Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Christmas Day
25 December
Safe Travel
Once behind the wheel of a car, the otherwise mild-mannered Portuguese change personality. Macho driving, such as
tailgating at high speeds and overtaking on blind corners, is all too common. Portugal has one of the highest road acci-
dent rates in Europe. Police have responded by aggressively patrolling certain dangerous routes, such as on the cheer-
fully named 'highway of death' from Salamanca in Spain.
Compared with other European countries, Portugal's crime rate remains low, but some types of crime - including car
theft - are on the rise. Crime against foreigners is of the usual rush-hour-pickpocketing, bag-snatching and theft-from-
rental-cars variety. Take the usual precautions: don't flash your cash; keep valuables in a safe place; and, if you are chal-
lenged, hand it over - it's not worth taking the risk.
Take care in the water; the surf can be strong, with dangerous ocean currents.
Telephone
To call Portugal from abroad, dial the international access code ( 00), then Portugal's country code ( 351), then
the number. All domestic numbers have nine digits, and there are no area codes. Most public phones accept phone cards
only - available at most news stands - though a few coin-operated phones are still around. You can also make calls from
booths in Portugal Telecom offices and some post offices - pay when your call is finished.
Long-distance and international calls are cheaper from 9pm to 9am weekdays, all weekend and on holidays.
Directory Inquiries & Reverse-Charge Calls
Portugal's directory inquiries number is
118; operators will search by address as well as by name. The international
directory inquiries number is
177.
To make a
pagar no destino
(reverse-charge call) with the help of a multilingual operator, dial
120.
International Calls & Cards
From Portugal Telecom, you can get a PT Hello Card in denominations of €5 or €10, which offer good long- distance
rates. You call an access number then key in the code on the back of the card. There are lots of competing cards offering
much the same service. Note that peak and off-peak periods vary from company to company.
Local, Regional & National Calls
The cheapest way to call within Portugal is with a Portugal Telecom
cartão telefónico
(phone card). These are available
for €3, €5 and €10 from post and telephone offices and many newsagents. A youth or student card should get you a 10%
discount.
Local calls cost around €0.10 per minute to land lines and €0.30 per minute to mobile phones. Numbers starting with
800 (
linha verde;
green line) are toll free. Those starting with 808 (
linha azul;
blue line) are charged at local rates from
anywhere in the country.
