Yes, Amazon ships to Portugal! It’s the best website for online shopping to use while you’re in Portugal. No other retailer, Portuguese or international, comes close to offering the same selection and deals that Amazon does. And, their customer service is usually pretty fantastic as well.
But…(yes, there’s a but) you should know that Amazon doesn’t actually have a warehouse in Portugal. If you want to order from Amazon, you’ll need to use one of Amazon’s other websites such as:
- Amazon.es (Spain) – The closest Amazon warehouse geographically to Portugal.
And, if you can’t find what you’re looking for there, there’s also:
- Amazon.co.uk (United Kingdom)
- Amazon.de (Germany)
- Amazon.com (USA)
Amazon Spain
Amazon Spain is the most popular Amazon website for shoppers in Portugal, followed by Amazon UK and Amazon Germany.
- It’s the closest Amazon warehouse to Portugal.
- Free shipping or at least super cheap shipping is often available (typically on orders over €29 or just €19 for books).
- Almost all of the products can be delivered to Portugal.
- Express delivery (as quick as 1-2 days) is available on many items but, in general, expect your delivery to take around a week to arrive.
- It’s in Spanish which, if you speak Portuguese, is relatively easy to understand (if you don’t, click here to read how to translate Amazon Spain into English).
The downsides of Amazon Spain are:
- It doesn’t have the same range of products that Amazon UK or Germany have.
- Sometimes, items are more expensive than on Amazon UK and Amazon Germany.
So, if you can’t find what you’re looking for on Amazon Spain, you’ll need to look at one of the other alternatives.
Amazon UK
Amazon UK is probably the second-most popular stop for Amazon shoppers in Portugal. This is possibly a little bit due to the large number of English speaking expats living in Portugal, but mainly due to the fact that it’s so good.
Amazon UK:
- Generally has the biggest range of products available.
- It’s often the cheapest (although not always).
- Great for things like books, especially second-hand or rare books.
As with Amazon Germany (below), the downsides to Amazon UK are:
- Delivery can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.
- You normally have to pay for shipping.
- Some items can’t be shipped (or sellers charge an exorbitant amount to ship to Portugal).
Amazon Germany
Amazon Germany is usually the next fastest, and it’s often the European site that’s the best value for money as well. It doesn’t always have the same range as Amazon.co.uk, but it’s definitely a close second.
Amazon Germany:
- Is often cheaper than Amazon Spain (and sometimes Amazon UK as well).
- It’s available in English as well as German.
- It has a great range of products.
Amazon US
Amazon.com is the biggest Amazon site in the world, naturally, as it’s based in the United States and that’s where Amazon is from. Items are usually cheaper on Amazon.com, but be aware that goods imported from outside the EU are liable for customs duty. This means they usually end up as expensive as buying from one of the European Amazon sites, and with a lot more hassle as well.
Some items don’t get stopped. Many small, low-cost items like books get through fine, but electronics and more expensive items are likely to get stopped at Portuguese customs.
Even if you use Amazon’s Global program, a program where Amazon collects the customs duties in advance, the item is still going to get held up for a few days. You won’t be liable for any more taxes, but your order will still be delayed and you may be contacted and asked to provide the receipt and your fiscal number (Número de Identificação Fiscal). Naturally, this applies to other companies like eBay as well.
In terms of shipping times, books usually take around 2-5 weeks to come from the United States. Other items can arrive faster but, the more expensive they are, they more likely they are to get held up in Portuguese customs.
What to do if a seller won’t ship to Portugal
There are two types of sellers on Amazon. There’s Amazon and then there are the merchants who pay Amazon to list their products on there.
Generally, Amazon ships most of the products it sells to Portugal. Most sellers do ship to Portugal, although the postage they charge is often very expensive, but there are plenty of sellers that don’t as well.
If the seller doesn’t deliver to Portugal – and you won’t find this out until you get to the checkout, all you can do is add another product to your basket and see whether that one can be sent here. Alternatively, you could use a package forwarding company who will “forward” your order onto you.
There are two things that you can do to make your shopping experience a little bit easier.
- Change your one-click address to your address in Portugal so that Amazon can tell you whether that product ships to Portugal without having to go as far as the checkout stage (or set up a new account that only has your Portuguese postal address). (a)
- Filter the results to only show products that can be shipped internationally. You’ll have to select this filter each time, and it doesn’t always work, but overall it does make life easier. (b)
(a) To change your address, go to your account and under ‘settings’ click ‘manage your addresses’. Underneath the addresses in your address book you should see the words “Click here to make this your 1-Click default address.”
(b) The filter can be found on the left-hand side. There are a lot of filters, and so it isn’t always easy to find but it’s there. Tip: press CTRL + F and search for the word ‘global’ to find it quickly.
Some places – and this isn’t just Amazon, but Portuguese companies as well – won’t ship to the Azores or Madeira. Unfortunately, all you can do is keep looking for a company that does.
Switching Amazon to English
Although Amazon is a global company, their websites aren’t always multilingual. Amazon Spain, for example, is only available in Spanish. If you want to get Amazon Spain in English, you’re going to have to use your browser or Google Translate to translate it from Spanish to English.
Amazon Germany does allow you to change the language to another language (like English, Dutch, Polish, Turkish and Czech). It doesn’t translate everything, though, and you’ll probably end up needing to translate the product description using your browser.
Amazon UK and Amazon USA are both available in English as standard, which is one of the reasons a lot of expats living in Portugal use them – especially Amazon UK.
Portuguese alternatives to Amazon
Portuguese retailers are generally just more expensive than Amazon and, unless you need something fast, it usually makes more sense to shop online.
It’s frustrating for many people who would prefer to support a Portuguese company, and be able to pick up their order on the day, but that’s just the way it is.
If price is your main consideration, and you don’t mind waiting a few days for your order to come, Amazon is almost always the best bet.
Do you regularly shop at Amazon? Share your reviews, thoughts, and experiences with other shoppers in Portugal by leaving a comment below.
Hi. We’re going on holiday for 2 weeks self catering to Portugal in the summer.
Wondering if I could use amazon pantry to deliver bulky items like drinks etc. We can’t eat out much due to allergies
Hi K,
I don’t think Amazon Pantry delivers to addresses outside of the UK. There are a couple of alternatives, though.
Some Portuguese supermarkets offer home delivery, which I’ve written about in another blog post. So, you could order from them.
If you’re staying in the Algarve, and are looking for food items that you’re already familiar with, you could go to Iceland at Algarve Shopping. This isn’t identical to Iceland in the UK as it contains products from other stores like Waitrose as well. It’s basically a supermarket with English supermarket products. A lot are frozen or tinned, but they do have a butcher’s counter there as well.
Alternatively, I’m sure there’ll be a supermarket somewhere near your self-catering apartment. You could order a taxi or an Uber and do a weekly shop if you’re not hiring a car in Portugal.
Use a company called Algarve removals who ship foodstuffs from U.K. Supermarkets, sent to there uk address on the south coast and then shipped , algarveremovals.com
Does anyone know about the azores and does anything ship there? We are looking to move there and wanted to make sure places will ship?
Amazon ship to the Azores as far as I know, but the service is slower than to mainland Portugal. You’ll find that’s the case with everything, though. Add on around 3-4 working days or more.
Ikea also deliver to the Azores and Madeira, but it’s not possible to buy every product that’s on Ikea Portugal’s website. Some are for mainland Portugal only.
We have been using amazon in portugal for many years. We always use amazon uk as this has the best selection.
Don’t use forward2me for large items. Their website isn’t very clear how much the item will cost, and you won’t know until it arrives at their warehouse and they measure it. Stick to small items.
I live in Canada but my son is living in Portugal. Can I order from amazon UK or amazon es with a Canadian billing address?
Hey Dawn,
I think so! I’ve ordered from several European Amazons (.de, .fr, and .es) with a UK billing address.
James
I heard that amazon pantry spain delivers to algarve…but now when i try and do it it says it wont deliver to this address? Do I have to have over a certain amount for it to deliver?
Hi Bianca,
I’m not sure if Amazon Pantry Spain is still going.
James
Will the still ship items to Portugal azores from a USA account and will I still be able to buy digital items of amazon
Hi Diogo,
It depends on the seller and the item you want to ship. The only way to know is to add it to your basket and see.
As for the USA account (amazon.com), that shouldn’t make a difference.
Will you still be able to buy digital items? Do you mean Kindle Books and things like that? If your Kindle is registered to a US address, you shop at the Amazon US store. If it’s registered to a UK address, you shop at the UK store. Etc.
Having a shipping address in the Azores won’t make a difference. You can have several shipping addresses in your address book, but only one is tied to your digital purchases.
Hi.
I want to send from Portugal birthday gifts to a friend in Spain. What shall I do?
I also have an extra problem for I do not know if Amazon has gifts that could be sent.
Maybe you can help me finding the items, too.
Helium-filled balloons of animals;
Teddy Bear (child size);
Glass jar with roses.
Thx!
Hi Luis,
You can send an order from Amazon to your friend in Spain, but Amazon don’t really do gift wrapping or make it look like a present. If that’s important to you, you should get the items sent to you first, wrap them, and then send the package to your friend.
I would have a look on Amazon Spain to see if they have those items. If not, Amazon UK is a good place to look.
James
Hello James! Is there any way to purchase “Amazon Echo 2”?
It’s strange but amazone.uk/es/de does not ship it tho all sites around the web says Echo and Alexa available in Portugal. 🤷♀️
The Amazon Echo is a strange one. For some reason Amazon doesn’t ship them internationally. No idea why.
There are two ways that you could get your hands on one (that I can think of). The first is to shop at Amazon.co.uk and use a parcel forwarding company like forward2me. You send the package to them in England, and they forward it onto you in Portugal for a fee (they have a pricing estimator on their site).
The second option is to buy one on eBay. There are plenty of people/companies selling them new on eBay.
Hope that helps!
James
What is amazon.co.pt? When I go on it, it just takes me to amazon.co.uk?
Not sure about amazon.co.pt.
Had a quick look, and I don’t think it’s an official Amazon site. Like you say it just takes you to amazon.co.uk, so unfortunately it’s not a secret Portuguese Amazon site.
Hi. Is there anything similar to Amazon locker to postbox in Lisbon. I’ve shipped Amazon items successfully, but the shipping service sometimes required me to go collect from the shipper. Thanks in advance! James
I think Amazon lockers were due to be coming to Lisbon, but there’s no sign of them yet. There is Pudo, but I’ve never used them so don’t know what the service is like.
Hi James. I’m a regular user of Amazon Spain and I have Prime. Does my Prime.es work in other Amazon sites?
Hi Bruno,
Do you mean Amazon Prime or Amazon Prime Video?
I wasn’t able to get my Amazon Prime UK to work for deliveries in Germany or Spain. I think I am able to watch most of Amazon Prime’s videos, though.
How does the delivery process work for a delivery to an apartment in Lisbon WITHOUT a doorman? Are deliveries “scheduled” in some way, or is there some sort of centralized delivery location from which I would have to pick things up??
I realize things can’t just be left on the street, and leaving them in an unsecured lobby would be crazy too.
Hey Jeff,
Most apartments in Lisbon (and I think most of Europe) don’t have doormen so the process works like this:
The courier rings the doorbell for your apartment.
If you’re in, he brings it to you and you sign for it (it’s polite to go down to them if you don’t have an elevator).
If you’re not in, he either comes back another time or leaves a notice that you bring to the depot to collect your item.
Some couriers will leave an item with your neighbour but this *should* only happen if you’ve arranged for that to happen with the courier company.
Most couriers will only tell you the day that the courier should come and not an estimation of the time. After a while you get an idea of their rhythms though.
If you work in an office, it’s often easier to try and get things delivered there.
Hi!
I have some balance in gift cards from Amazon US, which I have used before to buy a mobile and some clothes, without any trouble to be shipped and received in Portugal. However, in the last two months I placed three different orders to get some items (wristwatch and a mobile cover and protective glass)
and they all have been returned to the seller (and I have been reemboursed after two weeks each time), but I don´t know if there is a new regulation on imports from the US to Portugal.
I inquired to Amazon US and they said it is a problem with Portuguese customs, and Portuguese customs said they cannot provide any explanation since items have not received a delivered order in Portugal.
I am afraid my Amazon.us gift card balance could not longer be used to import to Portugal. Amazon says it is not case, but my latest experiences make me thik the contrary.
Are you aware of any similar case and/or how to overcome this issue?
Thanks
Hi Carlos,
I think Amazon is right: it can’t be anything to do with using gift cards. That wouldn’t make a difference. As for new regulations, I have no idea and I don’t know why those particular items would be returned.
If you need the items, I would recommend ordering from a European Amazon store (e.g. Amazon UK, Germany, or Spain) and then decide what to do about your balance later.