Hello! We will be picking up a rental car on our way out of Lisbon, first heading to Sines area. We are leaning toward using Europcar but for some reason not real excited about using the airport for pick up location. Has anyone used a downtown office, and if so, a recommendation for location that would be easiest to navigate out of town to the A2? Also, we'll ultimately be dropping upon arrival in Porto. Airport certainly an option, but is it crazy to try dropping downtown as an alternative? Many thanks!
Posted by
Living in a suburb of Los Angeles
110 posts
I picked up a rental car from Enterprise at the Lisbon airport. My car was needed to get to Coimbra, with tourist stops in between. I then took the train to get to Porto. The Lisbon check in area was right by the TI booth. The check in process was digitized and lengthy, with assistance readily available. The car pick up area was at the airport parking area, walking distance away. All of it was well organized. The only thing I disliked was that there was no "at the car" instructions or existing damage assessment. Access to the interstate was easy enough with a GPS. The car came with a transponder for automatic toll charging. Getting into Coimbra was difficult with all the road work along the river. In addition, I had a hard time finding the Rental Car office the following day. It was a very small office on a very tiny street with no designated parking for returns. It took me 30 minutes of driving in the immediate area with a GPS to find it then a place to park. I did pay a significant one way charge, but it allowed me to see Fatima, Batalha, Alcobaca and Tomar. In the end, it was worth it.
Try dropping off the car near one of the train stations in Porto?
Posted by
Lubbock, TX
417 posts
When I did my last road trip in Portugal, I picked up my car at the downtown Hertz location and dropped it off at the Porto airport. I chose to pickup downtown because the airport reviews in Lisbon were terrible. I had a great experience at both locations. I chose Hertz because of the price, but you should compare all companies and check reviews yourself. It was very easy to drive out of town and get on the freeway.
Posted by
OP
14 posts
Thank you both, truly appreciate you sharing your experiences! So helpful in helping us sort through significant indecisiveness. Strong lean now toward picking up at a downtown Lisbon location, dropping at the Porto airport. Thanks again!
Posted by
Vancouver, BC, Canada
1318 posts
Check out zestcarrental.com and compare prices and pick up and drop off options.
During our trip, I considered picking up at the Lisbon airport (small fee), having car dropped off at our hotel (small fee) or picking up at the car rental company's business office outside of the airport in the outskirts of the city near the Vasco da Gama bridge for free. We opted for the latter and paid for a cheap Uber to drive us from the hotel to the car rental office. That way, we avoided having to drive in the busy city streets. We did not drive to Porto, but dropped off in the Algarve, so I have no advice.