The Journal 6 min read
Cash, cards, ATMs and tipping in Portugal
Which currency to carry in Portugal, where cards work, ATM fees to dodge, and exactly who to tip and how much.
By The One Happy Aruba Team · Updated Sep 30, 2026 · How we know
Bottom line: Portugal runs on the euro and on contactless — tap your card or phone for the metro, the tram, the hotel and most restaurants, and keep €20–50 in cash for the small cafés, markets and tips that still want it. Withdraw from Multibanco bank-network ATMs, which charge no fee, never the yellow Euronet machines, and always decline the offer to pay in dollars. Tipping is not expected anywhere; round up or leave 5–10% when someone earns it and nobody will chase you for more.
The currency, and whether dollars work
Euros only. U.S. dollars are not accepted anywhere — not at the hotel, not by the tuk tuk driver, not "just this once" at the market. Don't bring greenbacks to exchange, either; the rate at an airport bureau is worse than any card, and there's no reason to carry two currencies when an ATM is in every terminal.
Prices are quoted in euros with the symbol after the number in most menus (12,50 €) and a comma for the decimal. A quick mental rule for Americans: a euro is a bit more than a dollar, so the number on the menu is roughly the number on your statement plus a little.
Cards, contactless and dynamic currency conversion
Contactless works almost everywhere. Visa and Mastercard are universal; American Express less so outside the bigger hotels. Phone wallets tap the same terminals, including the Lisbon metro gates and the trams, so you can arrive with no cash and ride into town.
Two exceptions travelers keep flagging. Smaller tascas and family restaurants — the kind with a handwritten menu and the best food of your trip — often operate cash-only, and some have a card minimum. Check before you order, or just carry enough to cover a €30 lunch. Markets, some kiosks and public toilets are the other holdouts.
Dynamic currency conversion is the thing to watch. When a card terminal or ATM asks whether you'd like to pay in USD or EUR, it's offering to convert at its own rate, which is reliably worse than your bank's. Choose euros, every time. The prompt sometimes phrases it as "with conversion" or "without conversion" — without is what you want.
Bring a card with no foreign transaction fees, and a second card in a different pocket in case the first is lost to a tram pickpocket. Tell your bank the dates; a declined card at a Douro quinta is a bad look.
ATMs: which ones and how much
The machines you want say Multibanco — Portugal's shared bank network, found outside every bank and inside supermarkets, stations and malls. They charge no fee on their side (your bank may charge its own), give a fair rate, and let you choose euros without a conversion pitch.
The machines you don't want are the bright yellow Euronet ATMs that cluster around the tourist streets, airports and cruise terminals. They push dynamic currency conversion hard and add fees on top. If you find yourself at one, decline the conversion and take the smallest amount you need — or better, walk a block.
Practical notes: Multibanco machines cap a single withdrawal, so plan on a couple of trips rather than one big pull. Use a machine in a bank lobby or a busy street; skip the isolated one in the alley at midnight. And take euros, not dollars, from the machine at the airport before you meet your driver.
How much cash for a week
Less than you think. A couple using cards for hotels, restaurants and tours can get through a week on €100–150 in cash, withdrawn in two or three goes, covering:
- Espresso and pastéis at counter cafés that don't take cards
- Market stalls and the odd kiosk
- Tips on the table, in coins and notes
- A tasca lunch or two that's cash-only
- Public toilets, the ferry in Tavira, small church entries
Keep €20–50 on you at any time and top up when it drops. If you'll be in the countryside — Alentejo villages, Douro backroads — carry a little more, since ATMs thin out and the village café is definitely cash-only.
Who to tip and how much
The starting point is that tipping is not expected in Portugal. Service is a job with a wage, not a wager on your generosity, and a round-up or a small note is a genuine thank-you rather than an obligation. Here's what travelers actually do:
| Who | What's normal | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant server | Round up, or 5–10% for good service | Leave cash on the table; card machines rarely ask |
| Café or bar | Round up to the euro, or leave the coins | Nothing at the counter |
| Taxi, Uber, Bolt | Round up to the nearest euro or two | The apps have a tip button; it's optional |
| Tour guide | €5–10 per person for a good day | Free walking tours run on tips — €10 is fair |
| Private driver or transfer | Round up, or €5–10 for a long day | Not expected on a fixed-price airport run |
| Porter or bellhop | €1–2 per bag | Only in the bigger hotels that have one |
| Housekeeping | Not expected; €1–2 a day if you like | Leave it visible with a note |
| Spa or salon | Not expected; 5–10% if exceptional | Ask at the desk if they add it to the bill |
| Hotel concierge | Nothing, or €5 for a real favor | A hard-to-get table, not a map |
The 20% reflex you carry from home reads as odd here, and in a small tasca can even embarrass the owner. If the service was warm and the bill was €40, leaving €43 or €44 is right. If a guide gave you a genuinely great day in the Douro or on a Lisbon food tour, €10 a head says so.
One quirk: because tips go on the table rather than the card machine, you need the cash. This is the main reason to keep €20–50 on you — not because Portugal is a cash economy, but because its tipping is.
Hotel norms
Hotels quote and charge in euros; if your booking site showed dollars, that was its conversion, and the front desk will settle in euros. A pre-authorization hold on your card at check-in is normal. Tourist tax is a separate line: Lisbon and Porto and a number of Algarve councils charge a small per-night municipal tax, paid at the hotel, so don't be surprised by a few euros on the final bill. Tipping hotel staff follows the table above: bags, housekeeping if you want, otherwise nothing. Browse hotels to compare what's included.
What travelers report
The consistent thread from the Facebook groups is that people arrive over-prepared for cash and under-prepared for the tasca that doesn't take cards. Several posters describe small places refusing plastic outright and advise checking before you order; others put it more broadly: carry local currency for tips, small purchases, transport and facilities — bathrooms, in other words. A Vodafone eSIM gets praised for reliable coverage, which matters here because your banking app and the Uber and Bolt apps (travelers keep both and compare fares) are how you handle money on the move. And the pure-tourist habits worth dropping: buy your tinned sardines at the supermarket, where Ramirez and Bom Petisco are the brands locals name, rather than the boutique at three times the price; and buy river-cruise tickets at the pier rather than online, since several operators run the same bridges route.
For the bigger picture on what a week costs at each tier, see how much a Portugal trip costs and run your own numbers in the planner. The getting around guide covers transit cards and the trains, which is where most of your euros in coins will end up.