Safety in Portugal: what overland travellers should know
Our summary of the country advice published by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Viaggiare Sicuri) on 18 August 2026.
Safety
- Wildfires — Forest fires are very frequent in the summer months, extremely dangerous and unpredictable, so be careful in wooded areas. Starting a wildfire is a criminal offence in Portugal even when it was not intentional. The meteorological institute publishes the fire-risk map and the civil protection authority the live fire situation; the emergency number is 112.
- The Atlantic — There have been many accidents, some fatal, at bathing spots and in natural areas. Waves, rocks, tides and the seabed make some places dangerous and they are not always signposted. Follow any local instructions and remember the ocean is far stronger than the Mediterranean.
- Pickpocket hot spots — In Lisbon the flagged areas are the main tourist quarters, Belém, Baixa, Alfama, Castelo, Bairro Alto and Chiado, plus the busiest public transport, metro, buses and trams, above all lines 28 and 15. In Porto they are the Dom Luís I bridge, Trindade metro station, Rua Santa Catarina, the tram line and Ribeira. In the Algarve it is the main resorts and towns during the summer.
- Theft from vehicles — Pickpocketing, bag-snatching and thefts from cars and from apartments rented to tourists are frequent in the main tourist areas and are sometimes violent. Report any theft to the police: there is a tourist police station at Palácio Foz in Praça dos Restauradores in Lisbon and at Rua Clube Fenianos 11 in Porto, where you can be helped in your own language.
Before you rely on this
This is our summary of advice written by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Italian travellers, published on 18 August 2026. We summarise in good faith, but we cannot guarantee it is accurate, current or complete, and we take no responsibility for decisions made on the basis of it. Rules change without notice and are applied by officials at the border, not by websites. Always read the original source and the travel advice your own government publishes for Portugal before you travel. GuideMeet has no way of checking whether an individual guide meets any standard mentioned here — ask them directly.
Source: Viaggiare Sicuri — Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, updated 18 August 2026. Last checked by GuideMeet on 2026-09-20.