ozgirl

Hi everyone, I have read many posts about this topic in planning this trip last year but it seems things are updating frequently.
We will be driving from Sevilla to Lisbon in a couple of weeks time, staying in Lisbon for 5 days ( not planning on using car) then driving to Oporto ( for 3 nights) then driving car back to Oporto airport.
It is a Citroen lease car NOT rental but obviously still has foreign plates and MUST be dropped at airport.

Do I buy the 3 day "option for foreign registered vehicles" mentioned on the estradas site (pasted below) - and can I buy two of them - to cover first trip and then the second one to cover second trip? The second one probably won't cover the trip to Oporto airport though will it? (Driving to Oporto on the 20th June, from Oporto to airport on the 23rd.)

"3 days (light vehicles): Fixed cost of 20€, regardless of the number of journeys made in highways with electronic toll only. Maximum purchase of 6 titles per year."

Could we drive from Lisbon to Oporto on non toll roads ( and still have interesting scenic trip.)

We are quite happy to pay tolls but not sure how and would like to be prepared rather than panicked when we get there!

Thank you so much in advance.

ozgirl

Sorry, I just realized that there was a page 2 on the slow travel talk link of Ribeirasacra.
It seems that things may be better from July - unfortunately too late for us so my question remains.

ribeirasacra

Use ViaMichelin to plan your route and use the no tolls option.
http://bit.ly/portugalroute
As the pass only 3 days and you wish to travel further days then you can either purchase the 3 day pass for a second time or purchase a "ticket2 covering the specific journey.

MyriamC

You can drive from Lisbon to Porto on the A1 tollroad, where they still have manned tollbooths! So you can pay either in cash or with your credit card. It's an easy 300 km drive. We will be driving there again in 5 days. Can't wait.

The problem of the tollroads without tollbooths (electronic tolls) is mainly on the A22 in the Algarve.

SloJan2

The situation in the Algarve is fluid. There are a lot of challenges on the legality. You can always use the N125 to bypass the tolls.

I was just there in Feb and had issues finding out how to pay. I tried to pay at the airport. The rental company was no help. The post office was closed...so, I didn´t pay (just like the vast majority). The rental company had my credit card but so far no payment. I will be spending the summer there.

MyriamC

SloJan2, probably the previous renter paid your tolls. That is what happened to us when we were at the post office this afternoon to pay our tolls of 4th and 6th inst. The clerk told us there was also an unpaid amount (0,95 euro) of 3rd inst., half a day before we picked up the car and on a tollroad that we didn't drive. We paid because the amount was so small.

Sher

I intend to set my GPS for no tolls and see where that gets me.
This two weeks we have not set itinerary. We are just playing it by ear. So I will see.

ozgirl

Thanks Myriam, that is good news for Lisbon to Porto!
The A22 seems to be more of an issue - not taking the toll road would add a couple of hours to our trip I think, will have to have another look at that.

SloJan2

MyriamC, well, that's a bummer. I owe someone 6 Euros. Beats me why the PT just can't go to a vignette system like the Austrians and the Swiss.

MyriamC

We have been driving all over the north (are now in Obidos) for the past week. The tollroads are just fantastic. Hardly anyone drives them, so I don't mind to pay a fee to use them but the system of the electronic tolls is a pest for foreigners in a rental car. We also sometimes set our GPS on 'avoid tollroads' but not if we have to drive 600+ kms like we will at the end of our stay (from Tavira all the way back to Porto to catch our flight back home).
Well, tomorrow we'll be on the road again. To Evora this time, which we will do on the national roads (easily doable on a Sunday).

Sher

Myriam. I don't blame you for using toll roads when you have such a long distance.
It really cuts down on the travel time. But we intend to meander.

MyriamC

Sher, we are here for three whole weeks, and still feel we are rushing it. We're such slow travellers ...

SloJan2

Myriam, slow is good.

Sher

Myriam I think slow is good too.
I have been three times for two weeks each and there is still a lot we haven't enjoyed.
This year it is a family vacation so we are staying in one place. We have a car and plan to do some things but I guess I will just have to return again.
We haven't spent enough time around Porto yet for my taste.
Are you enjoying yourself?
We have done some parts, like the Alentejo coast, which some people don't get to. So I guess we are doing ok.

MyriamC

We haven't spent enough time in Porto, either. We were there for 5 days last year and will go back now at the end of this holiday for 2 more nights (2,5 days). Still too short but it is easily doable as a citytrip (we live in Belgium).
We are very much enjoying ourselves. We're just halfway and feel that we have seen so much already. First stop was Braga for 3 nights with sidetrips to Viana do Castelo and Guimarães ; second stop was Obidos for 3 nights with sidetrips to Tomar, Nazaré and Peniche. Third stop was Evora for 3 nights with a short sidetrip to Evoramonte and we drove the megalithic route. We are in the Algarve now (Tavira, it's our third time here and we feel it as our home away from home) and truly enjoyed our trip through the beautiful Alentejo countryside and the different serras. We have seen all the places in the Algarve as well as some of the inland, but there is still enough to do and see to keep us busy for the next ten days before driving back to Porto.

ozgirl

An update for anyone considering the A22 route. We stopped at a service station just inside the Spanish border which had a big poster in several languages basically outlining info we already knew but they did not sell any passes/vouchers. The lady told us that we could get what we needed at the 'frontier' near the police station - sure enough virtually as soon as we crossed into Portugal there was a police station on the right which was totally chaotic as far as parking was concerned because of a large amount of roadworks happening. We were waved away from the obvious parking by the policeman standing out front (outside police station where there were plenty of parks!) and joined a number of vehicles trying to find a place to park near the tiny booth containing the self serve toll passes.

People were very confused as to their options but we knew we were going to get the 3 day unlimited for 20 euro and the machine did have English options and was pretty easy to navigate. (make sure you have your registration number handy) I didn't see any option for buying a "point to point" option but we just decided that the 20 euro sounded ok for us.
Hope this helps someone!

SloJan2

The situation is changing.
http://algarvedailynews.com/news/678...oreign-drivers

MyriamC

The new system explained in the article is only good for foreign registered cars, not for rental cars with a Portuguese licence plate of which there are thousands on the road in the Algarve. Such a shame!

ribeirasacra

My 2 cents worth.
Extra staff to explain a system in use for several years. Why now?
Extra staff to explain the system, how? Like will they stop everyone driving along not understand the road signs and explain?

ozgirl

Another update - went into the Post Offce today to do the right thing and 'pre-pay' our trip from Porto to te airport on our last day. Apparently the toll is 0.50 euro cents. The lady in the post office informed me that there is no way for foreign registered vehicles to pay specifically this journey. The only option was a 10 euro pre paid fee.
Hopefully the Portuguese government will have better things to do than chase me in Australia for 0.50 euro cents! We're going to risk it.