I am looking at renting a car outside of Lisbon early May for 2 adults (somewhere I can get to via public transportation-closetrying to avoid driving in city) and hopefully dropping in Coimbra (unless drop fee is high then RT Lisbon). Any suggestions/advice for companies? Insurance? dropping in another city? We have traveled throughout Europe but never rented a car. From Portugal we are going to Salamanca via Sudsexpress train.
Posted by
S.F. Bay Area, CA, United States
1878 posts
We picked up a car in Coimbra and dropped in Cascais (seaside town outside of Lisbon). We rented through Autoeurope and there was not a drop fee; if the cost was higher, it was not by much. I cannot remember the actual rental company, but if Autoeurope still uses the same one, the location in Coimbra was a short taxi ride from the center but in an area that was not too busy. You can check the drop off address in Google Maps to see whether it's an area you could see yourself driving into. For me the pickup and drop off are the worst part, and we have had some real adventures in that regard.
Posted by
Martinez, CA, USA
1538 posts
We have rented cars in Portugal several times. We use Budget (if you're a senior look up AARP discount code as it will apply when you reserve on line). We have rented at the airport and also in Lisbon. From the airport it's easy access to the freeway so just a couple of blocks city driving and easy return as well. It costs a bit more than renting in town. We once took a taxi to the rental office which also has easy freeway access but parking to return is a little harder. Dropping in a different city adds to the costs but you can easily compare on the websites.
Posted by
Toronto, ON, Canada
112 posts
I rented a car from Auto Jardim in October 2009 -- picked it up in Lisbon after my stay there, drove immediately out of town, and then returned it to Lisbon 2 weeks later. I had never been to Lisbon before and spoke virtually no Portuguese, but still had very few (if any?) problems. Because I'd been warned about the bad drivers in Portugal and because I spoke virtually no Portuguese, I took full insurance with the rental......as it turned out, I didn't need it. I rented a small automatic Opel, and it was a little underpowered for the some of the steep inclines I faced in Coimbra and Ourem.