Hello! My husband and I are taking our 3 teenagers to Portugal later this month. To save money on airfare from the States, we are flying round trip Porto. We are staying in Porto first, then taking the train to Lisbon for a couple of nights, then finally the train to Faro (train will be all Alfa Pendular). We will then rent a car for our time in the Algarve. What I am having a really hard time deciding is whether we should 1) take the 6 hour train ride back to Porto the day before we fly out (which would get us into Porto at 9pm local time because the only other AP train leaves at 7am and we prefer the morning in the Algarve), or 2) drive the rental car to Porto. The car option is more affordable, but not enough to make the decision for us. My concerns with the train are getting in late to Porto on the train after a long day of travel only to wake up and have an even longer day of travel home. My concerns with the car are having one large enough to fit 5 of us plus our luggage for such a long trip. I know European cars are much smaller than we are accustomed to in the US.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
Thank you!