Question on travelling Portugal.
We will be in Portugal April for 22 days starting at Lisbon to Algarve to Porto & around. We are considering renting a car for that time to travel around.
Thoughts??

We rented out of Lisbon and found the roads great! Not busy and wonderful roads. Stay right unless you r going really fast!!!!! did 3 weeks

We were there a few years ago and found two roads. The long narrow country roads that all locals use which are busy but well maintained, and then beautiful freeways that locals don’t use because they are tolls. We never did figure out how to use the tolls so just left without paying.

Driving there is very easy. Highly recommend!

Portugal is my fave country. Great food and people and scenery. Driving is very easy! If you can sneak off to Madeira island for 3 or 4 nights I’d highly recommend it!

Who did you book your flight with (we have been considering going as well)>

Edie You can fly into Lisbon on TAP Air Portugal from Toronto. When we went shortly pre-pandemic it was an overnight flight.

Edie we booked klm Edmonton to Amsterdam first. We could have gone direct to Lisbon but wanted to spend a few days in Amsterdam.

Sherry thanks! We are from Edmonton (area) so this would be our preferred path.

Make a day trip to Sintra and another day trip to the Douro Valley

Depends where you want to spend most of your time. We were there in October and were happy that we didn’t have a car in Lisbon or Porto - the public transport is excellent and parking/traffic can be a nightmare. We enjoyed driving in the Algarve though

It was very easy for us to rent a car and drive around to explore the south ! You can pre pay the tolls (or you get a bill in the mail from the rental company ) make sure you have a sat nav and it’s an even easier drive around ! So many gems to find

Definitely go for it. We were there a few years ago and did a similar trip but also with Andalusia region in Spain. It was perfect. Lisbon, Algrave, Seville, Granada, Cordoba, Evora, Coimbra, Porto, Obidos, Sintra, Lisbon. If you are sticking with Portugal definitely add Sintra to your lost like others mentioned and Evora and Obidos as second priority. But all the little towns and cities in between are great too. Parking/driving in the Spanish cities was much harder than the Portugal side. Lisbon and Porto are busy but the car is worth it for all the little places you get to see. If you are starting in Lisbon then don't rent the car right away. You don't need it until you get out of the city.

There’s a bullet train from Porto to Lisbon, so if you wanted to avoid that stretch you could. No need for cars in Porto or Lisbon, great cities for walking and public transit.

Thank you all for the information! Looks like we will get a rental. We did for Italy to go threw Tuscany area and we were happy for it. Definitely public transit in large cities

Went to Portugal and Spain for 21 days just before the pandemic. Didn’t rent a car we took the train and the plane. Walked pretty much everywhere where we went. No hotels, air bnb. It was an awesome trip.

Not in busy areas, parking could be a nightmare.

Sheila did you rent a vehicle and have difficulty with finding parking throughout Portugal?

Sherry it was not me, some friends noted same.

I have a coworker heading there this summer and apparently you need an international license to rent a vehicle there.

Put on your big girl panties and be prepared to drive like a maniac. Portuguese drivers have no fear. Make sure to visit Nazare.

Easy driving. Good roads. Use google maps or get a nav system in the rental. An international license takes 2 minutes in Canada at plces like AMA.

Definitely need a rental to drive around & in between cities. Lisbon & Porto you will park it at hotel & make your way around either by foot, public or uber. No parking in these 2 big cities, so not worthwhile moving the vehicle. Otherwise, the toll roads are very easy to navigate. Make sure to get a Mobile wifi to use your smartphone without using data (u can rent with the rental car). We used Avis to rent; no issues & required no international license (although we had it).

Tap

I did a trip to Portugal on my own for two weeks and rented a car. Best decision. Have a great time driving there! Enjoy!

I’m seeing a lot of contradictory opinions on whether an international drivers license is required for a Canadian citizen driving in Portugal. Our govt website says we can use our drivers license for up to 185 days in Portugal. I’d like to hear from people who did NOT have an international license as I don’t plan on getting one for my upcoming trip.
https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/portugal
TRAVEL.GC.CA
Travel advice and advisories for Portugal

Lori we got one for Italy when we went a couple years ago. Pick up at AMA & reasonable, so our philosophy is better safe than sorry for requirements that may change throughout different areas.

Lori The topic of whether or not to get an international driver's permit usually boils down to this: "It's extremely likely the car rental agency won't ask for one. It's also very unlikely you would ever be asked to produce one. However, in rare cases, local police/law enforcement might ask you to produce it if you are stopped for some reason, or in an accident, and a person would wish they had it."
There are a few countries where it is common for the car rental agency to ask for one, and you do actually need it to rent a car: Japan, Greece, and Taiwan are examples.
There are also a few countries where it is common to hear stories about police officers who use a lack of an international driver's license as an excuse to fine you. Unfortunately, Italy is known for this.
So the IDP from CAA is essentially a $25 piece of insurance (which must be ridiculously profitable for CAA considering it's just a translation document) for peace of mind. And like all insurance, a person needs to decide for themselves based on the risk factors.
Personally, I would put Spain and Portugal in the 'wouldn't get it' category for myself. But I've also never bought an IDP. Out of all the countries I've rented cars in, it's only ever been an issue in one country for me: Taiwan (when I tried to rent a scooter they asked for one).

We have been to Europe over a dozen times and only once rented a car, mostly because the train didnt go to where we were staying. Cars are a HUGE pain in the butt and totally not required. Trains go everywhere and you dont have to pay to park or worry about a car. Its my best advise to ppl going there….dont rent a car.