We are six adults and plan to rent 2 cars during our 4 night stay in Lagos. Originally we were going to rent a large van but the price of the van is now too high.
Do we need to rent the toll transponder for the Algarve?
We plan to do some exploring of the towns and beaches east and west of Lagos. When I Google map, it appears that the non-toll roads from Sagres to Faro only add about 30 minutes. Also, is it very inconvenient to pay the tolls manually?
Thanks.
We rented a transponder from our rental car agency but then decided to do what you mentioned and just drive the non-toll roads. It added a bit of time but was perfectly fine!
I always get the transponder. The tolls are quite low and 30 minutes each way is an extra hour a day in the car. I don’t want to spend more time than necessary driving. I can’t remember if there’s even an option to pay manually. You might have to go online afterwards and pay that way.
Thanks for advice. I read on tripadvisor that there is no way to pay tolls manually. We would have to pay €20 for transponder which I think includes €15 of pre-paid tolls. I don't think we would use up all the pre-paid amount in the 4 night stay. I have also been told there are no tolls if we tour West of Lagos. When we tour East of Lagos to Albufeiro and possibly Faro, we will be making frequent stops to explore. We don't expect to be commuting back and forth on the A22 all that much.
Some roads don’t have an option to pay manually. The Portugal tolls link below has an option to register your vehicle using a credit card for a 30 day period and your card will be charged when assessed a fill with a very nominal service charge. If you won’t be in country that long, you cancel the registration when you’re done using the vehicle. The link is for foreign registered vehicles but don’t know why you couldn’t do the same thing with a Portugal registered vehicle. For us, we’re renting the car in Spain. Someplace on the website it shows the toll roads that are all electronic collection, no manual pay.
Obviously it’s entirely up to you, but I don’t consider €20 to be a huge amount to pay for the convenience of being able to use whatever roads I want and are the quickest roads. There are no worries about accidentally going on the wrong road and then having to faff about with online forms when I’m supposed to be on holiday.
Helen, I always like to save a few Euros, especially with 2 cars and we may only be subject to tolls when we do the probably only one day trip East of Lagos. We might easily avoid the tolls by taking N125 and visiting the towns along the way to Albufiero. The transponder would be useful if we stay longer and had to commute quickly from one end to other end of Algarve many times. Plus, I have more than 4 months before our trip, so what else am I going to do but research and plan the little details.
Where I live, we do not have to deal with tolls, so I am always interested on how things work in the country I will be visiting. Jaimeel, thanks for the link. It does say this is for foreign registered cars, so may not work for the Portuguese rental car. And since we are only renting for 4 days, if I register the rental plate, I could end up paying the tolls for the subsequent renter. A poster on tripadvisor said that we can rent the transponder for €20 and if we avoid all the tolls, we should get a full refund. But if we hit even one toll, the balance of the unused €20 is non-refundable. Good to know. Thanks all.
I'd check with your rental company. I thought that there was just the charge for the transponder and then the other amount was a deposit for when you did use the tolls. If you use less than the deposit, I would think it would be refunded. Personally, I like to save a few dollars, but in this case, I would recommend getting a transponder. Sometimes it's just nice to jump onto the toll roads. They are wonderful in Portugal and a nice break from having someone riding on your bumper. They tend to be wide open and stress free. Worth it in my opinion.
Just to note, we didn't drive in the Algarve, so perhaps the driving is different there and perhaps the Portuguese are less in a hurry in that area?
And, I'm guessing you are also taking into account fuel costs when you do your calculation? Fuel is expensive and that extra time on the road, will also add costs.
"Do we need to rent the toll transponder for the Algarve?"
Yes. Yes, you do.
But, if you are travelling in a lower budget, maybe you can avoid the highways, meaning you just have to be very concerned about it.
There are (I think) countries without these "issues" - meaning "prices"? Cheaper countries, maybe? Or even countries without roads with tolls?
Here's a link from March to a similar conversation about this...
