Hello - We will be renting a car for one week in Portugal: pick-up in Lisbon after spending 4 days in the city - touring with car for 1 week - drop off in Porto before spending 4 nights in a Porto apartment. Our goal is to 1) avoid city driving stress and 2) avoid associated airport rental car fees. We are considering picking up our car at the Lisbon Oriente Rail Station. (We will transit from our Lisbon B&B to the train station.) We are also considering returning the car at the Porto Campanha Rail Station. Does this sound like a good plan to those who have rented cars outside of airport locations? Or, would it be much easier to book the airport pick-up/return options (and just pay the fees!. Obrigado - Christy
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15582 posts
I used Europcar, picked up and returned the car at Oriente without a problem. Then I took the train to Porto to avoid about a $100 drop-off fee. I booked about 4-5 months ahead and it didn't seem to matter whether it was airport or train station or which cities, the fee for a 10-day rental was about $100 more if I didn't return in the same city. A couple months before the trip, I checked prices and they had dropped, so I made a new booking. I kept watching and until about 2 weeks before departure, the price kept dropping, and sometimes the price for airport pickup in Lisbon was less than at Oriente, and I even considered shlepping out to the airport with my luggage, but then the prices evened out.
I understand it's easy to take the metro from the Porto airport to the city center.
Do rent a toll reader. It's very convenient and not a lot of money.
Posted by
OP
16 posts
Thanks for your reply Chani.
If we are able to work with a car company that does not charge additional fees for a different city return, would you still recommend pick up and drop off at train stations? Or, do you have a suggestion for other locations which are easiest for pick up and return?