Wild camping in Portugal

Toll
If you are on the motorway in Portugal with your camper or motorhome, you have to pay tolls. A distinction is made between a normal toll or an electronic toll. In areas where you have to pay an electronic toll, you will see a blue sign with an "electronic toll only." There are three ways to pay tolls.

1. In most areas, you can pay the toll at a normal cashier.
2. With an electronic toll, you can borrow a tolling device that you have to carry in your car. It will report the toll costs to the toll station. You can borrow a prepaid box, deposit your credit card which will be charged automatically, or pay in a Pay-Shop within five days.
3. Another option is to buy prepaid cards like EASYtoll, TollService, and TollCard. These have different validity periods, from three days up to one year. They must be carried in the vehicle so you can show them during police checks. These cards are bound to the number plate of the vehicle.

Behave inconspicuously
Portuguese are very friendly towards campers. If you behave inconspicuously and don't bother the residents, they will turn a blind eye. It is important to keep your camp as small as possible. If you spend the night in a tent or your campervan, it is usually not a problem. However, if you give the impression that you want to camp for a longer period, you might be visited by the authorities.

Choose the right region
In tourist areas, such as Lisbon or the Algarve in the south of the country, wild camping is strictly controlled. In the north, however, there are extensive areas that are almost uninhabited. In these areas, law enforcement officers tend to look the other way. Especially in the mountains and wine regions, you will find almost untouched nature and have hardly anything to fear. There are also beaches where you can camp.

Fact #1 - Capital of South America
Today, the Portuguese capital is Lisbon. From 1808 to 1821, however, the Brazilian city Rio de Janeiro was the official capital of Portugal. The reason for this was the flight of the then king to the colony Brazil.

Fact #2 - The British Tea-Time comes from Portugal
The English owe their national drink to the Portuguese. Catherine of Braganza brought her favorite drink to the island with her after her wedding with the English King Charles II.

Fact #3 - Bookshop
The oldest still operating bookstore in the world can be found in Lisbon. The Livraria Bertrand was opened in 1732 in the Chiado district and has been on the same site ever since.

Fact #4 - The oldest alliance
Portugal has the oldest diplomatic alliance in Europe. In 1373 Portugal allied with England, the Treaty of Windsor. In it, the countries assured themselves of eternal economic and military cooperation.

Fact #5 - Construction times
The Igreja de Santa Engrácia is the church with the longest construction period in the world. How long? 285 years. The first stone laying in 1681 and was completed in 1966.

Fact #6 - Monsanto
We mean the village in Portugal and not the company from the United States. Monsanto was elected "Portugal's most Portuguese village" in 1938.

Fact #7 - Earthquake
In 1755 Lisbon was hit by a severe earthquake. It reached 9 on the Richter scale and is one of the worst earthquakes in Europe. Almost 85 percent of the buildings were destroyed.

Fact #8 - Bridge length
The longest bridge in the world is in Portugal and measures 17.2 km. The Ponte Vasco da Gama was completed in 1998 after three years of construction and was built for the Expo '98 World Exposition.

Fact #9 - The perfect wave
The biggest wave ever surfed was off the coast of Nazaré. It had a height of 23.77 m and was conquered by Garrett McNamara.

Fact #10 - Slavery
Portugal was the first European country to participate in the transatlantic slave trade. It was also the first colonial power to abolish slavery.