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Free GPS app for finding your way in Portugal, driving or walking

We have just returned from traveling in Portugal and want to tell other travelers about something that was very helpful to us there. It is a free app for driving in Portugal which can be used completely offline. We downloaded it from the App Store, chose English for our language, and it took us everywhere. It is called MEO Drive. It is easy to use, gives spoken turn by turn directions and can be programmed to avoid toll roads or motorways if you prefer to drive the small roads. You only need to enter the name of your next hotel and it will find a couple of routes to it.
We did not drive in Lisbon, but went by bus to Evora and picked up our rental car there. Then we drove to Marvão, Obidos, Bussaco, Pinhao and returned the car when we got to Porto. Driving in either Lisbon or Porto would be a nightmare, but we found it easy driving in the countryside using the app.
We paid a fee, (I think it was about 8€ ) to activate the transponder on the rental car so tolls could be calculated. When we returned the car we owed 7€ in tolls which we thought was very reasonable.
We talked to a couple who had paid 80€ to their rental car company for a car with GPS. It is not necessary to incur this expense if you have a mobile phone and use the free app.

Posted by
3777 posts

Thank you for sharing. I just downloded it because i am thinking of going to Lisbon in February or April of next year.

Posted by
25 posts

Good tips Marian!

When I rented a car from Lisbon to Coimbra five years ago, with many small towns in between, I couldn't figure out why the GPS was taking us through some small town back lanes while a modern highway was right beside us.

Turned out that sometimes the GPS from a car rental agency doesn't have an updated map in its memory. My GPS chip was ten years old!

Buyer beware! Portugal has excellent roads overall. Just find them. This may help.

(it is somewhat fun to get lost in Portugal, if you have the time)