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Payments & travel · Portugal
Checked 2026-09-30

🏖️ My package holiday went wrong: what can I claim in Portugal?

Short answer

For a package holiday the organiser is responsible for every part of it: flights, hotel, transfers. If something is not as booked, you can ask for a price reduction and compensation; if the organiser cancels, it refunds everything within 14 days.

⏱ DeadlineTell the organiser without undue delay, ideally on the spot. After a cancellation: refund within 14 days.

📜 Your rights

EUThe EU rule

EU consumer law applies in every EU country. Your country writes it into its own law — the national rule is below.

  • The organiser is responsible for performing all the travel services in the package, whoever provides them (Art. 13(1) Directive (EU) 2015/2302).
  • You tell the organiser without undue delay about any lack of conformity you notice during the trip (Art. 13(2)).
  • You are entitled to a price reduction for any period in which the services were not as agreed, and to compensation for damage, unless the organiser proves the problem is attributable to you, to an unconnected third party, or to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances (Art. 14(1)–(3)).
  • You may cancel before the start without a fee if unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances at or near the destination significantly affect the trip (Art. 12(2)).
  • If the organiser cancels, or you cancel, the organiser refunds the payments due within 14 days (Art. 12(4)).
  • If the organiser raises the price by more than 8 %, you may cancel without a fee (Art. 11(2)).
Official source: publications.europa.eu · Checked 2026-09-30

The rules in Portugal

The travel agency is responsible for all travel services in your package, even those performed by others. You are entitled to a price reduction and compensation for any lack of conformity. Refunds after cancellation are due within 14 days.

  • You can cancel at any time before departure for an appropriate, justified fee, or free with a full refund if unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances at or near the destination significantly affect the trip. (files.diariodarepublica.pt)
  • If the price rises by more than 8%, you can cancel without penalty and get your money back. (files.diariodarepublica.pt)
  • Price increases are only allowed up to 20 days before departure, if the contract provides for them and they result from fuel, taxes or exchange rates. (files.diariodarepublica.pt)
Law: artigos 23.º a 25.º, 27.º, 29.º e 35.º do Decreto-Lei n.º 17/2018, de 8 de março
Official source: files.diariodarepublica.pt · Checked 2026-09-30

🪜 Step by step

  1. Report problems on the spotTo the organiser’s rep or its contact number, in writing if possible. Photos, receipts, names.
  2. Keep every costExtra taxis, meals, another hotel: keep the receipts for the compensation claim.
  3. Write after you are backUse the letter below: what went wrong, when you reported it, what you claim.
  4. Trip cancelled?The letter demands the full refund within 14 days of the cancellation.
  5. EscalateThe travel dispute body or the bodies under “If the trader does not answer”.

✉️ Your letter

Information, not legal advice. FFCheck is independent and not affiliated with any authority, court or company. The letter is a template filled with your details: you check it and send it yourself.

Fill in your details. The letter appears on this page: copy it into an e-mail or the trader’s contact form, or print it. Nothing you type is stored.

Name of the shop or company
What happened required
Your full name
Optional, but a letter by post needs it.
Language of the letter

🧭 If the trader does not answer

Give the trader the time in your letter. Then, in this order:

An out-of-court dispute body (ADR) can settle it. The trader has to tell you which ADR body covers it (on its website, terms or in its reply).

Comissão Arbitral do Turismo de Portugal (Fundo de Garantia de Viagens e Turismo)ADR body for claims against travel agencies; apply within 60 days of the trip's end.🔗 business.turismodeportugal.pt
Centros de Arbitragem de Conflitos de Consumo (lista de entidades RAL da DGC)Mediation, conciliation and binding arbitration of consumer disputes, free or low cost, nationwide.🔗 consumidor.gov.pt

Trader in another EU country? The European Consumer Centre helps for free.

Centro Europeu do Consumidor PortugalFree help with disputes with traders in other EU countries, Norway, Iceland or the UK.🔗 consumidor.gov.pt
Julgados de PazSimple, local courts with mediation, for claims not exceeding €15,000.🔗 dgpj.justica.gov.pt

European Small Claims Procedure: for cross-border claims up to €5,000, a written procedure without a lawyer. e-justice.europa.eu

The EU’s online dispute resolution platform (ODR) closed on 20 July 2025. Use the bodies on this page instead.

📇 Every office for this in Portugal →

❓ Frequently asked questions

The organiser says the hotel is responsible. Is that right?

No. For a package the organiser is responsible for all services in it.

Can the organiser give me a voucher instead of a refund?

Only if you agree. The refund is due within 14 days.

I booked a flight and a hotel separately. Is that a package?

Not necessarily; then each provider is liable for its own service. For a flight, see flight compensation.

📎 Sources

Checked: 2026-09-30

🔎 What people search

  • “package holiday complaint Portugal”
  • “holiday not as described compensation”
  • “tour operator cancelled refund 14 days”
  • “hotel different from booking claim”
  • “travel complaint letter”

🧭 Is this still correct?

We check this information carefully, but phone numbers, websites and rules change — and sometimes we get something wrong. Spotted a mistake or a change? Let us know below.

🔗 Related

💳Unauthorised payment→💶Refund not received→📦Order not delivered→↩️Return an online order→📇Every office for this in Portugal→

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