Navegante card in Lisbon: buying it, topping it up and what each ride costs
How Lisbon's €0.50 navegante card works: €1.90 tickets, €1.72 zapping, 24-hour tickets from €7.25, paying by bank card on the Metro, and monthly passes.
Facts checked by Roshid on 10 October 2026
Lisbon's buses, trams, Metro and suburban trains all take the same reusable card: the navegante. Visitors use the paper-thin navegante ocasional, which many guides still call by its old name, Viva Viagem. It costs €0.50, and once it is loaded a ride costs less than paying the driver. Here is how to get one, what to load on it and what each ride costs in 2026.
| Topic | Price |
|---|---|
| navegante ocasional card | €0.50, reusable |
| Carris/Metro ticket | €1.90, unlimited rides for 60 minutes |
| Zapping ride | €1.72 (Metro trip, or one hour on Carris) |
| 24 hours, Carris + Metro | €7.25 |
| 24 hours, + Cacilhas ferry | €10.35 |
| 24 hours, + CP trains | €11.40 |
| On board, no card | €3.30 tram, €2.30 bus |
| Contactless bank card, Metro only | €1.92 a ride |
Getting a card and loading it
Every Metro station has ticket machines that sell the navegante ocasional (€0.50) and load it, including the Aeroporto station at the airport. Keep the card: you can reload it for the rest of your trip. Each card is for one person per ride, so a couple or a family needs one card each.
Validate the card on the reader every time you board a bus or tram and at the Metro gates, even when you are changing within your 60 minutes. Travelling without a validated ticket can mean a fine.
Which ticket to load
- Carris/Metro ticket (€1.90): unlimited rides on Carris buses and trams and on the Metro for 60 minutes, counted from your first validation to your last. Best for a trip with a change, such as Metro then tram.
- Zapping (€1.72 a ride): load credit of €3, €5, €10, €15, €20, €25, €30, €35 or €40, and each ride takes off its price. Each zapping ride is for one operator only: switching from a bus to the Metro takes a second ride. Best if most of your trips are a single bus, tram or Metro ride.
- 24-hour tickets: €7.25 for Carris and the Metro, which beats €1.90 tickets from your fourth ride. €10.35 adds the Transtejo ferry between Cais do Sodré and Cacilhas. €11.40 adds CP's urban trains on the Sintra, Cascais, Azambuja and Sado lines. All run for 24 hours from the first validation.
Paying with a bank card on the Metro
On the Metro you don't need a navegante at all: tap a bank card or phone with contactless at the gate, and each ride costs €1.92. One card or phone covers one person per ride. The Metro describes this for its own network only, so for buses and trams, use a navegante.
On board without a card
You can still pay the driver, but it costs more: €3.30 for a tram ride, €2.30 for a bus ride. The Santa Justa lift costs €6.20 on board, including the viewpoint at the top. For Lisbon's most famous tram, see Tram 28: route, stops and tips.
Staying longer: a monthly pass
If you are in Lisbon for a month or more, a monthly navegante pass can be cheaper. Passes run for a calendar month: €30 for all Carris, Metro and CP travel within the city of Lisbon (navegante Municipal Lisboa), or €40 for the whole Lisbon area, including the suburban trains (navegante Metropolitano). A pass needs a personal navegante card with your photo, which costs €7 (€12 for the urgent one) at the Metro's customer desks.
Planning a day of museums too? Compare with the Lisboa Card, which includes transport and free entry to the big monuments.