Hop On Hop Off Lisbon: Is It Worth It?

Two tickets can carry you around Lisbon for a day. One is a sightseeing ticket on a yellow bus. The other is the Carris and Metro 24-hour ticket that locals use. This comparison sets them side by side on price, routes, waiting time and hills.

Prices and times below come from the Carris price page and the bus operator's pages, read on 21 October 2026. Check them for your travel date.

Price: hop on hop off Lisbon vs the 24-hour ticket

The Carris price page lists the 24-hour Carris and Metro ticket at €7.25. It loads onto a reusable card that costs €0.50. Your first day therefore costs €7.75. Carris says the ticket is valid on its entire network and on the Metro for 24 hours from first validation.

The bus operator's own page lists one route for 24 hours at €22 for adults. The two bus routes together for 48 hours cost €28. A bus, tram and boat pass for 72 or 96 hours costs €47. That makes the cheapest sightseeing ticket about three times the cost of the day pass.

Key Takeaway A 24-hour Carris and Metro ticket costs €7.25 plus a €0.50 card. The cheapest hop-on hop-off bus ticket costs €22.

The extra money buys things the day pass does not have. The bus tickets include an audio guide in 12 languages, entry to the Carris Museum, free access to public trams and discounts at monuments and museums. If you will use none of that, you are paying for a route you could ride for less.

Things to Do in Lisbon's count of GetYourGuide listings in October 2026 found 5 hop-on hop-off bus tickets, from €22 to €42, with a middle price of €28. The 1- or 2-day hop-on hop-off bus ticket is from €22 and matches the operator's own price. It is rated 4.0 from 6,420 reviews, and the page says you can cancel for free up to 24 hours before.

Routes: two bus loops vs the whole network

A hop-on hop-off ticket gives you a ready-made loop. The Belém route has 15 stops from Restauradores. It passes Marquês de Pombal, the Estrela basilica, then Jerónimos Monastery, Belém Tower and the MAAT museum before it returns. The full loop takes 1 hour 50 minutes.

The Modern Lisbon route has 13 stops. It goes by Graça, the National Pantheon and the Museu do Azulejo, and then out to the Oceanarium and the Vasco da Gama shopping centre. It also takes 1 hour 50 minutes.

A day pass has no loop. It covers the buses, trams and Metro of the city, so you plan your own route. You get no commentary. A 24-hour ticket for one sightseeing route covers one loop. The City Sightseeing bus tour with optional add-ons is from €33. Its page lists two or three bus routes depending on the ticket, an audio guide and two old-town walking tours. It is rated 3.8 from 1,644 reviews.

For a live guide, the hop-on hop-off packs are from €28. The page lists a live guide on the Uptown line and an audio guide on the others. It is rated 3.9 from 4,373 reviews.

Waiting time: a bus every 40 minutes vs the city network

The operator says a bus leaves every 40 minutes on both routes. The Belém bus runs from 09:00 to 19:00 and the Modern Lisbon bus from 09:20 to 18:00. Neither page says whether the end time is the last departure or the last stop. If you miss a bus, you may wait close to 40 minutes.

We found no Carris or Metro wait time that we can quote. Carris and Metro publish timetables for each line, so check the line you plan to use. The price page covers fares, not frequency.

Both tickets start the clock when you first use them. The Carris page says 24 hours from first validation. The operator's Belém page says 24 hours from first use. Start late in the afternoon and you will pay for time you cannot use, because the buses stop at 18:00 or 19:00.

Pro Tip Board the first bus of the day. Both routes start at Restauradores, the Belém bus at 09:00 and the Modern Lisbon bus at 09:20, so you get a full 24 hours before the buses stop.

Hills: trams and funiculars vs the bus

Lisbon's old quarters are steep, and a bus takes the main roads. The operator's bus tickets include free access to public Carris trams, and so does the 1- or 2-day ticket above. That is how you reach the hilltops. The day pass covers the Carris network too, though the Carris page prices the funiculars and the Santa Justa lift as separate on-board fares. It does not say whether the 24-hour ticket covers them.

If you want trams and a boat as well as buses, the 72- or 96-hour bus, tram and boat ticket is from €42. It adds two tram routes and a river cruise. The page says the "Hills" tram leaves Praça do Comércio every 40 minutes and stops at Estrela and Largo Portas do Sol. The Yellow Experiences FAQ warns that its Hills tram has no ramp, a narrow entrance and three high steps. The ticket is rated 4.3 from 2,311 reviews.

The 72- or 96-hour ticket's page warns that road works in Lisbon can suspend service. Ask the operator before you plan around one line.

A bus that stops at every sight is a good way to learn a city and a slow way to cross it.

When a hop-on hop-off ticket is the wrong choice

The ticket is the wrong choice if you only want to get from one place to another. It is also the wrong choice if you will take two or three rides. The day pass costs less, and it covers the Metro, which the bus does not. Ratings are lower than for most tours we list. The four tickets above sit between 3.8 and 4.3.

For other ways to see the city with a guide, see our sightseeing and guided tours in Lisbon.