Flying to Lisbon Airport soon? Avoid roaming costs when traveling in Portugal or even Europe. This is your guide for buying a prepaid sim card for tourists in 2021. Where to buy a sim card, the prices, the best network... you find it all here in this guide.
Early January 2021 I landed in Lisbon after my trip to the USA. First things first, I researched the airport to find the best Portugal sim card to get you connected.
The options for buying a sim card at Lisbon Airport are very limited. Read my guide for the best Portugal sim card for tourists to see more sim cards for Portugal which you can easily buy in the city.
Buying a local sim card is the best way to avoid roaming costs and slow overseas data roaming and therefore I researched the best sim card in Madrid, Oslo, Dublin, Ireland, Norway and many more places in Europe.
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Portugal sim cards and traveling in Europe
When buying a Portugal sim card for traveling in Europe double check first with your mobile operator if your data is valid all over Europe. Not all Portugal sim cards are good for traveling in Europe and many have data restrictions.
For a complete overview of the best sim cards for Europe have a look at my ultimate guide in the link.
Buy a Portugal sim card online
Save the hassle of buying a sim card in Lisbon on arrival, let it be shipped to your home address before your trip to Portugal. When you order an international sim card online it will get shipped to your home address and is activated automatically on your first use. Check the Simoptions website for more than 7 prepaid sim card offers for Portugal and Europe or click on the link below.
Lisbon Airport (LIS)
There are two terminals at Lisbon Airport but ALL flight arrive at Terminal 1. Terminal 2 is only used for departures and mostly low-cost carriers and European flights. Lisbon Airport is a pretty small airport and Terminal 1 tends to be busy.
Where to buy a Portugal sim card at Lisbon Airport
There are three places where you can buy a sim card at Lisbon Airport. As soon as you walk into the arrival hall you can see a big Vodafone store on your right hand side and right in front of you there is an Exchange kiosk that sells a Portugal sim card for tourists.
You can also buy a Portugal sim card at luggage belt 8, there is another exchange desk from Unicambio with 2 ATM’s and a Lycamobile sign.
Prices prepaid Portugal sim card at Lisbon Airport in 2021
Unfortunately there are only 3 different sim cards for tourists at Lisbon Airport for sale. The choice is very limited! Normally prices for sim cards at airports are more expensive, but not here. The Vodafone store at Lisbon airport sells the same Portugal sim cards for tourists as in the stores around Lisbon.
Vodafone Lisbon Airport
The Vodafone store offers two different prepaid Portugal sim cards:
- €20 = 5 GB data in Europe + 500 minutes OR sms + 30 international minutes - valid for 30 days.
- €30 = 60 GB data ONLY for Portugal - valid for 30 days. (hotspot available)
Exchange store
- €10 = 4 GB data ONLY for Portugal + 500 international minutes + 100 sms - valid for 30 days.
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Best sim card at Lisbon Airport in 2021
Although Vodafone offers you more service than the Exchange kiosk, the Lycamobile is the best sim card at Lisbon Airport. For only €10 you get 4 GB data and 500 international minutes.
Be aware that the data on the Lycamobile sim card is only valid in Portugal, when traveling in Europe it is NOT a good deal! Take a look at the best sim cards for Europe travel in my complete guide or check out my article about the best sim card for Portugal.
Buy a Portugal sim card online
As said in the beginning of this article you can best order your sim card for traveling in Portugal online. Get it shipped to your home address before your trip to Portugal. No hassle buying a sim card at Lisbon Airport this way, just put it in your phone on your arrival and it gets activated automatically.
The following international sim cards are a great deal for traveling in Portugal and Europe. All the below prepaid sim card deals for Portugal can be found on the Simoptions website.
1. Orange Holiday ZEN - $29.90
- 8 GB data
- Unlimited calls in Europe
- 30 minutes worldwide
- Unlimited sms in Europe
- 200 sms worldwide
- Valid 14 days
2. Three PAYG AIO15 - $29.90
- 10 GB data
- Unlimited calls within Europe
- Unlimited sms within Europe
- Valid 30 days
3. Three PAYG AIO20 - $39.90
- 12 GB data
- Unlimited calls within Europe
- Unlimited sms within Europe
- Valid 30 days
4. Orange Holiday Europe - $49.90
- 20 GB data
- Unlimited calls in Europe
- 120 minutes worldwide
- Unlimited sms in Europe
- 1,000 sms worldwide
- Valid 14 days
Personally I would recommend you the last two available options: Three or Orange. You can order them and many other international sim cards directly through the Simoptions website. Sim cards will be shipped to your home address and are already activated. Click on the links above or the banner below for more info.
Portable WiFi device for Portugal
TEP Wireless offers a portable WiFi device for Portugal and Europe that lets you connect 5 devices at the same time. Great for traveling with kids as everyone can enjoy high speed internet for a couple bucks a day. Click on the link or the banner below for more info!
How to get from Lisbon Airport to the city
There are several busses outside the arrival hall, just follow the signs for busses. A ticket costs €4 and can be bought on the bus by credit card. Depending on where you go it takes around 45 minutes to reach your destination in the city center.
Best way to get from Lisbon Airport to the city center is by Uber. A normal taxi will charge you around €25, but an Uber can cost only 50% of that price depending where in the city you want to be dropped off. There is free WiFi at Lisbon Airport use it to order an Uber in case you did not buy a sim card at Lisbon Airport yet.
Click here for my complete guide for buying a prepaid sim card in Portugal.
I hope the above tips for buying a prepaid sim card at Lisbon Airport were helpful for your upcoming trip to Lisbon. May you have any questions please leave me a comment below and I am more than happy to help you out.
Enjoy your trip to Portugal!
Some links in this article about the best Lisbon sim card are affiliate links. If you buy any of the products after using the outgoing links I’ll earn a small commission. Don’t worry this is at no extra cost to you, but I have the duty to inform you. Thank you for your understanding!
