We are headed for two weeks in southern Spain and a week in Portugal. We would like to rent a car for the whole time but the drop-off charge is $250. This is still cheaper than flying from Seville to Lisbon, but I would like some cheaper alternatives. Does anyone have any ideas?
Posted by
Bend, OR, United States
1167 posts
Drop off the car as close to the border as you can get, take a bus across and pick up another car on the other side.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6790 posts
That's what I did last fall. We were going in the other direction (coming from the Algarve, headed for Andalucia) but it was the same deal - like 600 Euro to drop the car of in the other country (250 sounds like a bargain).
We drove from Salema to Faro. Dropped the car there, and got on a bus that took us to the border - well, just about - the Portuguese bus dropped us off a block from the border, we walked to the dock, took a little ferry across the river that marked the border, then huffed it a half mile through town to the Spanish bus station, caught a bus to Huelva, picked up another rental car there, and drove off to Arcos.
It was a long day with a lot of different modes of transport, but it saved us upwards of $1000, and I will admit that I derrived some satisfaction at "beating" the car rental system. I was pretty tired at the end of the day, but it all worked out fine.
So yes, it can be done. Good luck!