Driving from Spain to Portugal

If you rent a car in Spain and drop it off in Portugal, expect a hefty fee for that. You should check with the company to see how hefty. Most likely you will want to take public transport. Problem with that is, it's generally not as easy as you would expect. It certainly is possible, but usually requires more hoop-jumping than one might first expect.

Spain and Portugal are not as well connected as most visitors assume they are.

When someone rents a car in one country and then wants to drop it off in another country, there is usually a very steep drop-off fee, like several hundred euros, so most people do not consider that. You can check that out yourself.
Public land transport between Spain and Portugal is generally very difficult. Others can give you better guidance on that. One alternative would be to fly from Seville to Lisbon, and rent a car there.

How long do you have to see Portugal and whereabouts do you want to go? As others have stated, there will be a large one way drop fee, but do some dummy bookings online to compare this to the price of getting to wherever in Portugal you want to start your trip and the price of car hire in the respective countries.

If you want to spend some time in the Algarve, then take the bus from Seville to Faro then hire a car. I recommend that to cover the Algarve, Lisbon, Porto and towns in between such as Evora, Tomar and Batalha, a 3 week timeframe is sensible.

The Algarve is all about golf and beaches rather than cultural highlights. If this isn’t your focus, then take a flight from Seville to Lisbon or Porto and hire the car there. Remember when checking timetables that Portugal is an hour behind Spain.

Petrol and diesel is more expensive in Portugal than in Spain. If you are using Portuguese toll roads, it’s easier having a transponder in the car for payment, which you won’t be able to get with a Spanish car rental.

THANK YOU for the very helpful tips so far, I'll look into public transport to get to Portugal from Seville. Your comments are very much appreciated!

Looks like you can fly from Sevilla to Lisbon on Ryanair and TAP. Pay extra for a toll reader with the car - it's so worth it for the convenience.

When is your trip. How long do you have in Portugal. What are you main interests? The Algarve may only be worthwhile if you go at the right time of year and have realistic expectations. I used a car mainly to see the eastern part of the country, from Evora via Elvas up to the Douro and around Porto (Braga, etc). For the western area, the train is faster, cheaper, more efficient.

Thanks Chani for the additional information. the tour consultant at RS recommended bus from Sevilla to Faro airport to pick up a car so we will likely do that. we don't plan to stay in the Algarve...just drive through to see it and maybe hit a beach for a day. then on up to Lisbon and finally to Porto. we only have a week so not long in any one place.

The fast trains in Portugal are comfortable, frequent and relatively inexpensive, espcially if you book in advance or take advantage of senior discounts. Driving in Lisbon is horrible and parking is expensive. If you spend 3 nights there and 2 in Porto, that doesn't give you much time (if any) to see anything in between, if you include the day (and night?) in the south. To me it seems like a lot of wasted travel time and hassle, not to mention expense, for seeing a bit of the Atlantic coast.

If you do end up taking a car, pay for a toll reader. It is worth the money. My experience is that you should avoid the highways around Porto and Lisbon in rush hour. It can be bumper-to-bumper start-and-(mostly)stop. Add 25-50% to driving times shown on GPS, google maps, etc. if you aren't on the toll road.