Finding a phone number for a house or business, or a mobile (cell) phone number in Portugal is quite straightforward. As far as a Portugal telephone directory is concerned, Portugal Telecom (PT) has an effective monopoly.

The Portugal telephone country code is 351, and then you simply dial the subscriber phone number. Previously, the trunk prefix was ’0′, but this was dropped, and the phone area code, prefixed by the digit ’2′ was incorporated into the subscriber’s number, so now a nine-digit number is used for all calls.

Mobile phone numbers in Portugal also changed, with the digits ’9T’ replacing the prefix ’093T’, where ‘T’ is a digit specific to a mobile operator: Optimus – 93 TMN – 96 Vodafone – 91.

Free telephone number search

Portugal White Pages
http://www.white.yellowpages.pt/: White pages for people and businesses in Portugal, in English.

Páginas Amarelas
http://www.yellowpages.pai.pt/displayhome.ds?locale=en_PT: Yellow pages business listings for Portugal in English

Following are the budget carriers that offer cheap flights to Faro:

U.K.

• Bmibaby
• EasyJet
• Flybe
• Flyglobespan
• Jet2.com
• Monarch Scheduled
• Ryanair
• Thomas Cook Airlines
• Thomsonfly
• First Choice

Cheap Holiday Packages from the U.K.

• Jet2Holidays
• Monarch Holidays

Belgium

• Jetairfly

Germany

• Airberlin
• Germanwings
• TUIfly.com/Hapag Lloyd Express

Netherlands

• Transavia

Norway

• Norwegian Air Shuttle AS

Portugal

• SATA International
• TAP

Sweden

• Nordic Regional

Switzerland

• Helvetic

• Festivals
• Public Holidays
• Visas
• Health
• Time
• Electricity
• Weights & Measures
• Money, Banks etc.
• Useful Telephone Numbers

Festivals

Portugal has many festivals and religious holidays that are worth seeing if you have the chance: Calendar

Public and Bank holidays for 2010

• 1st January – New Year’s Day   (Ano Novo)
• 16th February – Shrove Tuesday / Carnival
• 1st April – Maundy Thursday (Afternoon only)
• 2nd April – Good Friday  (Sexta-feira Santa)
• 4th April – Easter Sunday
• 25th April – Liberation Day  (Dia 25 de Abril)
• 1st May – Labour Day  (Dia do Trabalhador)
• 3rd June – Corpus Christi Day  (Corpo de Deus)
• 10th June – Portugal Day  (Dia de Portugal e de Camoes)
• 13th June – St Anthony’s Day (Lisbon only)
• 24th June – St John’s Day (Oporto only)
• 15th August – The Assumption of Our Lady  (Assuncao de Nossa Senhora)
• 5th October -  Republic Day  (Implantacao da Republica)
• 1st November – All Saints  (Dia de Todos-os-Santos)
• 1st December – Restoration of Independence  (Dia da Restauracao)
• 8th December – Immaculate Conception  (Imaculada Conceicao)
• 24th December – Christmas Eve (Banks, official offices only)
• 25th December – Christmas Day  (Natal)

What to take

Dress in Portugal tends to be informal but conservative.

Visas:

None required for EU nationals. Nationals of Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the USA can stay for 90 days visa-free. Everyone else needs a visa.

Health risks:

Sunburn in summer, insect bites.

Time:

GMT/UTC (winter), GMT/UTC+1 (summer)

Electricity:

220V, 50Hz, 2-pin (round) plug

Weights & measures:

Metric (same as France)

Metric Weights and Measures and their equivalents

Clothing and shoe sizes conversion: US, UK, Europe

Money:

The Euro (€)
Check out our Euro Guide (with pictures)

• As of January 1, 2002, the euro (€) replaced the national currency of 12 countries within the European Union, including Portugal. You can exchange currency at any bank branch (hours are listed below). Automatic cash machines can be found in most commercial centres.
• Bank Opening Hours
  Banking hours in Portugal are from 08:30 am to 3:00 pm, Monday to Friday. Most banks are closed on weekends and public holidays.

Check out the current Euro exchange rate with your currency here (close the new window to return): TRAVEL SIGNPOSTS CURRENCY CONVERTER

Useful telephone numbers :

The international access code for Portugal is +351. No area or city codes are needed. The outgoing code is 00 followed by the relevant country code.

• National Emergency Number: 112
• Tourism Information in Portugal: 808 781 212
• National Directory Enquiries: PT – Portugal Telecom: 118
• ACP- Automobile club in Portugal:707 509 510
• National Coach company (Rede-Expressos): 707 223 344
• National Rail Enquiries(CP- Comboios de Portugal):808 208 208

Lost Credit Cards/Travellers’ Cheques

• American Express 707 50 40 50 / 21 427 82 05
• Euro/Mastercard 800 811 272
• VISA 800 811 107

Portugal was one of the 12 original European Union countries which switched to the Euro in January 2002. Prior to converting to the Euro, the Portuguese currency was the Escudo.

1 Euro is divided into 100 cents.

The notes are differentiated by their size and colour and come in seven denominations. One side of the coins has a common design (the European side), and the other side has a national symbol. The three different Portuguese designs chosen were drawn by Vitor Manuel Fernandes dos Santos, an artist. He drew his inspiration from the three seals of the first king, Dom Afonso Henriques (see below for more details). All euro coins can be used in any of the euro-zone countries, regardless of which national symbols they display. The Euro is very widely accepted in Europe now and freely exchanged everywhere. In some non-Euro countries, they are used as a second currency.

Portuguese Euro Coins

The front of each coin features one of three designs common to all twelve euro area countries showing different maps of Europe surrounded by the twelve stars of the European Union. The reverse side of each coin shows individual designs relating to the respective member state.

All the Portuguese coins have as their centrepiece one of the three royal seals belonging to the country’s first king, Dom Afonso Henriques. The Portuguese one and two euro coins have the seal of 1144 with country’s castles and coats of arms set amid the European stars on the back as well. The 10, 20 and 50 cent coins have the royal seal of 1142 as their centrepiece, and the 1, 2 and 5 cent coins have the royal seal of 1134 together with the word “Portugal”.

Portuguese euro coins (larger than life size)
	1 Cent
	2 Cent
	5 Cent
	10 Cent
	20 Cent
	50 Cent
	1 Euro (€1)
	2 Euro (€2)

Euro Bank Notes

The seven Euro banknotes are common to all countries using the Euro and carry the theme of the “Ages and Styles of Europe”. Each of the notes has gateways and windows on its front and bridges on the back designed in a specific architectural style. Gateways and windows are intended to symbolise the European spirit of openness and co-operation, whereas bridges symbolise the close co-operation and communication between Europe and the rest of the world.

The 5 euro note represents the classical architectural style, the 10 euro note has a romanesque design, the 20 euro note has a gothic motif, the 50 euro note represents the renaissance period, the 100 euro note depicts the baroque and rococo periods, the 200 euro note displays iron and glass architecture and the 500 euro note depicts modern 20th Century architecture.

Euro banknotes
	5 Euro (€5)
	10 Euro (€10)
	20 Euro (€20)
	50 Euro (€50)
	100 Euro (€100)
	200 Euro (€200)
	500 Euro (€500)

ATMs – Automatic Teller Machines (Multibanco)

Portugal has a national network of automatic teller machines (ATMs) which are identified by the symbol MB (Multibanco). You can withdraw cash from these machines 24 hours a day.

Currency Exchange

You can exchange money at the following services:

• banks – banking hours are open from 8.30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday.
• bureaux de change
• automatic currency exchange machines (these are for currency sale transactions only).

Credit cards

In Portugal, the most commonly used credit cards are: Visa, American Express, Diners Club, Europay / MasterCard, JCB and Maestro.

If your Visa or MasterCard credit card is lost or stolen, contact the following telephone numbers for assistance:

• Visa : Tel. 800 811 107
• MasterCard: Tel. 800 811 272