Portugal travel tips

Naks said:
If I may, the boat ride from Porto Pinhao can be overcrowded.

Rather take the train from Porto (Sao Bento station) to Pinhao, then do the 1-2hour river cruise there, and explore a bit around there - the hotel on the river is quite affordable. Then take the train back, I think the last train leave Pinhao at around 6pm or so.

If you want a private tour to the Douro, contact Miguel Leal, we've used his services before: https://www.instagram.com/ml_private_tours/
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Thanks for this insight.

At the moment im a little torn about the rental car.

We did a car rental in Serbia but did trains and public transport in the likes of France and HK.

As I mentioned we would like to use Lisbon as our starting base then move to Porto.

We would likely wanna do a hike or two Porto side.

Would there be public transport to actually do something like that or would you suggest. Get a car once leaving Lisbon and enjoy the scenery whilst stopping along the way to Porto.

I feel like my usual trip planning skills are a bit meh this time and have no idea why :p
 
Snyper564 said:
Thanks for this insight.

At the moment im a little torn about the rental car.

We did a car rental in Serbia but did trains and public transport in the likes of France and HK.

As I mentioned we would like to use Lisbon as our starting base then move to Porto.

We would likely wanna do a hike or two Porto side.

Would there be public transport to actually do something like that or would you suggest. Get a car once leaving Lisbon and enjoy the scenery whilst stopping along the way to Porto.

I feel like my usual trip planning skills are a bit meh this time and have no idea why :p
Click to expand...
You don't want a car driving in Lisbon or Porto, especially the old parts. Two way roads wide enough for a donky cart.
 
Kosmik said:
You don't want a car driving in Lisbon or Porto, especially the old parts. Two way roads wide enough for a donky cart.
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Oi so would you suggest ditching the car altogether? I wasnt gonna use a train in porto just to get there and the surrounds if that makes sense.

If the surrounds are easy to get to maybe public transport is the way to go.
 
Snyper564 said:
Oi so would you suggest ditching the car altogether? I wasnt gonna use a train in porto just to get there and the surrounds if that makes sense.

If the surrounds are easy to get to maybe public transport is the way to go.
Click to expand...
No, just for exploring in the cities. You want a car for the countryside, remember its heavily rural and agricultural outside of the big cities and towns, so you need a car but the two major cities are a driving nightmare.
 
Kosmik said:
No, just for exploring in the cities. You want a car for the countryside, remember its heavily rural and agricultural outside of the big cities and towns, so you need a car but the two major cities are a driving nightmare.
Click to expand...
Gotcha so maybe just collect car in porto? Trains and public transport everywhere else?

What would the best options be for car rental the usual AVIS etc? Or can you rent by the day or not really?
 
Snyper564 said:
Gotcha so maybe just collect car in porto? Trains and public transport everywhere else?

What would the best options be for car rental the usual AVIS etc? Or can you rent by the day or not really?
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Not sure sorry , we got a old fiesta that we keep in a garage and the family uses when they go over annually.
 
Snyper564 said:
Thanks for this insight.

At the moment im a little torn about the rental car.

We did a car rental in Serbia but did trains and public transport in the likes of France and HK.

As I mentioned we would like to use Lisbon as our starting base then move to Porto.

We would likely wanna do a hike or two Porto side.

Would there be public transport to actually do something like that or would you suggest. Get a car once leaving Lisbon and enjoy the scenery whilst stopping along the way to Porto.

I feel like my usual trip planning skills are a bit meh this time and have no idea why :p
Click to expand...

What I did was rent car in Lisbon and left immediately, the drive around was actually quite nice seeing all small towns staying in some a few nights on our way to Porto, I parked it at Hotel and just used public transport after that.

Then drove back straight to Lisbon which was like 3 hours, the driving is worth it.

I dropped car off straight away once back in Lisbon.

Used these guys thought was quite affordable

berent.pt

Berent | Rent a Car in Portugal

Car rental near Lisbon Airport and Benedita, in the center of Portugal. Quality cars with online reservation.
berent.pt
 
EADC said:
What I did was rent car in Lisbon and left immediately, the drive around was actually quite nice seeing all small towns staying in some a few nights on our way to Porto, I parked it at Hotel and just used public transport after that.

Then drove back straight to Lisbon which was like 3 hours, the driving is worth it.

I dropped car off straight away once back in Lisbon.

Used these guys thought was quite affordable

berent.pt

Berent | Rent a Car in Portugal

Car rental near Lisbon Airport and Benedita, in the center of Portugal. Quality cars with online reservation.
berent.pt
Click to expand...
Sweet thanks this is what we did in Serbia

You didnt find them pushing additional insurance? Have issues upon returning etC?
 
Snyper564 said:
Thanks for this insight.

At the moment im a little torn about the rental car.

We did a car rental in Serbia but did trains and public transport in the likes of France and HK.

As I mentioned we would like to use Lisbon as our starting base then move to Porto.

We would likely wanna do a hike or two Porto side.

Would there be public transport to actually do something like that or would you suggest. Get a car once leaving Lisbon and enjoy the scenery whilst stopping along the way to Porto.

I feel like my usual trip planning skills are a bit meh this time and have no idea why :p
Click to expand...
If you like hiking, I highly recommend the hike to the moorish castle in Sintra
 
Snyper564 said:
Thanks will have a look Sintra is on the list but adding a hike in this way is awesome any link etc?
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No idea if this helps. Just don't underestimate the distance and those cobble stone paths

redwhiteadventures.com

Hiking to the Famous Castle of Moors in Sintra

From Sintra to the Castle of Moors and everything in-between. This off-the-beaten-path hiking trail is our favourite way to the castle.
redwhiteadventures.com redwhiteadventures.com
 
Snyper564 said:
Sweet thanks this is what we did in Serbia

You didnt find them pushing additional insurance? Have issues upon returning etC?
Click to expand...
Absolutely zero issues, only what I included on the booking was done. No issues collecting or returning was such an easy process.

If you do add the Via Verde device it helps with tolls.
 
EADC said:
Absolutely zero issues, only what I included on the booking was done. No issues collecting or returning was such an easy process.
Click to expand...
Thanks had a look now and its look much better than avis etc
 
Snyper564 said:
Would there be public transport to actually do something like that or would you suggest. Get a car once leaving Lisbon and enjoy the scenery whilst stopping along the way to Porto.
Click to expand...

This is what we did the first time we went there, it's actually a very easy & scenic drive. We stopped at Obidos Castle (+-1hr), Batalha Monastery (+-2h), and Aveiro (+-0.5hr) on the way:
1686656303047.png

IIRC, we left Lisbon at around 9am and got to Porto at 5pm-ish. We did that on a Sunday though, so leaving Lisbon was very easy due to zero traffic. We did not use public transport while in the cities, we mostly walked & Ubered.

Getting back to Lisbon, we used the Alfa-Pendular high-speed train, tickets in first class are +-€35: super comfortable seats, clean, and efficient. You also get to see a lot of the countryside on that trip. It leaves from Campanha station in Porto and ends at Santa Apolonia in Lisbon. It stops at Oriente station, from which you can take the subway to the airport, so very convenient. There are lots of strikes on the rail system at the moment, so maybe not the best option, especially if you're going straight to the airport to fly back.

Regarding your trip to the Douro, you will need a car to explore the surroundings, as there is no public transport around there. Not sure if there are local taxis that you can hire for the day to take you around?

We used Europcar that time, and it was a bit of a nightmare: the tank was not full, and one tyre was deflated. Easily rectified, but then they wouldn't refund me the petrol until I blasted them on Twitter and then they did.

Last year we hired, or rather, tried to hire through Sixt, and when we got to the office, they couldn't give me a car because their system had flagged me as 'fraud risk' - probably a combination of my MU passport, ZA license, and PT bank card. I went on the Emirates app and booked a car, walked 100m to Avis and we drove off in a new A3.

No matter the rental company, do a walkaround video of the car when you pick it up, it seems PT rental agencies love to charge people for all sorts of dings/scrapes that were there beforehand.
 
Naks said:
This is what we did the first time we went there, it's actually a very easy & scenic drive. We stopped at Obidos Castle (+-1hr), Batalha Monastery (+-2h), and Aveiro (+-0.5hr) on the way:
View attachment 1540283

IIRC, we left Lisbon at around 9am and got to Porto at 5pm-ish. We did thata on a Sunday though, so leaving Lisbon was very easy due to zero traffic. We did not use public transport while in the cities, we mostly walked & Ubered.

Getting back to Lisbon, we used the Alfa-Pendular high-speed train, tickets in first class are +-€35: super comfortable seats, clean, and efficient. You also get to see a lot of the countryside on that trip. It leaves from Campanha station in Porto and ends at Santa Apolonia in Lisbon. It stops at Oriente station, from which you can take the subway to the airport, so very convenient. There are lots of strikes on the rail system at the moment, so maybe not the best option, especially if you're going straight to the airport to fly back.

Regarding your trip to the Douro, you will need a car to explore the surroundings, as there is no public transport around there. Not sure if there are local taxis that you can hire for the day to take you around?

We used Europcar that time, and it was a bit of a nightmare: the tank was not full, and one tyre was deflated. Easily rectified, but then they wouldn't refund me the petrol until I blasted them on Twitter and then they did.

Last year we hired, or rather, tried to hire through Sixt, and when we got to the office, they couldn't give me a car because their system had flagged me as 'fraud risk' - probably a combination of my MU passport, ZA license, and PT bank card. I went on the Emirates app and booked a car, walked 100m to Avis and we drove off in a new A3.

No matter the rental company, do a walkaround video of the car when you pick it up, it seems PT rental agencies love to charge people for all sorts of dings/scrapes that were there beforehand.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the additional tips will def bear this in mind :)
 
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