progol

I just posted this on another thread but thought it wiser to start one of my own.

Which are the best locations to pick up and drop off a car, going from Lisbon to Porto. We will be traveling to Evora after Lisbon. Is there an easier location in the city? Or is it much easier to go to the airport? I generally don’t choose the airport option unless driving near in the urban centers are nit recommended.

Again, dropping the car in Porto - we will be on Rua De Loulé, 97, if that helps anyone. Is there a large train station nearby that would make sense to drop the car?

Maribel

progol,
We pick up our rental cars at Lisbon's Oriente train station as they tend to have a decent selection there, it's not as far out as the airport, and it's very easy to exit the city from there to head across the bridge south to the Algarve or east to Alentejo or north to Porto.

In Porto, though, since we come in east from the Douro Valley on the A4, it's been much easier to drop off at the airport. The rental companies are all in a separate building across from the main terminal and it's well signposted. The building is easy to reach. After dropping off, we either take a taxi into the city or there's the metro option as well.
We've tried dropping off at Campanha rail station but while a pick up there and getting out of the city was fairly easy, the return was quite difficult. Never again.

joannyc

Airport and train station often have an additional fee for pickups at those locations. Not usually a fee for dropping off there. Other locations don't charge the pickup fee. Haven't been to Portugal yet so not sure how it works there.

I usually go to Autoeurope and/or Kemwell to obtain a few office locations then plug them along with my hotel address in Google maps to see what is close by.

Note that Hertz typically charges a one-way drop fee. They are the only rental agency that has charged me this fee.

progol

Maribel, we will be coming from Guimarães before Porto. Would it make sense to drop the car there and then take a train to Porto?

thanks joannyc, I will do that, too. As Maribel wrote, getting into the city can be quite challenging. And that is something I’d like to avoid!

Maribel

The train station pick up fee is most always less than the airport pick up fee, in our experience. And we book all of our European rentals (6-8 per year) through AutoEurope or Kemwell, usually getting a Europcar or Avis vehicle.

If you're headed to Porto from Guimarães in the Minho, I would still drop off at the airport, which is located north of Porto. It's a fast 40 minute drive via the A7-A3. And take a taxi or Uber from the airport to your Porto hotel. Porto traffic can be horrendous.
Europcar didn't charge us a drop off fee at the Porto airport.

Michael

We had no problems going from our rental agency near the Pombal metro station to the highway going north. Had some problems finding the turn off to go to Evora, went too far, exited and reentered the same highway going going south, still missed the turn off to go around Lisbon and drove right through Lisbon with otherwise no difficulty. But going straight south toward Setúbal did represent a detour.

I had chosen to drop the car off at a train station. But I needed gas before dropping off the car, and that led me into town once we were that close to town. The driving in Porto, with the hills, narrow and one-way streets is crazy. We fell upon a Europcar office when making a turn to get to a gas station seen by my wife at a corner down a narrow street as I was desperately trying to find a large boulevard instead of the narrow constricting streets. The gas station was appended to a parking garage, which may be common in Porto and helpful in finding that gas station for the final refill of the tank. From there I managed to get back to the large street where Europcar was located, and they accepted the return; I did not have to navigate back to the train station.

progol

Thanks, Michael. Your description confirms my intent to return the car to Porto airport, as recommended by Maribel!

Maribel, I’ve already booked the car and will drop it off at the airport. Sounds like a good plan!

I remember reading about a gadget that people recommend getting for a car rental because otherwise we have to go to a post office to pay for something? Can someone please tell me what it is I need to get and what it’s for? I know I read about it but can’t for the life of me remember what it is!

Maribel

All the Portuguese rental cars now come equipped with a transponder that handles the automatic tolls on the highways. It's the law.
You'll simply need to say "yes" when they ask you if you want to rent the transponder, already installed in your vehicle, and sign the transponder rental agreement. Europcar charged us 1.50 euros plus v.a.t. per day for the rental of the transponder. We received a charge 2 weeks later on our credit card for the tolls we incurred.

progol

Thank you! Very helpful! I know I’ll need to explain to my husband why we are taking an extra gadget so this is really helpful!