Albufueira, Portugal + Norwegian Air
 

A friend’s 20-something son (+ friend) are traveling to Albufeira, Portugal in a few weeks. They’re using Norwegian Air through London to Faro. They’ve never been to Europe alone before (only with family).

A few questions:
1. How is Norwegian Air? I’ve read reviews that the airline itself is decent, but the food is not. Can they bring their own food from home onboard?

2.They are considering renting a car at Faro Airport. Any recommendations? Trip Advisor reviews are at least a year old, and talk about hidden fees, insurance scams, credit card “holds”, and fees for toll roads plus the transponder fee.
Will they have any problem parking at beaches and sights? Are their parking fees?Are theft & car break ins a problem?

3.Any recommendations of must-see sights?

I visited Portugal years ago and it’s a beautiful country. Most of my time was around the Libson/Cascais area, however.

1) Norwegian is a low-cost carrier and these are not known for the quality of food, but why do they want to eat on a 3 hour flight? Eating 3 times/day is fine for most people, you don't have to eat every couple of hours. I'd certainly wait with eating till they land in Portugal. the food is much better and cheaper there than on any flight. They can bring their own food of course if they wish. Is there any airline in the world where you can't?

2) Renting a car is always a minefield anywhere. Depending on where they're staying and what are they planning to do, they might not even need a car(at least not all the time). Algarve has a good bus network. If they want to go to places with no buses, they could just rent a car for 1 day.

Algarve Public Transport Information

I've flown Norwegian (from the US to Europe as well as intra Europe flights) several times and really like them. If the plane is the 'dreamliner' (most of their transatlantic ones are) even better. They claim no jet lag due to different lighting and pressurization and it seems to work (at least it does for me). No food is included with your base ticket. I have always just brought my own but sometimes sat next to people who did order meals and they looked at least as good as any other airline food.

Have they researched the Algarve? Do they know what Albufeira is like compared to Lagos, Faro, etc. It would not be my first choice. I liked Lagos (and especially the scenery, cliff hikes, etc. west of it) a lot, Faro was so-so.

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/nor...oid-bankruptcy

I flew Norwegian Boston-Rome last April. We did the cheapest fare - no food or bags. Our night flight left at 11 PM so we weren't going to be eating anyway - other people's food smelled good but I didn't regret not buying food. On the way back, the choices to buy food on the plane were limited - we should have brought our own but ran out of time at the airport. The flight and the service was fine (they weigh your bag and handbag!!! and are very strict) but I try to avoid them because if they cancel they might not be able to rebook you for two days!

I'll pass on the information about Norwegian.

...renting a car at Faro Airport--Any recommendations? Trip Advisor reviews are at least a year old, and talk about hidden fees, insurance scams, credit card “holds”, and fees for toll roads plus the transponder fee.

Will they have any problem parking at beaches and sights? Are their parking fees? Are theft & car break ins a problem? If so, any recommendations?

Another possibility. Can they hire a private tour driver for a day instead of renting a car and driving on unfamiliar roads?

Rent outside of the airport
 

I'd recommend making a car rental reservation ahead of time outside of the airport (anywhere in Faro) as there is an airport tax that's around 30 to 50 euros extra if I'm not mistaken. Also, since they are younger, they may pay slightly more? I recently used Hertz and did exactly the same thing (used Uber to get to the Hertz rental car place in the city center and had no complaints). But if they are staying in Albufeira, they may even be able to get around without a car. Also, personally Albufeira wouldn't be my first choice unless they come to get hammered.

Minimum age for car rental in Portugal is 25. 21-25's can sometimes rent by paying insurance supplement, which can be quite steep.