Mass transit pass in Lisbon

The best deal in Lisbon is the Via Viagem card. You ' load' an amount on the card and 'zap' it each time you ride the metro, tram or train. You can buy the card and add money to it at metro and train stations. If you google Lisbon Zapping card or Via Viagem, you can get more information. I also think RS includes info in his guidebooks.

Via Viagem cards are like the London Oyster cards. You load them and use them. For the metro, you swipe your card over a reader to open the turnstile leading to the trains. For use aboard the trams, you board and then swipe your card against one of the two card readers installed. We got in the habit of scanning our cards at the metro station to determine the amount of money left on the card. For our week in Lisbon, we spent about 8 Euros on our cards.

Thank you.
I have been reading other sources and find that you "swipe going in and swipe upon exiting".

I understand this, but even on TRAMS?

wayne iNWI

I assume you're also going to see some sites, right? If so, look into the all-encompassing Lisboa card and see if it makes more sense to you - it not only covers public transit, but museums/attractions as well. You can get it at the airport, among other places.
http://www.lisboacard.org/

"Lisboa Card holders can take advantage of:
- Free unlimited travel by public transport (bus, tram, metro, elevators and funiculars)
- Free travel on CP train lines to Sintra and Cascais (popular daytrip destinations)
- Free access to 26 museums, monuments and UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- Deals and discounts on visits, tours, shopping and nightlife
- Skip the line at popular attractions"

Hi,
We are in Portugal but our chip and PIN cards are refused because..."the machine only takes Portuguese cards." or the shop owner says the same. I watched a credit card transaction in a shop, then went to pay doing the same. They looked at the card and said, "We can only take Portuguese card".

Plus withdrawals from bank ATM is limited to 200 euro per transaction. So grit your teeth and make as many transactions per day as you want, but with a special fee each time.

wayne iNWI

So grit your teeth and make as many transactions per day as you want, but with a special fee each time.

I get charged 1% of total amount withdrawn per my credit union ATM (no flat per transaction fee). If you want to save your teeth, bank with a credit union. As far as the daily limit goes, is the 200 EUR imposed by the ATM or your bank? 200 EUR daily goes a long way in Portugal and no surprise that it's a largely cash-based tourist economy.

Hi,
Have now been in Lisbon 10 days. The green colored VIVA viagem card has worked great. It costs one-half euro for the card, but then you load it with money. Nice discount on fares when you use it. So it is convenient and cost effective.

It seems you can recharge the card at any major metro station. Go into the metro area, don't pass a gate, and the machines are there. The machines like euro bills and coins, not US chip/PIN cards.

wayne iNLIsboa