Lisbon tickets: metro credit, day passes and trains
Choose a Lisbon ticket for your actual journeys, with clear prices for metro rides, stored credit and day trips to Sintra or Cascais.
A day spent around Alfama needs a different transport plan from a day in Sintra followed by several city rides. Write down those journeys first. Then choose the ticket, rather than buying a pass because it has the most services on the label.
Compare the city products
Metro Lisboa lists these ordinary choices:
| Product | Price | What to keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Carris/Metro single | €1.90 | A 60-minute product with its own transfer rules; no consecutive metro entries |
| Metro zapping | €1.72 | Stored credit charged for the metro journey, not unlimited travel across operators |
| Contactless metro entry | €1.92 | One traveller per bank card or device |
| Carris/Metro 24-hour ticket | €7.25 | Compare with the city rides you will actually take |
| Carris/Metro/CP 24-hour ticket | €11.40 | Adds the listed CP urban lines, including Sintra and Cascais |
The occasional transport card costs €0.50 where required. Each traveller needs their own valid card or ticket. Keep the card for another loading instead of throwing it away after the first journey.
Understand stored credit before changing operators
Zapping is a balance. A metro journey and a CP train journey use different fares; crossing between them is not one flat-price ride. CP's Lisbon table lists CP zapping at €2.05 per journey and a named Lisbon–Sintra or Lisbon–Cascais return at €5.10. Compare these with the combined day product if you also expect several city rides.
For city travel alone, four separately charged €1.72 metro journeys total €6.88, while five total €8.60. The €7.25 day ticket sits between them. This is an example calculation; your actual transfers and other operators can change the comparison.
Keep a simple alternative
Validate the ticket as required and read the response. Keep the loading receipt until you know the card works. Do not make a busy sightseeing tram your only route to a timed palace or museum visit.
For Sintra, add the journey beyond the station. For Cascais, check the current works notice before choosing an evening or weekend return. Neither excursion is fully planned just because the rail ticket is bought.