Driving in Portugal

All of the driving I've done in Portugal has been what I'd describe as "easy." Then again, I'd say the same thing about all the driving I've ever done in France (except for in Paris). I'd expect driving in Portugal to be more or less like it is in France. As a wealthier country, France probably has a better road system overall, but I wouldn't expect much difference.

Honestly, I'm pretty surprised that anyone would call driving in France generally "treacherous." Are you sure you're remembering accurately? How long ago was that? Where have you driven that you didn't feel was "treacherous"?

Lots of very nice (toll) highways. We prepaid €80 for a toll pass when renting from Europcar at
Lisbon airport and travelled around the Silver Coast as far as Coimbra, Evora & Lagos.

Easy driving however parking can be difficult to find in big city. Or in little villages. Hopefully u rent a small car.

Driving is quite easy in Portugal, except for Lisbon and Porto, where I would not want to drive. The roads are much better than in the States but there are lots of quite expensive toll roads.
And, the Portuguese have a reputation of being bad drivers. I only drive here occasionally and haven’t had any problems, though.

Be aware that driving the entire length of the country one and a half times will be quite long and, in some cases, more expensive than taking trains due to the price of gas and tolls.

I would suggest taking the train from Lisbon to the Algarve before picking up your car. If you purchases tickets ahead of time it is very inexpensive and you can sit back and relax during the trip. And, if you decide to drive from the Algarve to Porto, add 2-4 hours to the Michelin or google estimates of time.

Lastly, Salema is one the last places I would stay in the Algarve! RS fascination with Salema is a complete mystery to me!

The treacherous driving was in the French Alps. We drove from Annecy to Nice. It took about 10 hours and while beautiful, included lots of cliffs and curves and narrow roads. That's the part I don't want to repeat. Thanks to all for your comments. I very much appreciate all of your perspectives.

Portuguese toll roads are quiet as the locals don’t use them. Driving standards off the motorways can be dreadful - overtaking on blind bends, not indicating etc.

I hope you aren’t heading all the way to Salema straight off a long flight - it’s far too long a journey when jet lagged. Salema has been ruined by over development. Lagos is a better base these days. Or Tavira.

Take the train from the Algarve to Porto, otherwise it will take you all day to drive on boring motorways. I hope that your trip is at least 2 weeks long to justify so much driving. Lisbon to Porto and towns in between can easily fill 2 weeks and is more traditionally Portuguese than the over-developed touristy beach resorts of the Algarve.

What I recall about driving in Portugal is that it seemed on Sundays every single male human being in the country was tearing around on his motorcycle. It was disconcerting at first.

I have done a lot of driving in Portugal, most recently in October. The super highways are excellent, and you can drive on them from the far south to the far north in one long day. These are toll roads and be sure get a toll box, or whatever they call it, when you rent the car - to deal with the tolls automatically. In my experience, the Portuguese drivers are similar in habits to those in Spain and France. They are terrible tailgaters, but otherwise, their skill level and safety consciousness has improved considerably in the past 20 years.
I am not a big fan of the Algarve - the only reason to go there is to visit beaches full of tourists or play golf.
As mentioned earlier, a car is more trouble than it is worth in Lisbon, Porto, and Braga. Having said that, a car is nice to have if you are planning to explore rural areas. There many trains a day running between Lisbon and Porto. In my opinion, it is less stressful to take the train that it is to deal with a rental car for that trip.