Portugal by Train or Car?

I can't imagine a trip to Portugal without renting a car. Efficiency and ease of driving there is similar to here in the US. Lisbon driving is terrible, but something I generally have to deal with when I visit, and not unlike any other big city. The rest of the country is a breeze. There are some long distances between towns and sites, and without a car you are wasting precious time. Just take normal precautions as you would anywhere renting a car, as described in all of Rick's books. And search this forum for advice and recommendations that many travelers have already offered.

I totally agree with Carl. Having a car will allow you the freedom to visit where and when you want. Usually hotels do offer parking. I found outside the large cities it was free or fairly inexpensive. Just check your proposed hotel's website and it should tell you about availability and fees. I found driving in Portugal to be easy and safe and insane only in Lisbon and Porto.

Where in Spain and Portugal are you planning to go? Between the big cities, transit (both trains and buses) is very good and a car is a hassle. For smaller towns and rural areas, a car is very handy.

Also, be aware that connecting Spain and Portugal on one trip is much harder than you would think. There are very few trains, and there are some buses (often at very inconvenient hours). There are flights, which often work out best. If you rent a car in one country and drop it in the other, you can have a surprisingly high drop charge. But, there's usually no extra charge for returning a car in the country you rented it, even if it's a different city. So, if you're driving and planning to see both countries, figure out a route that has you ending in the country you started from - or carefully investigate the drop fees. If you're not driving, look at the flight, bus and train options, and be prepared for them not to exist or to be more complicated than you expected.

Thanks, everyone for your advice. Harold, I appreciate the heads-up on the difficulties traveling from western Spain into Portugal. I knew about the drop-off fee for rental cars, but I didn't know how limited the train service was. Our plan is to fly into Madrid in late May and do some day trips in the area before heading over to Portugal. We had originally planned to take a train to Merida, Spain before crossing over into Portugal by bus, where we thought we might rent a car in Evora. Now we're thinking about flying from Madrid into Lisbon and possibly renting a car there, once we're ready to leave the city. We're interested in Lisbon, Sintra, Serra de Arrabida Nature Park, Coimbra, Conimbriga, Aveiro, Porto, and maybe Obidos. We're also considering driving south to see some of the more picturesque beaches in the Algarve. (We enjoy nature photography, and the landscapes look wonderful.) We'll probably fly back out of Lisbon, so we're trying to figure out how to do a tour without too much backtracking. We'd like to travel for 2 or 2.5 weeks. Any thoughts on the itinerary?

We drove from northern Spain to Portugal last fall and it was amazing. We did have the drop off fee and also most of the major roads are toll roads but they're well maintained and the traffic was very light. Other than Porto where the traffic was crazy and parking expensive, we had no problems and we returned the car as soon as we reached Lisbon. Our itinerary included the Douro Valley, Porto, Coimbra and Lisbon in about a week. We definitely managed much more than if we would have done it by train.

My wife and I just returned from Portugal in February, 2017 after spending 2 weeks there. We flew to Lisbon from Barcelona (very reasonable flight) and having decided to NOT have a car, we traveled by bus and train from the Algarve to Lisbon, Coimbra and onto Porto with a return to Lisbon for our departure. We started in the south and moved across the Algarve and then headed north. We planned the entire trip without a car from our home in Arkansas on the internet with bus passes (very comfortable and efficient), train tickets (again, easy to do on the internet with timetables you can depend on) and left the driving to others. We were so glad to NOT have a car in Lisbon and in Porto as the traffic there was very busy and not pleasant. Having lived and driven in the Boston area for many years, we were familiar with “ heavy traffic” and the issue of parking in the intercity. Very similar. The convenience of going where you want on your schedule was not as important to us as intermingling with the local people on the various means of public conveyance. We got to meet people and experience things that we would not have experienced in our own little world of 4-wheels. Obviously, we didn’t have the control our own time but we were able to schedule drivers and tour guides in certain areas that gave us a much more in depth knowledge of the area, both from a historical point of view as well as the local sights and tips point of view. Using Rick’s suggestions throughout Portugal, we found interesting places and people that helped make our journey memorable. Thank you Rick.

My wife and I did a similar trip to the above post. Just "homemade" Rick Steves style of which we've done many and all very enjoyable, trouble free successes. We decided to avoid the car issues this time - and have rented cars in Europe on other trips. We found the bus service between Lisbon and Lagos was the best option and an absolutely gorgeous drive (but why not let the driver do the driving?). Our Algavre destination was actually Salema, an original Rick Steves "Backdoor" Town. We arrived in Lagos, had a great lunch at a no-doubt Rick Steves recommended seafood restaurant, cooled off with some vinho verde and then easily got a cheap cab to take us down the coast to Salema. We did not like our B+B type accommodations (Rick's recommendations won't always be perfect) and ended up staying in the modern low-rise hotel. We LOVED Salema, a tiny little village clinging to the rocky cliffs with a great quiet beach w/ good services and plenty of amazing little restaurants. While there we had no problem getting local cabs/drivers (I think one Rick mentioned in the guidebook) to take us around the area including all the way down to the "End of the World" at Sagres, the "Navigator School" (not much to write home about there...), back to Lagos, etc. We eventually cabbed back to get our Lagos to Lisbon bus. Worked like a charm and no car/parking hassles. Do NOT miss the Gulbenkian museum and Sintra is definitely a Lisbon area must-see and was a highlight of the whole trip. We actually felt in the end that it might have been better to stay in Sintra as a home base; a cooler, calmer, delightful flower-decked town full of great restaurants and its own amazing sites, and then take the short train back/forth to Lisbon a few days to tour there. We found Lisbon to be one of the "roughest" European capitals (this was about 5 years ago) and really had the most hassles we've encountered (very bad/cheating cabbies, restaurant issues, etc) in decades of European travel. Still nothing that bad and a fascinating, beautiful city with a lot going for it and mostly great people. ENJOY!

Portugal trip 04/23 through 5/10 with side to Seville.
1. Arrive in Lisbon before 1200 with connection in CDG. Metro to hotel near Gloria funicular. 3 nights.
2. 45-50 minute train to Sintra for two nights.
3. Return to Lisbon by train and metro to pick-up rental car at airport. Easy out of airport for north direction to Torres Novas for two nights.
4. Over 3 days we drive east to Castelo de Videl, Tomar and Evora. Could have stayed and would recommend others stay two nights in the Castelo de Videl or Marvao area for hikes. Transponder highway is faster for the east direction. Castello do Almoural 10-20 K from Torres Novas.
5. 3 nights in outside Evora. Drove to Elvas, through marble country Borba and SouthEast to Seville. Wish I had several days to stay in Parque de la Sierra for forts, castles and hikes. 2 nights Seville.
6. Scenic drive southwest to Burgau with short stop near La Antilla (could be the next Selema) on the Spain coast. Crossing the RioGuadiana is lovely.
7. Do not tell RS readers about Burgau. 3 miles by foot is Luz, a bit more upscale.
8. Loop drives Monchique, Aljezur, Sagres and Silves.
9. Burgau to Faro. Faro drives x2.
Here is the drum roll or toll. Over 3000 km and 500 Euro for car and petrol. Short distances seemed to blossom into longer distances. I would recommend a car outside the large cities in Portugal and narrow down your selection of sites with longer stays. The Toll road in Algarve is fast, costs euros and at times is a distance from the beach. Beach road is under construction and slow. We had a rental car due to planning frustrations with Portugal's public transportation whether it was information, routes, costs, and times. To get to Seville from the west of Portugal I believe it is a night train to Madrid and then on to Seville or from Faro by bus.

Would love a critique on our planned fall trip. We're 2-75+- year old couples with lots of RS type travel experience.

Lisbon 7 days with side trips to Sinatra, cascais, Queluz, etc.
Train to Evora 2 nites
Rent car drive to Estremoz, 1 nite, then Marvao-1 nite
Tomas on route to Obidos (3 nites)
Nazare (2 nites)
Coimbra3 nites w day trip to Mater do Bucaco
Driving over 3 days Torre-Belmont-Castillo Mendo-Melbourne-Castelo (Suggestions where to stay welcome)
Pinhao, Sabrosa or Villa Real-1 nite
Another Douro valley stop then d/o car in Porto
Porto 3 nites

Lisbon to Evora is a bus trip.

It's best to rent a car. You won't need one in Lisbon. I suggest spending time in Lisbon and picking up the car at the train station on your way out. Porto is challenging to drive in. Coihmbra was fairly easy. Countryside is very easy. Your itinerary sounds fine. I'm an avid travel photographer too. I do suggest Fatima and Bathalia as well as Obidoos.