Right-Hand Portugal for Indian Drivers 2026: Tolls, IDP
India
Portugal
The switch from left- to right-hand traffic is the big change. Your Indian licence is accepted for 185 days after entry, best with an IDP. Then mind the plate-read toll gantries.
Portugal is an easy and beautiful country to explore by car, but for an Indian driver the first decision of the trip matters most, and it happens before you have left the rental car park.
India drives on the left; Portugal drives on the right. You sit on the left of the car, change gear with your right hand, and every reflex at a junction points the wrong way. Roundabouts run anticlockwise, the opposite of home, and the classic error is a wrong-way glance when pulling out of a fuel station. Take your first half-hour on quiet roads and talk yourself through each turn until the new pattern sticks.
On paperwork, Portugal’s Highway Code accepts a licence from a 1949 Geneva Convention country, India included, for the first 185 days after a non-resident enters the country. Carry an International Driving Permit from your RTO too: it is the translation a rental desk or roadside officer expects. Confirm the requirement with our Driving Permit Checker.
The second thing to understand is tolls. Some motorways have booths; others have only overhead gantries that read your plate, and if the rental is not set up with a Via Verde transponder the unpaid charges turn into penalties that follow you after the trip. Ask at pickup how tolls are billed on your car. One change works in your favour: since 1 January 2025 the A22 in the Algarve, the A23, A24, A25, A4, A13 and parts of the A28 have been toll-free under Lei 37/2024, apart from a few sections.
The limits are 50 km/h in towns, 90 on rural roads and 120 on motorways, enforced by fixed and mobile cameras. For a car, up to 20 km/h over in town or up to 30 km/h over outside costs EUR 60-300, with higher bands above that. The alcohol limit is 0.5 g/l (0.05%), a touch above India’s 0.03% but still low, and 0.2 g/l in the probationary period. A warning triangle and reflective vest are required and come with a hire car.
112 is the emergency line. For the toll map and city parking rules, read the full Portugal driving guide before you set off.
Sources
- Código da Estrada, art. 125 (foreign licences, 185 days), art. 81 (alcohol), art. 27 (speeding fines): pgdlisboa.pt
- Lei n.º 37/2024, toll abolition from 1 January 2025: diariodarepublica.pt
- UN Treaty Collection, 1949 Convention on Road Traffic (India, Portugal parties): treaties.un.org
- India, Motor Vehicles Act 1988 s.185 (0.03%): indiacode.nic.in
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, for the first 185 days after you enter Portugal as a non-resident. The Highway Code accepts licences from 1949 Geneva Convention countries, and India is one. Carry the International Driving Permit from your RTO as well: it is the translation rental desks and police expect alongside a non-EU licence.
No. India drives on the left and Portugal on the right. Junctions, roundabouts and overtaking all run the opposite way to what you know, so take the first half-hour on quiet roads.
0.5 g/l of blood alcohol (0.05%), above India's 0.03% but still low, and 0.2 g/l for drivers in their probationary period. Fines start at EUR 250, so treat driving as a no-alcohol activity.