Hello guys,
My boyfriend and I will be in Portugal for 2 weeks (end of June-early July), staying in Cascais with family. We are young (30's) and adventurous and would like to see as much as we can without spending money extravagantly. We are both social latin dancers and will definitely include salsa dancing in our itinerary.
After looking at prices for bus fares and train fares I realized that using public transportation to travel within the country would add up to be a good amount of money. I then looked at the price of rental cars and was amazed at how reasonable it costs.
I am certain that it would cost us less to rent a car than use train/bus for traveling around plus the convenience of being at your own schedule...
Is it better budget wise to rent a car indeed? Is it safe? Is it easy to drive around? We live in Florida and are pretty used to chaos traffic but we know our way around, not sure how it would feel in a strange place.
I also have family in Porto and will surely spend a couple of days there.
Any other suggestions/ideas?
Any help is appreciated!!!
Thanks!!!
Posted by
Coquitlam
220 posts
There are advantages to both travel options. I prefer a car due to the flexibility it provides and the ability to travel to more obscure places. That is why we travel by car. I am not sure it is cheaper, but use a car if you wish. I would in your circumstances. If you only visit big cities do not use a car as a car is a pain in large cities.
Have a great trip.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15146 posts
It depends on where you need to go.
Countryside and small towns/villages are best done with a car.
Big cities like Lisbon and Porto, you don't need a car, actually a car is a hassle in any big European city.
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
Long distance trains are good value if booked more than a week in advance.
I have been to Portugal 19 times now and I have always hired a car, which is some of the best value in Europe. You don't need a car in the cities and parking is expensive here.
Public transport is poor inland, so a car is essential for this kind of exploring.
Hiring a car is generally safe, although the driving standards in some places are questionable. I have seen few accidents in all my time there. The roads in Europe are much narrower than those I have driven in Florida.
There are some beautiful places between Cascais and Porto both inland and on the coast. I am sure your relatives there could point you in the direction if some more unusual places too.
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1665 posts
Doing a combination of public transport and driving is likely the best. As said previously, a car is a huge hassle in Lisbon and Porto. But is great in the smaller areas. It will depend on where your family lives in Cascais as to whether a car is better here. I live here without a car but I'm right on a bus line.
That said, when visiting Evora or Coimbra - or along the Silver Coast, a car is handy and gives you more options of where to go quickly and easily.
Auto Europe is a great place to rent a car. They are a consolidator and use Europcar here in Portugal. There is a handy office here in Cascais right by the train station. You could potentially spend your time here, then rent a car when you leave to go north. Then turn it back in when you arrive in Porto.
And, as mentioned earlier, if you buy train tickets ahead of time, you save about 40%.
Posted by
7642 posts
Main problem with a rental car is finding parking in larger cities. Either give up the car for Lisbon and Porto or find a hotel that has free parking.