto already has a chip, go to an Andante shop or a Payshop agent and swap your occasional trips for the free metropolitan pass.
  4. If your card has no chip, activate the service at cartao.porto.pt or at a council service point.

The free pass works like any Andante pass: you validate it on every trip. You renew it once a year. If you are 23 or under, keep using the free youth pass instead.

Getting a personal Andante card

For a monthly pass you need a personal card (Andante prateado). It costs €6, or €3 for young people. It lasts five years. Get it at an Andante shop or an Andante sales point in your municipality. You can then top it up at Andante shops, ticket machines in Metro and CP stations, Payshop agents, and Multibanco ATMs.

The €20 national rail pass (Passe Ferroviário Verde)

This CP pass costs €20 for 30 days, €40 for 60 days, or €60 for 90 days. Portuguese citizens and foreign residents of Portugal can buy it. No other discounts apply to it.

What it covers

  • Regional and InterRegional trains.
  • Intercidades trains in second class, with a free seat booking.
  • CP urban trains in Coimbra, Lisbon, and Porto.

What it does not cover

  • Alfa Pendular trains.
  • Intercidades in first class.
  • Metro, buses, trams, and ferries. It is a train only pass.
  • Fertagus trains across the Tagus, for now. The government has said the pass will be extended to the Fertagus line, but CP's own page does not yet list it.

Rules you must follow

  • Intercidades seat booking. Book your free seat on the CP app, the CP website, or a machine at a Lisbon area station. CP says you book within the 24 hours before the train starts its journey. You can book two journeys a day. Without a booking you count as travelling without a ticket.
  • Lisbon urban trains. Validate the pass at the station before every trip, even if you are changing from another CP train.
  • The card. The pass is loaded onto a personal CP card. Apply for one at a CP ticket office, or online with the Digital Mobile Key (Chave Móvel Digital). You then buy the pass in the CP app, on cp.pt, at ticket offices, or at Lisbon area machines.

Who should switch

If you only use CP trains inside the Lisbon or Porto areas, the €20 pass can replace a €30 or €40 local pass. The government estimates savings of up to €480 a year for some commuters. Keep the local pass if you also use metro, buses, or ferries. You cannot combine the two at a reduced price.

The free youth pass does not include the national rail pass. Young people pay the normal €20.

Who travels free or pays less

Young people aged 23 or under

If you are 23 or under, you can travel free on the Lisbon and Porto networks. You do not have to be a student. In Porto the youth pass covers ages 4 to 23. Some university students on long integrated degrees (such as medicine, architecture, and dentistry) keep it until 25. You need a personal card and your Citizen Card (Cartão de Cidadão) or other identity document as proof of age. Coimbra's MOVE-C pass is also free for under 23s.

People over 65

  • Lisbon area: the navegante +65 costs €20 for the whole area. Lisbon tax residents over 65 can travel free in the city.
  • Porto area: over 65s get 25% off, so the Metropolitano costs €30. Porto tax residents of any age can use the free metropolitan pass.
  • Elsewhere: ask your local operator.

People on a low income (Circula PT)

Circula PT gives 50% or 25% off monthly passes, including navegante, Andante, and CP passes.

  • 50% off: you receive the solidarity supplement for older people (complemento solidário para idosos) or social integration income (rendimento social de inserção), or you have a disability of more than 60%.
  • 25% off: you are a pensioner, or you receive unemployment benefit, and your monthly amount is at or below 1.2 times the social support index (IAS). Households qualify too if gross monthly income per person is at or below that line.

In 2026, 1.2 times the IAS is €644.56 a month. To apply, bring:

  • your Citizen Card or other official identity document
  • your latest income statement and its tax assessment
  • for disability, your multipurpose disability certificate (atestado médico de incapacidade multiuso)
  • for households, statements from the tax office and Social Security confirming your household and benefits, issued in the 15 days before you apply

If you already have a CP card, CP asks you to request a new one to get the discount.

Regional passes outside Lisbon and Porto

Outside the two metropolitan areas, each region sets its own passes.

  • Coimbra (MOVE-C): €30 a month for one municipality, €35 for two neighbouring municipalities, and €40 for the whole Coimbra region. From 1 October 2026 it covers the Metrobus, SMTUC city buses, SIT Metropolitano regional buses, and CP trains. Under 23s and veterans travel free, and Circula PT discounts apply. A new card costs €6. Your first load must be in person at an SMTUC, SIT Metropolitano, or Metro Mondego shop.
  • Algarve (Passe Algarve): €40 a month for every route on the Vamus regional bus network, except the airport express (AeroBus). It does not cover trains. Older Vamus passes that cost less than €40 keep their price.
  • Braga: the city bus company, TUB, sets its own passes. Check its fares page for current prices.
  • Madeira and the Azores: the island operators run their own passes. Ask them directly.

For anywhere else, ask your town hall (câmara municipal) or regional bus operator which pass covers your trips. Many towns also run cheap town buses.

How to get a pass card

The steps are much the same everywhere.

  1. Pick the pass that fits your trips.
  2. Get a personal card from the operator. Bring your identity document and, for discounts, proof of age, income, or student status.
  3. Load your monthly pass at a ticket office, machine, Multibanco ATM, or the operator's app.
  4. Validate the card at the start of every trip, even with a free pass.

What it costs to travel without a valid ticket

Inspectors check tickets on every network. Travelling with no ticket, an expired ticket, or a ticket you did not validate is an offence. The national transport regulator (Autoridade da Mobilidade e dos Transportes) gives these fines:

  • Urban and regional transport (trips up to 50 km): €120 to €350.
  • Long distance and InterRegional trains: €250 to €700.

If you pay on the spot to the inspector, or to the operator within 15 working days, you pay half the minimum: €60 on urban and regional transport.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Fares and rules change; check the operator's own page before you act.

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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