Hi !
Is it feasible to plan something like :
4 Days Barcelona
5- 6 Days northern Spain on route to Porto ( by rented car)
3 Days Porto
4 Days between Porto and Lisbon
4 Days in Lisbon
We know we would have to drop the car before getting in Portugal. What would be our best option ?
Thanks !
In fact for now we have 2 options (flights cost are more or less the same, direct flight fromn Montreal)
Options 1) leaving july 9 from Montreal to Barcelona (arrival july 10) return august 2 from Lisbon. That makes 23 full days in Europe
Option 2 ) leaving July 4 From Montreal to Lisbon (arrival july 5) return july 26 From Porto . That makes 21 full days in Europe. In that option we would rent a car after Lisbon going up to northern Spain, stopping on route in diffent places in Portugal (the farthest we would go is San Sebastian) and finish our trip In Porto.
Still debating what the best option is.
Does option 2 drop Barcelona? If you aren't flying in there, Barcelona is a long way off to include in a loop.
Car hire will be cheaper if you return the car in the same country, although you will still have to pay a one way drop fee. It could cost hundreds of euros to drop it back in a different country. I hired a car in Portugal last year and it cost an additional 30 euros to insure it for Spain (it was returned to Portugal).
Portugal has a complicated motorway toll system and it is easier with a transponder from a Portuguese hire company rather than trying to pay tolls with a "foreign" i.e. Spanish car.
Jennifer said "Portugal has a complicated motorway toll system". She is being nice. It is more than complicated, even for a portuguese car if it has not the proper device, so you can imagine with a "foreign" car (just received a fine from "Via Verde" - toll system company - that's why I'm talking like this. Not a big fine, just 2,40 euros, but anyway). If you hire the car in Portugal then you have the proper device to go through all kind of toll sustems (yes, we have more than one) without problems.
Concerning your question, IMO the best option is the one that includes Barcelona. It seems more reasonable to me, and you have 2 extra days!
