Not speaking Portuguese? No Problem

It is easy to get by speaking English in Portugal, especially Lisboa, Madera, Porto and in the Algarve, where most tourists come and a large number of expats live.

Most websites and apps (banking, for instance) have English versions, and there’s usually a “press 2 for English” option when calling official phone numbers, such as for the immigration office or the national health service 24-hour hotline. For in-person , it’s generally allowed to be a friend who can translate, or in some cases, they’ll provide an interpreter (on the rare occasion that the person you speak with isn’t themselves fluent in English).

Portugal is the 7th most proficient country in the world according to the EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI). It analyses data from 2.2 million non-native English speakers in 100 countries and regions. In a ranking led by the Netherlands, Portugal appears 7th in the ranking following Denmark (2nd), Finland (3rd), Sweden (4th), Norway (5th) and Austria (6th).