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Getting a Navegante Pass in Lisbon

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

Which Navegante pass to buy in the Lisbon area, what it costs, who travels free or pays less, and how to get the personal card and load it.

The Portugal Brief 7 min read

Getting a Navegante Pass in Lisbon

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

  • You live, work, or study in one of the 18 municipalities of the Lisbon metropolitan area.
  • You want a monthly pass for the Metro, buses, trams, suburban trains, or ferries.
  • You want to know which tier to buy, or whether you travel free or pay less.

Not for you if: you live in Porto or elsewhere, or want the national rail pass. Read Public Transport Passes in Portugal instead.

Updated October 2026. Since the third week of September 2026, the €20 national rail pass also covers CP urban trains in Lisbon. That may suit people who commute only by CP train.

The Navegante is the monthly travel pass for the Lisbon metropolitan area. One pass covers the Metro, Carris, Carris Metropolitana, CP suburban trains, Fertagus, and the Tagus ferries. It costs €40 a month for the whole area, or €30 for one municipality. People aged 23 or under travel free, and people aged 65 or over pay €20. You load the pass on a personal Navegante card, which costs €7 and takes 10 working days, or €12 for next working day.

Which pass to choose

There are two main tiers.

  • Navegante Metropolitano, €40 a month. Unlimited travel on public transport across all 18 municipalities. Choose it if you cross municipal borders, for example Cascais to Lisbon or Almada to Lisbon.
  • Navegante Municipal, €30 a month. Unlimited travel inside one municipality you choose. Choose it if you live and work in the same municipality.

The 18 municipalities are Alcochete, Almada, Amadora, Barreiro, Cascais, Lisboa, Loures, Mafra, Moita, Montijo, Odivelas, Oeiras, Palmela, Seixal, Sesimbra, Setúbal, Sintra, and Vila Franca de Xira.

You can change tier from one month to the next. Just load a different pass for the next month.

Is a pass worth it for you?

A single Metro trip costs €1.72 with pay-as-you-go credit (zapping). So the €40 pass pays for itself after about 24 trips a month. That is roughly one return trip on 12 working days. If you travel less, use pay as you go (see below).

Discounts and free travel

Check these before you pay the full price.

Who you areWhat you pay each month
Aged 23 or underFree (Metropolitano)
Aged 65 or over€20 (Metropolitano +65)
Aged 65 or over, with your tax address in LisbonFree on the Navegante Urbano, inside the city
Household of three or more€80 Metropolitano or €60 Municipal in total
Low income, 25% off (Circula PT bracket B)€30 Metropolitano, €22.50 Municipal, or €15 for +65
Low income, 50% off (Circula PT bracket A)€20 Metropolitano, €15 Municipal, or €10 for +65
Former combatant (antigo combatente) aged 65 or overFree (Metropolitano)
Former combatant under 65Free (Municipal)

Young people

If you are 23 or under, you travel free across the whole area. You do not have to be a student. You prove your age with your identity document. You still need a personal card, which costs €3.50 for you instead of €7.

Aged 65 or over

The Navegante +65 costs €20 a month for the whole area. If you also qualify for Circula PT, it drops to €15 or €10.

If you are 65 or over and your tax address (domicílio fiscal) is in the municipality of Lisbon, you can travel free inside the city on the Navegante Urbano. Lisbon City Council pays for this pass.

Families

The family pass (Navegante Família) is for a household of at least three people with the same tax address in the Lisbon metropolitan area. The household pays at most the price of two passes: €80 for Metropolitano or €60 for Municipal. Each person needs their own personal card.

To join, you fill in an access request form and prove the household. Typical documents are:

  • a household composition or tax address certificate from the tax office (Finanças) for each person
  • the cover page of the household's income tax return, or proof of exemption
  • identity documents
  • civil registry certificates showing how you are related

Apply at an operator's counter or, with Carris, start online. Children aged 23 or under already travel free, so the family pass helps most when three or more adults share a home.

Low income (Circula PT)

Circula PT replaced the old social pass in January 2025. It gives discounts on passes all over the country.

  • 50% off (bracket A): you receive the solidarity supplement for the elderly (CSI) or the social integration income (RSI), or you have a permanent disability of more than 60%.
  • 25% off (bracket B): you are a pensioner, or long-term unemployed or on unemployment benefit, with monthly income no higher than 1.2 times the social support index (IAS). Households qualify when gross monthly income per person is at or below the same line. In 2026 that is €644.56 a month.

Apply in person at an operator counter with your identity document and your latest income tax return and assessment. For disability, bring your medical disability certificate instead of income papers.

What the pass covers

The Navegante Metropolitano works on all services of these operators:

  • Metropolitano de Lisboa (the four Metro lines).
  • Carris (city buses, trams, and funiculars).
  • Carris Metropolitana (buses across the other municipalities).
  • Fertagus (the train over the 25 de Abril bridge to Setúbal).
  • MTS (the south bank light rail in Almada and Seixal).
  • Transtejo and Soflusa ferries across the Tagus.
  • Local operators such as Scotturb, Mobi Cascais, and TCB in Barreiro.

On CP trains it covers the Sintra, Cascais, Sado, and Cintura lines in full. It covers the Azambuja line only as far as Carregado, and the Oeste line only as far as Jerumelo.

It does not cover CP long-distance trains (Alfa Pendular and Intercidades).

How to get the card

You need a personal Navegante card (navegante personalizado) for any monthly pass. Its old name was the Lisboa Viva card.

What to bring

  • Your identity document: citizen card, EU identity card, or passport.
  • A recent colour passport photo with a plain background.
  • Proof for any discount, such as a Circula PT approval.

Steps

  1. Choose where to apply. You can apply online in the Metro shop, or in person at Metro station ticket offices. The Ponto Navegante at Alameda station issues standard cards quickly.
  2. Choose normal or urgent. A normal card takes 10 working days and costs €7. An urgent card takes one working day and costs €12. For young people with free travel, these cost €3.50 and €6.
  3. Collect the card, or receive it if you applied online.
  4. Load your first monthly pass.

The card is valid for five years. If it stops working within three years and shows no damage, it is replaced free. Otherwise you pay for a new card. If you lose it, report it at once at an operator's counter with your identity document, so the card is blocked.

How to load your monthly pass

You can load a pass:

  • at ticket machines in Metro, train, and ferry stations
  • at ticket offices and operator counters
  • at Multibanco cash machines

A monthly pass covers one calendar month. You can buy next month's pass from the 26th of the month before. If you load it mid-month, you still pay the full price.

If you only travel now and then

You do not need a monthly pass for occasional trips. Use the occasional card (navegante ocasional) instead. It costs €0.50 and you can reload it for a year. It is for one person only.

  • A single Carris and Metro ticket costs €1.90.
  • Pay-as-you-go credit (zapping) costs €1.72 per Metro trip.
  • On the Metro, you can also tap a contactless bank card for €1.92.
  • A 24-hour Carris and Metro ticket costs €7.25. With the Cacilhas ferry, it costs €10.35. With CP trains, it costs €11.40.

If you commute only by CP train

Since the third week of September 2026, the €20 a month national rail pass (Passe Ferroviário Verde) also covers CP urban trains in Lisbon. If you only take CP trains, for example Sintra to Rossio, it may cost less than a Navegante. It does not cover the Metro or buses. The government says it will also extend to the Fertagus line. See the public transport passes guide linked above for how the rail pass works.

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Prices and rules change; check the operator's site before you buy.

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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