General Information About Portugal
Tipping
Tipping in Portugal is not as important as it is in other parts of the world. Tips generally range between 10-15%. Taxi drivers can be tipped about 10% of the total fare. Leaving small tips in the hotel rooms or restaurants is a customary practice but not a set rule. This is because the service staff at these places does not look forward to tips to supplement their salaries.
Tipping in Portugal has to do more with the gesture rather than money because it is a form of appreciation for the kind of services rendered. Hence, you will find restaurants charging you only for what you eat. There will be no additional service charge added to the bill. It is up to the discretion of the visitor to leave a tip of about 10% or smaller amounts, depending on the quality of the service. In the hotels, one or two euros can be given to the bellhops for carrying the luggage to the rooms. In case of taxi drivers, tips can be calculated by rounding up the bill to the nearest euro.
G. Facts & Figures
Passport/Visa Requirements: Portugal is signatory to the Schengen Agreement of 1995. All visitors, except EU citizens require a passport that is valid for at least three months after the length of the stay.
No visa is required for Americans, UK nationals, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders and Irish nationals if their stay is less than 90 days. Visitors should have return tickets and appropriate documents for their return journey.
Language: Portuguese (official), Mirandese (locally used)
Predominant Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant
Time Zone: UTC/GMT + 1 hour
Voltage Requirements: 220 AC, 50 cycles
Telephone Codes: Country Code is 351.
H. Interesting facts
Prince Luis Filipe was crowned as the King of Portugal and was on the throne only for 20 minutes.
Alphonse I was the king of Portugal between 1128 and 1185. The people look him upon as the founder of the Portuguese kingdom. That is why the royal seals from his reign are on the Portuguese euros.
The Portuguese euro was designed by Victor Manuel Fernandes dos Santos.
Recreation
Portugal has a varied range of sports, entertainment and leisure activities to offer. Tennis and golf are well-established sports in this country and the tourist can make use of the advanced facilities existing for such activities. Adventurous tourists can also opt for sporting activities such as walking, cycling, riding and water sports.
Fishing
Deep sea fishing and diving can also be enjoyed off the shores of popular sites. Fishing on beaches, among rocky pools and in the sheltered estuary waters requires no permit. Tavira in the Algarve is known to be a good place to catch plaice, sole and sea bass. Visitors can easily hire a boat with a captain and crew who are familiar with specific sites along the coast for deep sea fishing to catch swordfish, shark, tuna or marlin. Peniche, located in northern part of Lisbon, is reputed to be the one of the best-organized deep-sea fishing centers in Portugal.