Tools
Driving in Portugal
The rules of the road as our desk recorded them, native unit first.
Right
50 / 90 / 120 km/h · 31 / 56 / 75 mph
urban / rural / motorway
Not required
EU and UK licences are valid as they are; non-EU licences require an IDP alongside.
0.05% (0.02% for drivers with under three years of licence)
Some motorways are electronic-only with no booths - rentals need a transponder or a pre-registered card, and driving them without one generates a fine. Ask the rental desk explicitly which system your car uses.
Not required by day.
Mandatory under 135 cm; children under three must use a rear-facing seat.
The electronic-only toll roads are the classic Portugal rental trap - several motorways have no cash option at all, and the fine arrives months later. Take the transponder. Lisbon and Porto have steep, narrow old-town streets where a small car is a real advantage.