I can't drive a manual transmission

True....most cars are standard transmission and, although you may request an automatic, there's no guarantee that that's what you'll get when you arrive. But check out Portugal's widespread bus and train systems....there's not much in Portugal that isn't reachable by one or the other....or both.

Can't comment on Portugal specifically, but I've easily rented an automatic in Europe. Just go with the well-known international agencies (Sixt, Alamo, Avis, etc.) and you should be fine. Of course, you'll have to pay a little more...

My personal experience has been the same as Norm's: unlike renting a car in the US, in Europe it's not certain that just because you check the box for automatic when doing the online rental that you'll actually get one: it's not a lack of customer service, it's just that rental cars with automatic are relatively rare there compared to here where virtually every rental car is an automatic. So, just a heads up and suggestion here: double check by calling the car rental company a few days before you arrive, telling them that it's really important for you to have an automatic and you're counting on it.

Last year we were picking up a rental car in Florence and we'd reserved an automatic since we felt that might be easier in some of the hill towns. Well, we had an automatic but the two couples (traveling together)behind us in line had also reserved an automatic and all that was left was stick shifts. Not one of them knew how to drive a stick. We volunteered to switch (much thankfullness on every one's part). This was with either Avis or Hertz. We had called the rental company prior to leaving the states and again upon arrival. Recommend you do the same. Driving in Portugal is easy but it's important to buy a GOOD road atlas either on-line or at the airport upon arrival. You need the names in the local language not the American version of same. Use a highlighter to outline your travel day the night before.

To follow up on what Kent said....tell them it's really, really, REALLY important you get an automatic, maybe telling them you'll have to take your business elsewhere if you can't get one. One trick I've heard that works is to get your car as early as possible in the day, before all the automatics are gone....but that's still no guarantee. You might also want to spend some time between now and your trip learning to drive a standard...it's not all that difficult once you get the hang of it. Just make sure you get some practise on up-hill slopes!

Why don't you just learn how to drive a manual transmission car???

There you go Tim......What is it with this Nation ????

...and be sure to get full insurance!

Kia- learning to drive a standard shift car is not difficult, and I would encourage you to try to learn. (Maybe you have friends who would help you learn how ) Once you develop a comfort level, then no matter what happens on the rental car front, you are good to go.

Of course, everything will go just fine, your requested fully air-conditioned, thoroughly vaccumed, never smoked-in automatic rental car with a kicking sound system and only 5 miles on it will be waiting at the curb for you to arrive, just as planned.

With my luck I would be the guy 5 minutes behind you- I would probably be led to the dented relic wreathed in steam and blue oil smoke, with apparently some type of animal hair generously scattered about the interior. The one with sagging seats, full to overflowing ashtray, three mismatched wheels(one of which sports a bald tire), an impressively cracked windshield, sagging springs and a side view mirror dangling by its entrails. The one with a passenger door caved in by a massive dent that leads artistically to the missing door handles, gracefully misses the rear wheel and then continues onwards in a crescendo of reformation sheet-metal towards the trunk, which is thoughtfully held shut with a wire coathanger. A car that, despite a voracious appetite for gas, is just fast enough to escape the various fluid puddles forming beneath it. It's the last Automatic available, I'm told...

You can always get an automatic if you ask but you will pay more. In fact, renting an automatic tends to get you a nicer car...

My own experience, and a few others have reported this as well, is that you should double check with the rental company shortly before your departure--because it's different from the US in that occasionally you will not get an automatic if you only checked the box on the online form, that is, if you only asked once. I make this point because if you can't drive a stick and were really really counting on having an automatic and they're out of them, it unexpectedly blindsides you and puts you in a bad situation, not a good way to start your European trip.You'll probably get an automatic if you ask only once, but if you can't drive a stick or it's the UK and you really gotta have one, the 3 minutes you take to double check are a good investment of your time.

(just wanted to show my appreciation for the above post in all of it's hilarity... well done!)

(Bill, I also thought that was a very funny post).

You know, when I originally read the posts about learning to drive a stick, I thought "I'm not going to learn that just for this trip!", but then I thought, why not? A lot of people will learn the basics of a new language for an international trip, why not learn the basics of a new way to drive? There's a school here that offers manual transmission driving instruction specifically for those that already know how to drive an automatic, which might just be the ticket!

Bravo Kia!

I agree that everyone should learn to drive a stick shift and have always had manual transmissions on our smaller cars. HOWEVER...having recently taught 2 teen daughters to drive...AUGHGH! It really does take A LOT of practice (and patience!) for most people to achieve a decent comfort level. My 16 year old daughter still has trouble with hills after several months. She still won't drive the Mini to high school for fear of killing it in front of everyone. I think adding the pressures of driving in another country to being a new manual transmission driver would add way too much stress to a trip. I would only advise renting a manual if you drive one at home or had almost limitless access to borrow one.

Really, it's not that difficult.

I have the opposite problem. I could only drive a manual. I rented a car and kept wanting to push on the (non-existant) clutch when slowing down so i wouldnt stall...lol.. I also had a problem figuring out Drive, Park, etc... Needless to say, after driving it for 3 days, I am now a pro at both :) (But I still try to hit the non-existant clutch in an auto at least once)...

Kia, great attitude, maybe not everyone does get super comfortable driving a standard tranny, but you never know when you might need to McGyver your way out when that off the beaten track place turns out to be a bit dicey or boring.

Tami- I have done exactly what you wrote about...about killed myself stopping 30 feet short of the stop sign when I stomped on the 2 foot wide brake pedal instead of the clutch. Everything that was in the backseat came up to join me in the front.

And Kia, be thankful you won't have your dad yelling at the top of his lungs, as he tries to teach you to drive a 1979 VW Rabbit, "Do you know how much a clutch costs?!?!" My sister and I both have this vivid memory, and to this day no idea how much a clutch costs (he never divulged). There are benefits to learing stick shift as an adult :-)

I haven't driven a stick in over 20 years, and it's been over 30 years since I drove one daily.

But I've been thinking of renting in Europe so practicing would be helpful.

1) No one I know drives a stick--they're all lazy like me and drive an automatic.

2) None of the driving schools around here offer stick training

3) None of the rental car companies around here offer cars with stick

Any ideas how I can get some practice?

Ah, Family Trucksters: It was wonderful being able to hurtle along asleep in the back at 70mph protected by nothing more than a surplus army blanket and a stack of Necco wafers.

Frank

I don't know where your "here" is, but you might try posting to Craigslist, or see if one of the local car clubs can help, etc.

If you just need a quick refresher, show up at your local car dealer and ask to test drive one ?

Frank and Kia, Just drive one. Somehow. It takes a bit of practice, and you will slam on the brakes and do the "jerky duck waddle" driving thing quite a few times, but after a while it will come to you. Youll know when to shift, youll be able to feel the RPMs building up and know to shift up, and when you slow down, you shift down. Im a complete and utter airhead from Southern California, and if I can do it, surely you can do it!

I would strongly suggest you learn to drive the stick shift BEFORE you go on your trip in case you can't get the automatic. I "can" drive a manual shift but going into the round-abouts, looking for the oncoming cars, shifting and turning and deciding what exit to take was a challenge. Good luck but, find a friend to help you learn!! Hopefully you will still be friends.
b

Thanks, Tami, but I probably drove a stick before you were born.

I remember it was the mid-1970's and I worked for a guy while in college who had a Datsun pickup with a 4-speed manual. (The only 5-speeds in those days were sports cars.) Part of my job was to drive supplies between his two restaurants which were 50 miles apart. When I told him I didn't know how to drive a stick, he handed me the keys and said, "learn on the way." (And this included both mountain and city driving.)

The only experience I had on a stick before that was a few minutes behind the wheel of my friends Plymouth Duster which had manual transmission and the shifter on the column.

How many remember shifters on the column?

And now some cars are coming with the shifter back on the column but work like the paddles on formula one cars.

I next drove a stick about 10 years later and it came back quickly. It's like riding a bicycle: you don't forget how, you're just a little rusty if you haven't done it for a long time.

BTW--for those who don't know, Datsun later changed its name to Nissan. (Just a little history lesson you won't find in Rick's "Europe 101."

I totally remember the shifter on the column, in 1974 my parents had a family truckster station wagon..lol.... yes, dark yellow, wooden paneling, 8 track tape player, no seat belts. You could fit in about 8 kids, 3 dogs, 2 adults, and my sisters big feathered hair......

Bill, for those quick stops because of my dads lead foot, we had the "moms arm whipping across the seat to stop us from hurling through the windshield" security bar in ours.....

In those days, that arm reaching across was better than any airbag.

Today, however, parents can't do that because in one hand is the Starbucks container and the other is the cellphone.

Does anyone know what the most requested item is in U.S. cars but rarely found in European cars? (a hint--one U.S. car is now boasting 10 of them) (Scroll down for the answer)

Cup Holders

Frank,

I learned how to drive using the old "three on the tree" shifter. That brings back some memories! I used to have a 340 Duster as well, and of course that was a 4-speed manual (no self-respecting "muscle car" driver in the early '70s would even consider a "wimpy automatic"!!!).

Kia, it's not hard to drive using a manual transmission. It just takes a bit of coordination and practise. You might want to sign up for a lesson with a local driving school before you head to Portugal. That way you'll be covered both ways if the rental agency isn't able to provide an automatic.

Of course, be sure to accept the full CDW, just in case!

Cheers!

How many of you remember fluid drive?You started in first shifted to second and then third.Then when you stopped at a stop sign you didnt shift and it acted like an automatic.Problem was pickup was so slow you could walk faster.