We will be traveling to Portugal in September for three weeks. We are flying into Lisbon with a stay for four nights and will not have a car during that time. We want to pick up a rental car when we leave Lisbon and will be heading either directly south to Lagos or southeast to Evora. (Still deciding whether to just forgo the Algarve and extend time in Lisbon). We will end our road trip in Porto, coming from the Douro Valley (having stayed along the way at other destinations).
I am thinking that it is best to pick up and drop off our rental car on the outskirts of Lisbon and Porto in order to avoid driving in the city centers, where our hotels are located. Would you agree?
If you have any recommendations as to car rental agencies/locations for our purposes, I would be very appreciative of your advice. Thank you.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6788 posts
Your overall plan sounds OK to me. You certainly don't need or want a car while you're staying in Lisbon.
That said, I've picked up a rental car in central Lisbon more than once (I think 3 times?) and did not find the drive outward difficult. IME, in many big cities, driving out and away from the center is a lot easier and less-stressful than finding your way in to it from outside the city (the signs for highways are usually big and easy to follow, versus trying to find a specific neighborhood then an individual street address). Lisbon seems to be one of those cities like that. Just be super-careful -- and have a designated navigator/helper watching for signs and traffic, and pointing the way -- for the first few minutes, as you acclimate to driving in a strange land (the first few minutes behind the wheel are the most dangerous). Can't help you with Porto, haven't been there.
I like getting my rental cars through gemut.com, I tell them what/where/when, and let them figure out the best deal for me.
Posted by
11161 posts
We picked up our car at Lisbon airport and dropped it off at Porto airport.
Posted by
14 posts
We also rented at Lisbon airport (when we landed) and returned to Porto airport. On the return to Porto we did drive into the city first to drop our luggage at our rental, since it was a bit of a walk from the closest metro station, which we took back from the airport after dropping the car. Both getting out of Lisbon at the beginning and getting into Porto (and halfway back out to airport) at the end were not bad, but it was good that we had one driver and one navigator. It was really easy to correct our mistakes when we first got in the car in Lisbon and missed a turn or exit, lots of easy ways to get back on track.
I wouldn't think it was too big a deal to rent from a place near your hotel and navigate your way out of the city, but if navigation is more of a concern than, say, dragging your luggage out to a distant rental place, then it could be worth it. OTOH, my impression was that it's cheapest to rent from the airports, particularly if you are doing a one-way hire like this. It was pricey. But totally worth it. We loved our one-week road trip through the Alentejo, Beiras and Douro.
Posted by
Victoria, BC, Canada
372 posts
We did this in Sept 2018. We booked with EuropCar, we picked up the car near the Santa Apolonia station in Lisbon. Drove south along the coastal route to Lagos where we spent 4 nights. Then drove via Evora and through Tomar to the coast. From there we drove north via Coimbra and dropped the car in Porto, I think it was Rua Boavista. Took a taxi from there to our hotel. We found driving in Portugal to be easy - courteous drivers, roads in great condition and well signed. Be sure to get a toll do-hickey included, there are several toll highways.
Posted by
OP
19 posts
Thank you so much David, Suki, pkt63 and Kathleen for taking the time to respond to my post. You have all given me information that is very useful. If we decide to skip the Algarve, it looks like picking up the car at the airport would give us easy access to the highway to drive to Evora. If we decide to keep the Algarve in our itinerary, I appreciate the specific area in Lisbon to pick up the car that you mentioned Kathleen. Thank you also for the positive review re driving in Portugal -- great to hear!
Kathleen, and for all of you who have been to the Algarve, did you feel that the time it takes to get there was worth it? In looking at driving distances, it looks like it would take a minimum of 3 hours driving time. Is that about right, or should we prepare for additional time. (This is our first trip to Portugal.)
Thank you so much!