2-week solo roadtrip in Portugal

Hi Vince. We drove part of Rick's itinerary. From Sintra to the Algarve, through the Alentejo to Evora, up to Nazare, Obidos and back to Lisbon, where we dropped the car , you wouldn't want it in Lisbon. We found the roads easy to navigate, and had no issues of feeling unsafe. Much of the time our rental car was parked in public places and we had no break-ins.
We got a transponder ( i think it was called that) for the toll roads when we picked up our car, and used the toll roads when convenient. It added a bit to the price, but the toll roads were excellent, and saved us time. The secondary roads are for the most part also very good. We did end up on a couple of quite narrow ones while exploring, but those could have been avoided.
We do drive standard, and had a fairly small car. We tried not to leave our bags in the car, but had to a few times. We don't travel fancy, so our car may not have looked too touristy.

We really enjoyed Portugal and actually felt that people were very honest and politely helpful. I actually left a bag with my phone in a taxi, and it was turned in to a police station. We continually felt we were being undercharged at restaurants. We exercised the same caution we would here at home if out at night.
If you do decide to go, we felt the drive through the Alentejo was very lovely.

Most of the car crime is in the Algarve. I have had an attempt to break into my car once there where they tried to jemmy the lock. I never leave anything on display in a car and leave the glove box open. The police said it often happens in supermarket car parks. They blamed migrants from North Africa.

The roads there are easy to drive, but there are some manic drivers, but no worse than anywhere else in Europe.

I have not done the route suggested by RS. But, spent a week last spring driving all over central Portugal with zero problems. I am now visiting the Algarve and have been driving for the last 5 days with zero problems. I'm not certain where the horror stories come from, but possibly things are more dicey during the summer months.
I would suggest the device in your rental car that deals with the toll roads, but most car rentals have them. The toll roads, except around Lisbon, are sparsely traveled because the cost is prohibitive for most Portuguese. I've been using non-toll roads this week and have not even had a map! I've been able to use the signage and make it to all the towns I've wanted to visit - so far.
You don't say when you will be traveling but outside July and August you will likely find Portugal significantly less crowded than many other European countries. It is a delight!

Thanks all! That's what I figured. People seemed to be a bit over paranoid. I drove in Romania for 2 weeks on my own, people told me it wasn't safe, but I had zero problem and never felt unsafe. I don't travel fancy either, except for my DSLR camera but I obviously don't leave it or any valuables alone in the car. I guess common sense plays a big role as anywhere else on the planet. I'm going during the first 2 weeks of October so it should be the low-season. Although everyone seem to visit Portugal this year, so will see! Thanks again!

Hi Vince,

My family drove throughout Portugal, pretty much including every one of Rick Steves' suggested stops (Tomar, Evora, Obidos, Nazarre, Alcobaça, Batalha, Fátima, Coimbra, Porto, Braga, the Douro valley) except the Algarve, and only had problems getting back to the Lisbon airport at the very end of the trip- we got caught in a roundabout and couldn't switch 6 lanes successfully. Other than that, driving was easy, and even fun.

We had a great time with our rented car- the highways are beautifully maintained and, in some places, empty, and there was no real concern at any point in our trip. We never 'broke down', so I can't speak for that aspect.

Robert in Montreal