Renting car from Seville to Portugal--guidance needed!

You don't need to buy liability, that comes with the car - - always, since the owner has deep pockets and thus lots of exposure.

Go for whatever you find is the cheapest, as long as it's a known company.

Tell them if you want, they don't care and there's no charge as long as you're bringing the car back to Seville.

Sneak in an undeclared extra driver and all insurance is void if something happens while that person is driving.

Your domestic insurance has no bearing on anything.

There's several ways to handle the tolls in Portugal. You'd probably be best with EasyToll. About a quarter mile after crossing the Guadiana on the A22 there's a Welcome to Portugal plaza right about where the old border control point was. Buy one there. You could also buy one at the last gas station in Spain, about a mile before the border - - I forget the name of it (Saras ?) but the sign has red letters.

Point 2) Definately tell them you are driving into Portugal (it shouldn't cost that much) and double definately tell them about every driver (charge per extra driver).
If you don't, and get stopped by the police for any reason, you are guilty of
(a) Drving a car without the owner's permission (= stealing a car).
(b) Driving without insurance (insurance is only valid for the drivers you have told the rental company about).
(c) Make sure all drivers have an IDP (International Driving Permit) if needed, otherwise you are guilty of driving without a valid licence.

All are criminal offences, if caught you are open to a large fine, and worst case a prison sentence.

Actually a car rented anywhere on the European continent can be driven anywhere on the continent without restriction or additional cost (as long as it's returned to the country from which it is rented).

Exceptions are cross-Channel and to countries east of Germany/Austria - - both require notification and additional fees ('eastern' Europe is fifty bucks or so - - into the UK can vary greatly or cost nothing. Rentals in Spain usually carry a prohibition against taking the car to the Balearics.

So sez me after a few hundred thousand miles of mucking about in rental cars in Europe over almost as many years - - bear in mind that I only screw up about once a week.

Wow, thanks so much for the quick and very helpful replies! It's a great community here.

You're all right...I need to tell them about the trip to Portugal (and hopefully not get charged at all) and also that I may be driving. It'd be annoying if I pay for me to drive and then I don't, but I'll just make sure I do! You're right, it's not worth the risk to save a few euros.

Thanks for the tips about the tolls, too. If my rental doesn't have the sensor, I'll get one at the places by the border. thanks again!

Keep thinking about the second driver, the price is going to be steep, maybe half again the basic cost. It's less than two hundred miles / three hours from Seville over to Lagos. One person ought to be able to handle it. Unless it's free to minimal, we never take the option and our average trip of a month covers maybe three thousand miles -- one signs and drives and the other one cools it. .

Wow, I didn't realize it'd be so steep to add a second driver. As I said, I may not drive anyway--so I'd hate to pay that much just in case. Since my husband likes to drive, I might just let him!

I actually have another question about Portugal tolls..I read the article you posted in the Portugal forum, but I'm still so confused about the two systems. I'll be driving only on the A22 (and maybe the smaller local road that runs parallel to it). We're staying near Albufeira and will be taking day trips to Lagos, Cape Sagres, and Salema while we're there. So if I just get the transponder you mentioned once I cross the border, will I be good? I also read about the pre-paid one for 20 euro but I'm not sure I'd get my money's worth even with all that driving. So basically I'm asking--am I good for the A22 if I just pick up the transponder (EasyToll I believe) as I cross the border? I won't need the Via Verde one?

Thank you!

Something I may have said on the Portugal forum has no bearing in your case since the circumstances are different. You'll have foreign /Spanish plates so you're eligible for the EasyToll which will be the easiest and cheapest.

The only toll road that I can picture in the southern Algarve is the A22 along with it's other designations. But, you'd be covered at the same rate of use if I screwed up.

I almost think, without looking at a map, that you could skirt the issue by getting off the A22 at that welcome station and use the other roads (and get back on at the same place as you leave). The problem is that you'll be going both east and west from Albufeira and those roads closer to the coast are excruciatingly slow - - you'll probably take them one way then hop on the freeway to get back.

And, that's a wild guess on the cost of the second driver. It varies by company and by jurisdiction - - sometimes it's a freebie. Price it out.

I can book through AAA, looks like the cheapest automatic is aroudn $44 a day with Dollar (the American rental company). Has anyone used Dollar over there, or should I stick with another brand?

My guess is that it isn't Dollar but local company that Dollar has an agreement with. I've had decent results with autoeurope.com which is an agent, not a company, but gets bargains sometimes. Europcar.com often has good rates. And give gemut.com (another agent) a try. They claim to get the best deals. They will email you a quote. You have to prepay, but get a full refund if you cancel. It's worth going to their website just to download their guide to renting a car in Europe. Very good advice there.

I've used AutoEurope and found them to be a good source for deals and comparisons. Keep in mind that having a navigator is critical when driving in Europe, even with GPS it's easy to make a wrong turn or miss a sign. If he doesn't mind doing the driving, then stick with one driver unless it's free/cheap to add a second. NEVER, NEVER drive if you are not on the rental agreement. In Europe or domestically. Forget the fines that you might face - it invalidates ALL insurance and if something happened, you'll be buying them a new car out of your pocket, and/or paying for hospital and medical fees out of your pocket. Same goes with taking a rental out of the country. They won't charge you to drive into Portugal (if they do, find another agency) but they may want to know. Usually the agents ask where you will be heading when you pick up the car, but you can declare it in your reservation too.

I looked at Auto Europe but the only prices for automatic transmission are astronomical, starting at over 300 euro (Holiday Autos, AAA, rentalcars.com were no more than 190 or 200 euro tops for same thing). So I'm not sure what's going on there. I've also heard horrible things about GoldCar, so I'm afraid of going through a broker and dealing with them.

We found a decent rate directly through Atesa (rental car company) but there is a limit of 1000 "free" km. No idea what the rate is if you go over that. We'd probably be okay just driving to the Algarve and back, but still don't want to be stressing about huge fees if we go over the 1000km. I'm just afraid of going through a broker and getting stuck with GoldCar or another bad company. Even if they say it's through, say Atesa, I've heard of brokers doing the old bait and switch and you end up with a sub-par company even though you paid for a better one.

This whole process is making me rethink the rental! But it'll be worth it when we can explore the Algarve on our own time. Thanks for any further suggestions as to companies and for the help already.

Chani Great tip on that Gemut site--wow, that download is incredibly helpful. I may decide to go through them. Thanks!

Please excuse the double post but a related question--what do you think of driving a midsize Mercedes B class? I've never driven a "luxury" brand and have no need to, but that's the best deal I"m finding with an automatic. It's either that or a Smart Car, which is a much cheaper rental (but about $100) but I've heard they're tough to drive on highways, and we'll be using this to drive on highways from Spain to Portugal and then around the Algarve.

What do you think--would a Mercedes attract thieves? It's a lower class (not super luxurious) but still nicer than anything I've driven. We have a Honda CR-V here at home so it would be nice to have a similar size of vehicle...but the Smart Car is cheap and efficient.

Small would make things a lot easier. Two people with stuff in a Smart will work since you'll be mostly in the level.

Can you "hide" your luggage in a Smart car eg for when you leave the car to take a break for lunch?