Rental Car Advice In Lisbon

I have used AutoEurope for every rental in Europe. There are a consolidator, but based in the U.S. and their customer service is excellent. They have at least 6 companies they use. I am going to France/Spain in September (fingers crossed) and I've rented out of Bordeaux. I used AutoEurope, 5 out of the 6 quotes were quite high. I did get quite a reasonable quote from Sixt. In the past I've compared the quoted price to a price I would get going to the specific company's website. The AutoEurope rate is always the same or even less. Any time I've called AutoEurope with a customer service need, their service has been excellent.

Tried AutoEurope. Didn't get me anything but the higher rates or the mostly known entities. I arrived at the lower rates through Kayak and Hopper, which I hesitate to trust -- though the Hopper app led me to book directly with Global Rent A Car. Orbitz gets me slightly better rates with Thrifty and Dollar, but I've seen a lot of threads from travelers who say NEVER book with anything but the company itself.

I’ll echo a previous poster about driving in Lisbon. Many of the direct routes are open only to taxis. There are big pillars in the center of these streets which retract when signaled by a taxi. You will find navigation difficult and parking impossible. With your wife’s ambulation difficulty you may find yourself parked very far from where you want to be. She should know this also-walking in Lisbon is tricky. The sidewalks are paved with tile in various states of repair. Tripping and falling are very common. Using a wheelchair is quite difficult. I know this first hand.

Thanks for the great advice. This makes complete sense as far as not renting a car in Lisbon when we arrive. Now that I think about it during our last European trip (the aforementioned CDG kerfuffle), we drove from Paris to Rome -- and put the car in a garage for two days while we were staying with friends in Rome. Although we used the car during our three days in Paris, we also took Lyft and did some walking. This time, she has something called an Alinker walking bike (actress Selma Blair uses it) and it was really great to have while recently visiting family in Manhattan. Lisbon is even more challenging I know, but it sounds like a car will be more of a hindrance than a help.

Gosh, I'm sorry to hear that. I got $480 USD for just over 3 weeks in France/Spain. The other 5 companies were similar to what you noted, $900- $1000. I made my reservation a few weeks back, tho. I think pricing for cars is changing rapidly. It does make me want to check other companies in the future. Good luck.

As others have mentioned, driving in Lisbon is a really bad idea. I'm not familiar with walking bikes, but don't disregard public transport. The metro is wheelchair accessible, as are most buses. Unfortunately most of the trams are not.

For those curious, here is a link to the Alinker It is an alternative to the wheelchair that fits where wheelchairs can go. Users love it because it has a coolness factor and (more importantly) puts them at eye level with other people. It also easily folds up and fits into almost any car. We used a portable wheelchair for our last European trip and we think this will work much better.

Still looking for thoughts on "off-brand" rental car companies in Lisbon....

Thanks for the link, if it fits where wheelchairs can go there is really no need to avoid public transportation, with the option of taking a taxi when needed.

Interesting Dutch invention, that Alinker. I can see it of great use outdoors, but I wonder since it is unusual and doesn't look like usual wheelchairs or scooters, how it would be received indoors at museums, restaurants and hotels? I'd be very interested to hear how your wife is received on one?

Is the saddle large enough and comfortable enough to sit in all day?

I’ll let my wife address these issues. Bottom line: For those who can walk but occasionally need a wheelchair, this is a godsend. She has not had any problemS, only questions and compliments. Recently, we used it in the Whitney in NYC. But a few museums in the US have questioned Alinker use. She finds it very comfortable but likes getting off every 45 minutes or so and stretching or sitting on a bench or a chair for a few minutes. She has been able to go to so many places and cover so much more territory with it. She’s comfortable walking 5-10 times longer with the Alinker than without it. Being able to stop and sit down on the bike seat every once in a while makes a big difference. It does not provide limitless endurance but so much more than she has while walking with a cane. Some pictures and videos of her using it are on her Instagram account, A Dog Rescued Me.

Hello from Wisconsin,
Rental rates...let me say that in the US some people have rented U-Haul trucks to drive around in rather than a rental car.
Autoeurope is where you should shop and phone to ask questions. I checked last week and rates are very high compared to two years ago. Why? Covid. The rental companies sold off their cars because they had no customers. Now they have customers but cars aren't available from manufacturers because of the shortage of computer chips. So the rules of supply and demand are really exerting themselves.

I usually pay between $7 and $20 per day in Europe. (Yep, $7/day in Madeira) I think I saw more like $40/day even through Autoeurope.

Driving in Lisbon...not recommended. Even if driving were easy, there is NO place to park. Use taxis or the like.
Traveling with a dog? Europe has a much more relaxed attitude toward well behaved dogs than we do. But I don't know about hotels. Make sure you confirm permission in advance.

wayne iNWI

We took the dog to France and Italy two years ago – he is a small Coton de Tulear, similar to a Maltese – and didn't regret it for a moment. He added so much to our stay and the people he met either loved him or were bemused by his little barking attacks when scooters went by. We got special accommodations in Florence, socialized with a French Yorkie owner underneath the Eiffel Tower and were allowed to bring him inside a patisserie in the French Alps (Best... Day... Ever -- at least for him) Portugal, we hear, is similarly relaxed so it's a no brainer.

I am right now looking at a Nissan Qashqai intermediate SUV from CDC Rentals for about $530 -- still $200-$300 less that what the mainstream agencies want for a Mini or Economy car. I'm thinking of the SUV because I'm not sure a standard car will fit our two carryons, possibly a checked-in bag and the folded up walking bike - plus allow us to put the dog strapped into the back seat. But that also makes me pause because I know how narrow the streets in Europe can be.

I've had many recommendations for AutoEurope. But, as stated previously, they don't seem to include the smaller local companies. Perhaps for a reason?

If boot space is important to you it is usually a good idea to stay away from SUVs and go for a small estate car instead.

I'm late to the party here, but what's been said for driving in Lisbon is the same for driving in Porto. The only time I felt comfortable driving in Porto was before 8 am on Sunday. And I lived there for over a year. In the cities, Lyft and Uber is the way to go.

One of the thoughts I had was to not stay in Porto but in a nearby town in a place overlooking the Douro River. Perhaps one where we could take a train or a bus into Porto itself. Any thoughts or recommendations?

The two closest-in options would be Matosinhos and (Vila Nova de) Gaia. Matosinhos' claim to fame is their beach and a bunch of seafood restaurants, but I don't know anything about transportation from there, public or otherwise. It's essentially a suburb of Porto. Gaia, on the other hand, is closer in and easy to get to as it is just across the bridge. Gaia is the side of the river with all the port houses. However, I doubt parking there would be much better than Porto. Have you considered the Ibis hotel in Porto? I think they have parking, but I can't comment as to the quality or quantity. You could park it and leave it, and it would be easier to get taxis/ubers from a hotel lobby.

Funnily enough, just out of curiosity a few days ago, I plugged in Porto into the Accor app – and got some pretty good rates at the Ibis Porto Cen. M. Bolhao. But I don't know if there is a garage. The Mercure Porto Centro Aliados (twice as expensive) does have one and charges 14 Euros per day. Stayed at two Ibis hotels in Paris two years -- liked the one near Gare Du Nord, but made a mistake by staying at the Ibis Budget near CDG before our morning departure. The locations in Porto look great, so they may be options.