If you ever think of traveling to Portugal , you must be clear about one thing… you are going to have to pay abusive tolls to reach your destination. The problem with this is not just the exorbitant amount that you will pay, no, the real problem is that you get to the point where the toll road starts and you don’t know how it works . Don’t worry, in this simple tutorial I will explain how to pay the electronic toll in Portugal easily and quickly .
What Happens If You Do Not Pay The Toll To Portugal?
Well , if you don’t pay, nothing really happens , you will go through a lot of controls where they will take photos of you and well, let’s be honest… if the fine arrives in Spain (which it will), Portugal has no jurisdiction to force you to pay fines from another country. that the “Portuguese treasury” has no authority in Spanish territory .
What Happens If You Skip The Toll To Portugal?
As we have seen , you can skip the electronic toll, the fine will come to you, but being from another country it is difficult for them to charge you . However, the real problem of not paying the toll to Portugal is that the Police can immobilize your vehicle with a “brace” and not let you go until you pay the fine , so it is better to pay the toll and get out of trouble .
Fine For Toll To Portugal
In the event of bad luck and you are stopped by the Portuguese Police and you do not have your gas station toll card associated with your license plate, the amount of the fine will be 10 times the value of the travel cards . For example, if according to your route you must pay a €15 card, the value of the fine would be €150 .
Lisbon The Real Problem
If you skip the electronic tolls, nothing will happen unless you arrive in Lisbon where you will pay €20.90 (this is impossible to skip). You can pay with a credit card (not debit) or cash .
How to Pay the Electronic Toll in Portugal
Next we are going to talk about two ways to enter this country and how the toll bond to Portugal works .
Toll To Portugal From Huelva
This is undoubtedly the most expensive entrance area to enter Portugal since the electronic toll will start from the Algarve area and not only that… if you arrive to Lisbon you will have to pay an amount of €20.90 (a robbery) .
Once you enter Huelva shortly you will find the first toll to Portugal , this is where you can ask for information (there is a police station on the right). Also in the same toll you can press the information button where they will assist you in your language .
Payment must be made with a credit card (not debit) and it is easy to do so, with this you don’t have to worry and you can enter Portugal . As you progress, they will take photos of your car registration every 5-10 km for an amount of €0.5 to €1.75, an amount that will be taken from the credit card linked to your registration. As an additional note from the Algarve to Messines there are 5 electronic tolls in total.
What to do if you skip a toll in Portugal?
If you arrive at the first checkpoint and you don’t have a credit card , don’t worry, pass it without fear and go to the first gas station in Olhao , this is where you must buy the toll card to Portugal at the gas station .
Where To Buy Electronic Toll Card Portugal
As we have said before, in 3 out of 5 gas stations you can buy the toll card to Portugal . I recommend that if you enter through Huelva you buy it at the Olhao gas station , it is the first one you will find just when you go through the first Toll border control .
How to Associate Card To Toll Portugal
You must tell the guy at the gas station what your destination is and if you are going to return the same way . Depending on this, he will give you 1 or 2 cards that you must associate with your registration to be able to move around Portugal without any problem . In my case, they gave me a €10 card and a €5 card. Next, I will show you how the toll card to Postugal from the gas stations works .
The first thing you should do is “scratch” the area of the silver card until you see the code (Code).
Now you will turn it around and you will see the instructions in 3 different languages:
- Scratch the hidden area and send an SMS to +351922298989 with the following message: CTTCD *your license plate* CODE ; example: CTTCD *1234CFD* A002ADDHH34 .
- We will receive a confirmation SMS.
If we have done it correctly, we will receive a validation SMS confirming that our license plate has a balance and that our gas station toll card to Portugal is activated . Be careful , the message can take from 2 minutes to several hours to arrive , don’t worry and continue your trip (it took me 2 and a half hours to arrive).
As a final note, the real problem of the price of the toll to Portugal from Huelva is not only approximately €15 , no, the real problem is that if you arrive in Lisbon you will have to pay €20.90 to enter and this cannot be skipped because it is border . You must pay in cash or a credit card (not debit).
Toll To Portugal Entering Through Badajoz
The toll to Portugal entering through Badajoz works in the same way as that of Huelva . You should ask at the first gas station you see for the electronic toll cards in Portugal . The price will depend on the destination but it is usually around €15. The good thing about entering through Badajoz is that you will not have to pay the €20.90 toll for entering Lisbon through Huelva , a real robbery.
How to Pay Portugal Toll A Subsequently
It may be the case that you arrive at the gas station and realize that when you try to send your SMS to associate the toll card with your license plate, you do not have coverage because you are in another country . Don’t worry, you can activate the Toll Card online (toll card).
How to Activate the Toll Card Online
You can activate the toll card to Portugal online from the following link .
I Have Not Paid Toll To Portugal
In the event that you do not have Internet or coverage , do not worry, keep the receipt of the purchase of the electronic toll card (in case you are stopped by the Police) and as soon as you recover coverage, send an SMS (you can do it up to 1 week later already in Spain ).
Toll To Portugal Forocoches
If you want to know more about the subject in forocoches there are several open threads like this one .
I hope this tutorial on how to pay the electronic toll in Portugal has been helpful to you, if you have any questions you can always leave me a comment, I promise to answer. Do not forget to share this article with your social networks , please… that would help me a lot… thank you!
