Hello, We will be landing at the Lisbon airport at 9 a.m. and would like to pick up our car and start our road trip from there, bypassing a stay in the city until the end of our trip. We are heading north and our itinerary is very fluid at this point. Right now I'm thinking that we might make the trip from the airport to Obidos, where we will spend the day and overnight. My questions are: is this a relatively easy drive to make mid day? And also, is it a lot of hassle and expensive to park outside of Obidos? We will be tired, but want to get headed in the right direction. If not Obidos, where would you suggest?
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1826 posts
Driving from the airport midday will likely be ok - if there are no accidents. The traffic in Lisbon can get very backed up and it’s hard to predict when it might happen. But, generally midday is best. And the drive to Obidos is almost totally on big highways and not a difficult drive.
Be aware that Obidos is quite small and will have limited accommodations. There is a big parking lot right outside the city for tourists but I’m not certain you can park there overnight.
IMO there are likely better places to spend the night, especially if you are flying from the States and will be very tired when you arrive. Ericeira is closer to Lisbon and is a lovely small town with a great beach. Tomar is a little further than Obidos and has a nice old town plus a spectacular convent.
You could even stay someplace like Sintra or Cascais then pick up your car after one night when you would be rested. That would avoid driving in Lisbon at all.
Just some thoughts...
Posted by
OP
6 posts
Thank you for your response. Since I wrote this post, I have refined my ideas a bit. I'm thinking that we will drive to Sintra and spend a couple nights there before heading North. There are places to stay where we can park the car for a few days and enjoy the area (and recover from jet lag). I'd like the convenience and time savings of NOT having to travel back to the airport to rent the car, and think we will be okay for a short drive after our flight, and that seems like a nice alternative. I haven't looked into our car rental yet, but see that you are from the area. Maybe you know if there is someplace near you where we can rent the car? Either Sintra, Cascais or Ericeira?
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1826 posts
There is definitely no reason to drive back to the airport to pick up a rental car. I’ve rented a car in Cascais a couple of times with good results. I’ve used Auto Europe for years and they consolidate with Europcar in Portugal. The Europcar office is across the street from the train station so very convenient.
I’m not certain about Sintra or Ericeira but if you do a search on their site, you can easily find out.
Just an FYI - Sintra has recently banned cars from it’s center. I’m not certain how big an area, but when looking for accommodation, be aware of that.