Learn some Portuguese vocabulary

The Portuguese have no knowledge of Spanish. They communicate in Portuguese. Vulgar Latin was introduced to the Iberian Peninsula (i.e., Spain and Portugal) by the Romans in the 3rd century BC, and it was still spoken throughout Portugal by the 13th century AD. King Denis of Portugal declared Vulgar Latin to be the official language of Portugal in 1290, naming it 'Portuguese.'

Portuguese is the sixth most widely spoken language in the world, with an estimated 220 million native speakers. Yes, it is comparable to Spanish (Speakt estimates that the two languages share 90% lexical similarity), yet Spaniards struggle to understand Portuguese speakers and vice versa.

Although English is widely spoken in the Algarve, Lisbon, and Porto, you should not expect that everyone you meet will speak it. Furthermore, outside of these large zones, there will be fewer English speakers (and possibly none in villages). Learn the basics of Portuguese, such as bom dia/tarde/noite (good morning/afternoon/night), as well as specific terms such as socorro (help!) and ajude-me (help me). It is critical to remember this key piece of information whenever you travel abroad.