Travel insurance for Portugal vacations

If you’re traveling to Portugal for 90 days or less, the Portuguese government doesn’t require you to have travel insurance — but it’s a smart idea (especially with 24/7 travel assistance included)! However, if you’re planning to stay in Portugal for longer than 90 days, you’ll need a Schengen visa and travel medical insurance.

What’s a Schengen visa and why do you need it for longer trips? Portugal is part of Europe’s Schengen Zone, which allows visa-free travel for Americans staying up to 90 days. If you’re planning to explore Portugal or other Schengen countries for more than 90 days, you’ll need to apply for a Schengen visa before your trip.

To qualify for a Schengen visa, you’ll need travel medical insurance for Portugal that includes at least €30,000 (roughly the same in U.S. dollars) in coverage for emergency medical expenses and evacuation. Your travel insurance must also be valid across all Schengen countries, not just Portugal — even if it’s the only destination on your itinerary.

Think you might need a Schengen visa and travel medical insurance for Portugal? Our Ultimate plan offers coverage for trips up to 180 days and meets the Schengen visa requirements. With our Ultimate plan, you get $250,000 in emergency medical coverage ($50,000 for NH residents) and $1,000,000 for emergency medical evacuation and repatriation. That’s far beyond the €30,000 minimum coverage requirement for a Schengen visa.

For more details on the Schengen visa and travel requirements, check out the U.S. Department of State’s page for travel to the Schengen area.

Even with a tour group, travel plans can turn out differently. From delayed flights to misplaced luggage or even a last-minute visit to a local doctor, surprises happen.

Travel insurance can help in situations where your tour schedule doesn’t account for delays or changes. With coverage for incidents that throw your itinerary for a loop, you can continue enjoying your cruise on the Douro River or stroll through Porto without worrying about affording unexpected costs like emergency medical expenses and rescheduled flights.

Yes, you can! Whether you’re cruising down the scenic roads of southern Algarve or driving through Portugal’s stunning wine regions, our rental car damage upgrade can help protect you financially. If something like theft, fire, or another eligible accident damages your rental car, our plans can shield you from hefty repair costs billed by the rental company.

Want to rent a moped or motorbike? It’s important to remember that our rental car damage upgrade doesn’t apply to those vehicles.

Yes — all our plans apply to cruise vacations. Want smoother sailing along Portugal’s sun-kissed shores or while hopping between the beautiful islands? From trip cancellations to unexpected medical needs while you’re out at sea or enjoying a port stop, our cruise travel insurance can help you keep calm in tricky situations.

Absolutely! Our travel insurance plans offer coverage for a wide range of adventure activities. Whether you plan to hike the misty peaks of Madeira or kayak to Benagil Cave, you’ll have coverage for basic adventure activities.

For more intense adventures — like parasailing at Guincho Beach or canyoning in the Azores — you can add our adventure activities upgrade for extra protection while you amp up your adrenaline. It offers coverage for certain activities our base plans don’t protect.

Head to our adventure activities page to learn more about our coverage.

Life can be unpredictable, and sometimes trips need to be canceled. Thankfully, our base plans with trip cancellation coverage can reimburse you for cancellations due to specific reasons, such as sudden illness or natural disasters.

If you want maximum flexibility, consider our cancel for any reason upgrade*, which can be added to our Ultimate plan. It lets you cancel your trip for any reason up to two days before departure and be reimbursed with up to 75% of your insured trip cost.

Important: To get our cancel for any reason coverage, you must buy the upgrade with the Ultimate plan within 21 days of your initial trip expense and at least 31 days before you trip starts. You must also insure all your prepaid, nonrefundable trip costs in your policy, and your total trip cost must be $10,000 or less.

_{*Cancel for any fortuitous reason in NY.}

If your plans include additional destinations like Spain or Morocco, our travel insurance can apply to your entire multi-country trip (as long as you’re not visiting any of our blocked destinations).

When filling out your quote, list the main destination as the location where you’ll spend most of your time. For example, if you’re staying in Portugal for one week and Italy for three days, you’d list Portugal as your destination. Or, if you’re visiting multiple European countries, you can list “Europe”.

Some credit cards might throw in travel insurance as a perk, but the coverage can be limited and often comes with strings attached to actually kick in. That’s where comprehensive travel insurance from a dedicated provider really shines! It typically offers broader benefits, like potential coverage for pre-existing medical conditions, so you’re not left stressing over the “what ifs.” It’s all about giving you more control and remembering your travels as a positive experience.