We are a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 children aged 7 and 9 and looking at doing our first Europe holiday from Australia in June 2016 for 4.5 weeks. I think I have the first part of a our holiday sorted - fly into Paris make our way to south of france and into Spain, a week in San Sebastian then train to Seville for a few days. I am trying to work out the easiest way to get from Seville to Ericeria in Portugal. it appears that driving may be the easiest? I have had a look at some hire car companies and I realise it is going to be quite expensive to hire a car in Seville and drop off in Lisbon. Please advise me if there is an easier way? I am conscious of too much travelling i.e. airports etc with kids and luggage and surfboards in tow! Also in relation to hiring a car do I need to take out the additional insurance offered by hire car companies or just ensure that my travel insurance policy covers any hire car issues? Thank you.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
You've discovered the problem of seeing both Spain and Portugal in one visit. Although they are next to each other, the transit links between them are lousy. There's only one train (the expensive overnight one between Madrid and Lisbon), some buses, and flights. One way car rentals have a high surcharge; the only way around this is to drive back into Spain and return the car there.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I can confirm that you're not missing anything obvious.
Posted by
OP
15 posts
Thanks for your response Harold. It is what I thought! Will have to think further.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
More interesting question. Why would you consider dragging surfboards from Australia? That is a potential big problem regardless of the transportation mode.
Posted by
OP
15 posts
Frank, my husband is a very experienced surfer so of course he will be bringing his own boards and we are staying in places where there is surf ie Sourh of France, Spain, Portugal. Apart from the inconvenience of lugging them around can you expand please? Obviously we are trying to limit internal plane use. The only major issue may be train travel with boards but I am sure it can and has be done?
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15784 posts
Well, for starters, how are you going to travel around France and Spain with 2 surf boards? I guess special taxis with roof-top luggage racks to/from train stations (I don't remember seeing many luggage racks, but to be fair, I wasn't looking for them either), but I can't quite envision where you're going to put the boards when you board the train.
Posted by
OP
15 posts
We will be hiring a car in Bordeaux and of course will have soft racks for the boards on the car. We have travelled before with surfboards and hire car. We shouldn't have a need for taxis when carting the board/s around. My initial question was in relation to the car hire between Spain and Portugal.
In relation to the train, I have also done some research and believe it is possible to take a board on TGVs.
Thanks for your help.
Posted by
Sacramento
34 posts
you might want to be mindful that some main highways in Portugal are toll roads that register tolls per mile by licence plate for electronic payment, with no pay as you go option. As a visitor, you are apparently supposed to get a tracking device of some sort at the border when you enter, I believe, so that your fees can be charged to the 'card on file'. We didn't know this & found ourselves on toll roads there and panicking about how to pay. When we tried to pay them when we arrived in Lisbon, we could not. There was no way to pay in Portugal for tolls for a car with a license plate from Spain. This was in 2013. Don't know if they now have a mechanism to track license plates from Spain now.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
Bus from Seville to Faro and pick up your car there, avoiding high cross border charges.
Posted by
217 posts
I have taken a bus from various points in Spain to Lisboa. The company I have used most is Avanza. The buses are very nice and simple to use. You may have to be creative in getting to one of the cities that connects to Lisbon, but it is not impossible. http://www.avanzagrupo.com/en/areas-de-negocio/long-distance
Posted by
OP
15 posts
Thank you Davidjohn for that information. I think we will definitely look at other ways to get to Portugal than a hire car from Spain.
Will keep in mind the transponder info also, thank you.
Posted by
OP
15 posts
Thanks Kate, yes I think the bus looks like the way to go from Seville. Will check out what web site. Thank you.
Posted by
San Francisco, CA, USA
131 posts
Strangely I was looking to travel from Lisbon to Seville (one way) and car rental was outrageous. However, when I just searched to do Faro to Seville it was reasonable and no surcharge was listed for one-way drop off. I used kayak.com
Maybe I'm missing something but might be worth checking out...
Just found another one for a 12 hour rental (via kayak.com on auto Europe) for $285 from Lisbon to Sevilla. I know that's pricey but with a family of 4 like us, it's cheaper than flying.
Posted by
shingle springs, CA, USA
782 posts
I flew from Seville to Lisbon on TAP Air Lines as we could not find a better route.The train just does not work.
Mike
Posted by
S.F. Bay Area, CA, United States
1878 posts
Waves off of Nazare are supposed to be legendary (search Nazare on YouTube for examples), but I wonder whether renting a surfboard there might be a possibility? 4.5 weeks is a lot of time so you can afford some inefficiencies. Best way from Spain to Portugal would be the night train from Madrid to Lisbon, or take a flight. These are two countries that you would think would be easy to combine on a single trip, but they are really not.