The Journal 7 min read
Tram 28 and Pickpockets: How to Ride Lisbon's Famous Tram Without Losing Your Wallet
Tram 28 is a real commuter line that tourists have turned into a rolling queue. When to ride it, where to board to get a seat, how the pickpocket crews work, and the tuk-tuk and hill-tram alternatives.
By The One Happy Aruba Team · Updated Sep 30, 2026 · How we know
Ride Tram 28 before 9 a.m. or after 7 p.m., board at one of the two ends — Martim Moniz or Campo de Ourique — so you get a seat, and keep your bag in front of you with your phone zipped away. Ridden that way it's a lovely 45 minutes of tilework and hills for the price of a metro fare. Ridden at 2 p.m. from the middle of the route it's a 40-minute queue for a standing spot in the one place in Lisbon where pickpockets work full-time.
The verdict
Tram 28 is worth it once, on your terms. If your terms are "we have a free hour at midday in July," skip it: take the 12 loop, the 24 through Príncipe Real or the 15 to Belém, all of which use the same card and none of which attract a queue. And if what you actually want is the hills and the viewpoints without the crush, a tuk-tuk from $18 a person does the same route with commentary and stops. The Lisbon base guide covers which neighborhoods you'll pass through; the getting around guide covers the card you'll need for all of them.
Tram 28 vs the alternatives
| Option | Cost | Wait | Crowd | Pickpocket risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tram 28 (Martim Moniz to Campo de Ourique) | Card fare, or roughly double paid on board | 20–60 min at Martim Moniz from late morning | Packed from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. | High — the only line with organized crews |
| Tram 12 (loop through Alfama and Graça) | Same fare | Short | Moderate | Low to moderate |
| Tram 24 (Cais do Sodré to Campolide via Príncipe Real) | Same fare | Short | Light | Low |
| Tram 15 (to Belém, modern trams) | Same fare | Short, frequent | Busy but roomy | Low to moderate on the busiest stretches |
| Hill funiculars (Glória, Bica, Lavra) | Same fare or a small one-off | Short | Busy at Bica | Low |
| Explore Lisbon by Tuk Tuk: History and Viewpoints | $18 per person, 2h | Book same day | You and two others | None |
| Lisbon Highlights: Private Tuk Tuk Tour | $98 per person, 3h | Book ahead in summer | Private | None |
| Best of Lisbon Small-Group Guided Walking Tour | $22 per person, 3.5h | Book a day ahead | Small group | Low — you're moving and watched |
How the tram works
The 28 runs between Martim Moniz, on the edge of Mouraria, and Campo de Ourique in the west, and the middle of that route is the reason it's famous: it climbs through Graça, drops through Alfama past the Sé and the Portas do Sol viewpoint, crosses Baixa, climbs again through Chiado and rolls out past Estrela's basilica. The cars are the small yellow 1930s-style remodelados, because the curves and gradients are too tight for anything bigger — and that's also why they hold so few people.
Pay with a Viva Viagem card (now branded Navegante), which you buy once at any metro machine and load with single fares, a 24-hour pass or a stored-value balance. Tap when you board. Paying the driver in cash costs roughly double and slows the whole car down. Note that the 24-hour pass covers metro, bus, tram and the funiculars, so if you're riding the 28 and the 15 to Belém on the same day, it pays for itself.
Two tactics that reliably get you a seat: board at the very first stop of either direction — Martim Moniz heading west or Campo de Ourique heading east — and go early. At 8 a.m. the tram is commuters and you; at 8 p.m. in summer it's half empty and the light through Alfama is the best of the day. Riding it in reverse from Campo de Ourique is the trick most people don't use: the queue is at Martim Moniz, the eastbound tram is the same route.
How the pickpocket crews work
They aren't muggers and they aren't violent. They're small teams — usually two or three — who work the Martim Moniz queue and the crush inside the car. One creates the block: stops short at the door, fumbles a bag, asks a question. Another does the lift while you're wedged. A third takes the handoff and gets off at the next stop, so even if you feel something, the wallet is already off the tram. Backpacks worn on the back, phones in back pockets and open tote bags are what they're looking for; they can spot a jacket pocket with a phone-shaped bulge from across the square.
What prevents it, in order of how much it matters:
- Don't be in the crush. Every tactic above — early, late, board at the ends, ride in reverse — reduces the risk more than any bag trick.
- Bag in front, zipped, hand on it. A crossbody worn on the front is fine. A backpack should come off your back and go between your feet or on your lap.
- Phone away before you board. Not in a hand, not in a back pocket. Take the photo through the window, then put it away.
- Carry what you'd tolerate losing. One card and some cash for the day; passport and the second card in the hotel safe.
- Watch the doorway, not the view, for the first 30 seconds. That's when it happens.
Locals ride this line every day without incident; it's the packed tourist hours that create the conditions. Portugal is one of the safest countries in Europe for violent crime, and the community's advice for Lisbon boils down to the same thing our safety guide says: the risk is your pocket, not your person.
If it happens anyway
Cancel your cards from your phone before you do anything else. Then go to the tourist police station (PSP Tourism Support) in Praça dos Restauradores, near Rossio — they speak English, are used to this, and will give you a report number your insurer and card issuer will ask for. If your passport was in the wallet — it shouldn't have been — the US embassy is in the Sete Rios area of the city and handles emergency passports on weekdays; call first. Bolt and Uber will still work from a friend's phone if yours is gone, and most central hotels will lend you a charger and a landline. None of this is fun, but in Lisbon it's an afternoon lost, not a trip.
The guided alternatives
If the point was to see the hills and the tile without the elbows, a tuk-tuk or a walking tour does it better, and the operators on the tuk-tuk hub have far more reviews than you'd expect for a novelty.
- The True 4-Hour Private Tuk Tuk Tour: Discover Lisbon with a Local is $104 a person, private, and rates 4.98 across 11,235 reviews — the deepest review history of any Lisbon activity we track. Four hours covers Alfama, the viewpoints and Belém with stops long enough to walk.
- The Explore Lisbon by Tuk Tuk: History and Viewpoints tour is the budget version at $18 for two hours (4.9, 1,194 reviews), covering the same Alfama-and-miradouros loop the 28 rolls past.
- The Private Lisbon Tuk Tuk Tour with a Local Guide is $187 for four hours (4.9, 2,120 reviews) — the same shape as the $104 tour at a higher price, so book it only if the cheaper one is full.
- On foot, the Best of Lisbon Small-Group Guided Walking Tour is $22 for 3.5 hours (4.9, 5,520 reviews) and is the best value on the list.
- On two wheels, the Lisbon E-Bike Tour through Commerce Square, Mouraria and Alfama is $25 for three hours (4.7, 1,820 reviews) and the 3-Hour Lisbon 7 Hills Electric Bike Tour is $31 (4.9, 953) — the motor is what makes the hills possible.
Tuk-tuk practicalities from the hub: most seat three, so a group of four is two vehicles and double the price; book mornings in summer because the open cab is miserable at 3 p.m.; and ask the driver to stop at viewpoints rather than slow-roll past, or you'll shoot every photo through the frame. Drivers expect a tip of around 10 percent if they didn't rush.
And if you do ride the 28 — early, from the end of the line, bag on your lap — you'll wonder what the fuss was about. That's the whole trick. For the rest of your Lisbon days, the first-trip itinerary puts the tram on the morning it fits best.