Please Comment on Preliminary Portugal Itinerary
Jul 9th, 2008, 07:37 PM
#22
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Wow, sandys... I feel like I'm eaves dropping on your conversation. I'm just beginning to plan our trip to Spain and Portugal. We're thinking of taking a tour of Spain, but then would do Portugal on our own. Your itinerary is just what we would like! Thanks for planning so far in advance. We'll be going in February, so will report in long before you leave.
Jul 10th, 2008, 03:30 PM
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mkdiebold
Please report on your experiences. We won't be able to make our reservations, for the most part, until around the beginning of 2009. If you follow a similar itinerary, it will be good to find out how it worked for you.
Please report on your experiences. We won't be able to make our reservations, for the most part, until around the beginning of 2009. If you follow a similar itinerary, it will be good to find out how it worked for you.
Jul 2nd, 2009, 03:24 PM
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Thanks again for everyone's help in planning this trip. Below is my trip report.
TIPS: Around six months before our visit, we purchased a Pousadas Senior Passport, which gave us five nights B&B at Pousadas (plus two discount dinner coupons) for a grand total of 375 euros. We reserved the pousadas that we wanted to stay at at that time, so that we could stay at the pousadas that we desired. This made our stays at pousadas a real bargain.
Couverts are little appetizers, brought to your table the moment you sit down. These usually include bread, butter, cheese, and olives, and often also include other appetizers. Be sure to check your menu for the cost for these couverts. The cost is normally per person, and you can refuse those that you don’t want. In many cases, the cost of these couverts can be very high.
Portugal’s highways work with a system called Via Verde. As a tourist, you cannot use these lanes. These lanes are only for the Portuguese people who have an electronic system in their cars that allow them to pass through the toll booths without stopping. These lanes are clearly marked by a green logo with a white v set on top of the booth and painted on the ground of the lane before reaching the booth.
Since we always had large breakfasts and dinners, instead of lunch we stopped at bakery cafes and had delicious pastries and excellent coffee. We were amazed that the total cost for the two of us was usually between 3 and 4 euros. What a bargain! We really miss those pastries now that we’re home.
Try the Portuguese wines. We were very impressed with the Portuguese wines, and they were very reasonably priced.
Day 1 – Spent in flight enroute to Lisbon.
Day 2 – Arrived in Lisbon in the early evening after a very long flight from San Francisco, with one stop at London Heathrow. We stayed at the Vincci Baixa Lisboa Hotel for 4 nights. It was a lovely hotel with very helpful and friendly staff. The rooms were very small, but also very nice. The included breakfasts were the best that we had in Portugal. This hotel is very centrally located, and also about a five minute walk to a new metro station at Praca do Comercio. We highly recommend this hotel.
Day 3 – We bought the the 7 Colinas Card for 2 days at the metro station close to our hotel, and then took a tram through the Alfama and the Bairro Alta districts. We switched trams around Rossio Square, and returned to the Alfama district. We then visited the Castelo de Sao Jorge (fantastic views and interesting ruins) followed by a walk through the Alfama district. In the afternoon, we took another tram to Belem, and visited the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, the Memorial to the Discoveries, and the Museu Nacional de Coches. We also stopped for the famous Pasteis de Belem pastries – yum. In the evening, we walked to the Clube de Fado in the Alfama district, and enjoyed a very good dinner and fado show.
Day 4 – We walked to the Elevador da Gloria and took it up to the Bairro Alto where we wandered the narrow streets. We took the funicular down to the Baixa district and wandered around the streets there. We spent the afternoon at the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian and the Centro de Arte Moderna.
Day 5 – We walked to Rossio Railway Station from our hotel and took an early train to Sintra. We spent the day in Sintra, visiting the Palacio Nacional de Sintra (beautiful) and the Palacio Nacional de Pena (very Disneyesque – absolutely gorgeous). We also stopped at theMoorish Castle ruins (good views, but we enjoyed the other castles more). Be sure to purchase an all-day ticket for bus # 434 which leaves the Sintra railway station very frequently, and runs via the Castles and Palace in a circular route back to the station. There is a separate small trolley with a minimal cost that takes you the final way up to the Pena palace, but it is worth it. The road up to the Moorish Castle and the Pena Palace is very steep, and they are both far from town.
Day 6 – We picked up our rental car at the airport. We used Hertz since they offered an intermediate size car with Automatic Transmission. Mistake!! We should have rented a compact or economy car since the roads were so narrow. Our car was very wide and I had to be very careful driving the narrow streets of the cities that we visited. Hertz had the shortest line at the airport for rentals, which was a plus. Even though we had prepaid for our rental, and the contract was closed out when we returned the car to the airport, we were hit with around $60 in miscellaneous fees (cleaning, road taxes, etc.) after we returned home. We used our GPS, which we had brought from home (we had purchased a Spain and Portugal card for our Garmin). We found the drivers in Portugal to be cowboys – driving fast and doing lots of tailgaiting. Beware!
En route to Evora, we stopped to see the Cromlech of Almendres – a Portuguese stonehenge. This was located near Guadaloupe on a dirt road. If you have time, don’t miss this. We stayed in Evora, a World Heritage city – a perfectly preserved architectural gem - with beautiful whitewashed houses. We stayed at the Albergaria do Calvario which was a lovely inn just inside the city walls. The breakfast here was also fantastic, and the people at the inn were extremely friendly and helpful. We spent the day walking the narrow streets of the beautiful city of Evora - stopping several times at the main square, the Praca do Giraldo (a beautiful square), visited the Templo Romano and the Jardim de Diana (beautiful views), and visited the Capela dos Ossos (walls with bones of human skeletons) at the Church of St. Francis. We didn’t have time to stop at the walled city of Monseraz which was highly recommended by people that we met. We’ll save that for another trip.
Day 7 – After wandering some more around Evora, we then drove to Marvao. We stayed at the Albergaria el Rei Dom Manuel, which was just inside the gates of this beautiful walled city. We wandered the narrow streets of this medieval fortress town, and explored the lovely castle ruins. We then wandered the town some more. The views were absolutely fantastic in every direction from everywhere in town. Marvao has not yet become touristy. There are very few restaurants and shops. We ate at our hotel that evening. So far, it is completely unspoiled. We absolutely loved Marvao.
Day 8 – Enroute to Belmonte, we stopped at Castelo de Vide, and wandered the steep narrow streets of the town. We climbed up to the ruins of the castle and saw the old Judaria below. In Belmonte, we stayed at the Pousada Convento de Belmonte, a renovated convent. The large rooms and views from this pousada were lovely, and the food for breakfast and dinner was also excellent – the best food from the several pousadas that we stayed at. Since the pousada was out of town, we then drove to Belmonte, explored the city and visited the ruins of the Castelo de Belmonte and its adjacent Juderia.
Day 9 – We then drove to Peso da Regua, staying at the modern Hotel Régua Douro, which was very conveniently located – walking distance to the old part of town. We stopped at the Port Museum in town, which was very interesting. Then we drove to two Port Wine Cellars – recommended by a lady at the tourist office. Our very favorite was the Quinta do Tedo. It was halfway between Peso da Regua and Pinhao, and very easy to drive to. We had a private tour of the estate from the winemaker and then tasted their wines and ports, which were excellent. We also visited Quinta do Panascal, which was crowded and very commercial. The port was not as good as at Quinta do Tedo. We had dinner that evening at a Portuguese restaurant recommended by the lady at the tourist office. The portions were gigantic, but the food was not to our taste.
Day 10 – We then drove to Guimaraes for a two-night stay at the Pousada Santa Marinha, a former monastery. This Pousada was absolutely beautiful, with gorgeous grounds to explore. The rooms were named for monks. Guimaraes is a large city, and our GPS was just as confused as to how to get to our pousada as we were. After the GPS kept telling us – turn right, recalculating, turn left, recalculating, recalculating, etc., we finally pulled off the road and asked a lady for directions. She didn’t speak English, and our Portuguese left much to be desired. She indicated that we should wait, while she checked for directions for us. When she returned, she still didn’t know how we should proceed. She then stopped another car, and explained to the man where we wanted to go, and he indicated that we should follow him. We followed his car for around two miles, and we finally pulled up to the Pousada Santa Marinha. The other driver had a big smile on his face when we thanked him profusely. He was so glad to have been able to help us. This is just one example of how friendly and helpful the Portuguese people are. Since the pousada was not walking distance to town, we drove to a free parking lot near the old town, and then walked and walked around the old city. We also spent time at the Largo da Oliveira, which is a very beautiful busy square. The central medieval core of Guimaraes was fun to wander through. We had an excellent dinner at the Solar do Arco in town.
Day 11 – In the morning, we visited the Palace of the Dukes of Braganca and the Castelo de Guimaraes. In the afternoon, we drove to the very interesting archeological site of Citania de Briteiros, an iron age settlement. Afterwards, we took the ski type lift up to the small community of Penha, which was very scenic. We loved the large boulders and grottos there. We ate dinner at the Pousada. It was not as good as our dinner the prior evening or our dinner at the Pousada Convento de Belmonte.
Day 12 – We stopped at Ponte de Lima en route to Porto for a two-night stay. We thoroughly enjoyed the medieval buildings and the large square near the river and bridge. This would be a nice city to stay in on another trip. In Porto, we stayed at the Hotel da Bolsa where we had the smallest and dingiest room of our trip. The location was excellent, though – everywhere was walkable. We wandered the Ribiera and visited the Taylor Port Wine Lodge across the river, which we thoroughly enjoyed.
Day 13 – We visited the Palacio da Bolsa, which was virtually next door to our hotel. The tour was very worthwhile. We also walked to the the Estacao de Sao Bento to see the azulejos. We then again walked the Ribiera Pier area and crossed the bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia and visited two more Port Wine Lodges. We thoroughly enjoyed Croft, but felt that Sandeman was too commercial for our taste.
Day 14 – We stopped at Aveiro to see the canals en route to Condeixa-a-Nova, where we stayed for two nights at the very modern Pousada de Santa Cristina. The rooms here were very large, and the pousada was lovely. We visited the roman ruins at Conimbriga and the Museum there. The ruins were fantastic – a must-see. We had dinner both evenings at the lovely O Cabritino Restaurant, which was virtually next door to the Pousada – excellent food and service and very reasonable prices.
Day 15 – We spent most of the day wandering the narrow streets of the Old Town of Coimbra after finally finding a parking space in the large lot across the river from town. We walked through the Arco de Almedina, and walked up to the Universidade de Coimbra where we visited the impressive Biblioteca. After returning to Condeixa-a-Nova, we explored the small town of Condeixa-a-Nova.
Day 16 – En route to Obidos, we visited the beautiful town of Tomar. We spent quite a while visiting the fantastic Convento de Cristo (headquarters of the Nights Templar). The Convento de Cristo is on top of a hill overlooking Tomar. Afterwards we walked back to town and walked the narrow streets in the Old Town, and visited the small Museum -Sinagogue of Tomar. We then drove to Obidos, where we stayed at the lovely Casa de Campo Sao Rafael, outside of the walled city. We drove to the parking lot just outside the walls, and then explored Obidos. We found Obidos to be extremely commercial with nonstop tourist shops. After around two hours of wandering through Obidos, we felt that we had seen it. If we had it to do over again, we would have stayed in Tomar.
Day 17 – Before heading back to Lisbon, we again wandered through Obidos, and then drove to the seaside town of Peniche and drove along the shore of the peninsula. We then returned our rental car at the airport and took a taxi (from the departures level) to the SANA Metropolitan Hotel, which was relatively close to the airport. This was the only hotel where breakfast was not included, but since we had to leave for the airport before 6:00am the following morning, we couldn’t have taken advantage of breakfast anyway.
Day 18 – We took a taxi to the airport and left for home.
We loved traveling through the friendly and beautiful country of Portugal, and highly recommend Portugal as a great destination.
TIPS: Around six months before our visit, we purchased a Pousadas Senior Passport, which gave us five nights B&B at Pousadas (plus two discount dinner coupons) for a grand total of 375 euros. We reserved the pousadas that we wanted to stay at at that time, so that we could stay at the pousadas that we desired. This made our stays at pousadas a real bargain.
Couverts are little appetizers, brought to your table the moment you sit down. These usually include bread, butter, cheese, and olives, and often also include other appetizers. Be sure to check your menu for the cost for these couverts. The cost is normally per person, and you can refuse those that you don’t want. In many cases, the cost of these couverts can be very high.
Portugal’s highways work with a system called Via Verde. As a tourist, you cannot use these lanes. These lanes are only for the Portuguese people who have an electronic system in their cars that allow them to pass through the toll booths without stopping. These lanes are clearly marked by a green logo with a white v set on top of the booth and painted on the ground of the lane before reaching the booth.
Since we always had large breakfasts and dinners, instead of lunch we stopped at bakery cafes and had delicious pastries and excellent coffee. We were amazed that the total cost for the two of us was usually between 3 and 4 euros. What a bargain! We really miss those pastries now that we’re home.
Try the Portuguese wines. We were very impressed with the Portuguese wines, and they were very reasonably priced.
Day 1 – Spent in flight enroute to Lisbon.
Day 2 – Arrived in Lisbon in the early evening after a very long flight from San Francisco, with one stop at London Heathrow. We stayed at the Vincci Baixa Lisboa Hotel for 4 nights. It was a lovely hotel with very helpful and friendly staff. The rooms were very small, but also very nice. The included breakfasts were the best that we had in Portugal. This hotel is very centrally located, and also about a five minute walk to a new metro station at Praca do Comercio. We highly recommend this hotel.
Day 3 – We bought the the 7 Colinas Card for 2 days at the metro station close to our hotel, and then took a tram through the Alfama and the Bairro Alta districts. We switched trams around Rossio Square, and returned to the Alfama district. We then visited the Castelo de Sao Jorge (fantastic views and interesting ruins) followed by a walk through the Alfama district. In the afternoon, we took another tram to Belem, and visited the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, the Memorial to the Discoveries, and the Museu Nacional de Coches. We also stopped for the famous Pasteis de Belem pastries – yum. In the evening, we walked to the Clube de Fado in the Alfama district, and enjoyed a very good dinner and fado show.
Day 4 – We walked to the Elevador da Gloria and took it up to the Bairro Alto where we wandered the narrow streets. We took the funicular down to the Baixa district and wandered around the streets there. We spent the afternoon at the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian and the Centro de Arte Moderna.
Day 5 – We walked to Rossio Railway Station from our hotel and took an early train to Sintra. We spent the day in Sintra, visiting the Palacio Nacional de Sintra (beautiful) and the Palacio Nacional de Pena (very Disneyesque – absolutely gorgeous). We also stopped at theMoorish Castle ruins (good views, but we enjoyed the other castles more). Be sure to purchase an all-day ticket for bus # 434 which leaves the Sintra railway station very frequently, and runs via the Castles and Palace in a circular route back to the station. There is a separate small trolley with a minimal cost that takes you the final way up to the Pena palace, but it is worth it. The road up to the Moorish Castle and the Pena Palace is very steep, and they are both far from town.
Day 6 – We picked up our rental car at the airport. We used Hertz since they offered an intermediate size car with Automatic Transmission. Mistake!! We should have rented a compact or economy car since the roads were so narrow. Our car was very wide and I had to be very careful driving the narrow streets of the cities that we visited. Hertz had the shortest line at the airport for rentals, which was a plus. Even though we had prepaid for our rental, and the contract was closed out when we returned the car to the airport, we were hit with around $60 in miscellaneous fees (cleaning, road taxes, etc.) after we returned home. We used our GPS, which we had brought from home (we had purchased a Spain and Portugal card for our Garmin). We found the drivers in Portugal to be cowboys – driving fast and doing lots of tailgaiting. Beware!
En route to Evora, we stopped to see the Cromlech of Almendres – a Portuguese stonehenge. This was located near Guadaloupe on a dirt road. If you have time, don’t miss this. We stayed in Evora, a World Heritage city – a perfectly preserved architectural gem - with beautiful whitewashed houses. We stayed at the Albergaria do Calvario which was a lovely inn just inside the city walls. The breakfast here was also fantastic, and the people at the inn were extremely friendly and helpful. We spent the day walking the narrow streets of the beautiful city of Evora - stopping several times at the main square, the Praca do Giraldo (a beautiful square), visited the Templo Romano and the Jardim de Diana (beautiful views), and visited the Capela dos Ossos (walls with bones of human skeletons) at the Church of St. Francis. We didn’t have time to stop at the walled city of Monseraz which was highly recommended by people that we met. We’ll save that for another trip.
Day 7 – After wandering some more around Evora, we then drove to Marvao. We stayed at the Albergaria el Rei Dom Manuel, which was just inside the gates of this beautiful walled city. We wandered the narrow streets of this medieval fortress town, and explored the lovely castle ruins. We then wandered the town some more. The views were absolutely fantastic in every direction from everywhere in town. Marvao has not yet become touristy. There are very few restaurants and shops. We ate at our hotel that evening. So far, it is completely unspoiled. We absolutely loved Marvao.
Day 8 – Enroute to Belmonte, we stopped at Castelo de Vide, and wandered the steep narrow streets of the town. We climbed up to the ruins of the castle and saw the old Judaria below. In Belmonte, we stayed at the Pousada Convento de Belmonte, a renovated convent. The large rooms and views from this pousada were lovely, and the food for breakfast and dinner was also excellent – the best food from the several pousadas that we stayed at. Since the pousada was out of town, we then drove to Belmonte, explored the city and visited the ruins of the Castelo de Belmonte and its adjacent Juderia.
Day 9 – We then drove to Peso da Regua, staying at the modern Hotel Régua Douro, which was very conveniently located – walking distance to the old part of town. We stopped at the Port Museum in town, which was very interesting. Then we drove to two Port Wine Cellars – recommended by a lady at the tourist office. Our very favorite was the Quinta do Tedo. It was halfway between Peso da Regua and Pinhao, and very easy to drive to. We had a private tour of the estate from the winemaker and then tasted their wines and ports, which were excellent. We also visited Quinta do Panascal, which was crowded and very commercial. The port was not as good as at Quinta do Tedo. We had dinner that evening at a Portuguese restaurant recommended by the lady at the tourist office. The portions were gigantic, but the food was not to our taste.
Day 10 – We then drove to Guimaraes for a two-night stay at the Pousada Santa Marinha, a former monastery. This Pousada was absolutely beautiful, with gorgeous grounds to explore. The rooms were named for monks. Guimaraes is a large city, and our GPS was just as confused as to how to get to our pousada as we were. After the GPS kept telling us – turn right, recalculating, turn left, recalculating, recalculating, etc., we finally pulled off the road and asked a lady for directions. She didn’t speak English, and our Portuguese left much to be desired. She indicated that we should wait, while she checked for directions for us. When she returned, she still didn’t know how we should proceed. She then stopped another car, and explained to the man where we wanted to go, and he indicated that we should follow him. We followed his car for around two miles, and we finally pulled up to the Pousada Santa Marinha. The other driver had a big smile on his face when we thanked him profusely. He was so glad to have been able to help us. This is just one example of how friendly and helpful the Portuguese people are. Since the pousada was not walking distance to town, we drove to a free parking lot near the old town, and then walked and walked around the old city. We also spent time at the Largo da Oliveira, which is a very beautiful busy square. The central medieval core of Guimaraes was fun to wander through. We had an excellent dinner at the Solar do Arco in town.
Day 11 – In the morning, we visited the Palace of the Dukes of Braganca and the Castelo de Guimaraes. In the afternoon, we drove to the very interesting archeological site of Citania de Briteiros, an iron age settlement. Afterwards, we took the ski type lift up to the small community of Penha, which was very scenic. We loved the large boulders and grottos there. We ate dinner at the Pousada. It was not as good as our dinner the prior evening or our dinner at the Pousada Convento de Belmonte.
Day 12 – We stopped at Ponte de Lima en route to Porto for a two-night stay. We thoroughly enjoyed the medieval buildings and the large square near the river and bridge. This would be a nice city to stay in on another trip. In Porto, we stayed at the Hotel da Bolsa where we had the smallest and dingiest room of our trip. The location was excellent, though – everywhere was walkable. We wandered the Ribiera and visited the Taylor Port Wine Lodge across the river, which we thoroughly enjoyed.
Day 13 – We visited the Palacio da Bolsa, which was virtually next door to our hotel. The tour was very worthwhile. We also walked to the the Estacao de Sao Bento to see the azulejos. We then again walked the Ribiera Pier area and crossed the bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia and visited two more Port Wine Lodges. We thoroughly enjoyed Croft, but felt that Sandeman was too commercial for our taste.
Day 14 – We stopped at Aveiro to see the canals en route to Condeixa-a-Nova, where we stayed for two nights at the very modern Pousada de Santa Cristina. The rooms here were very large, and the pousada was lovely. We visited the roman ruins at Conimbriga and the Museum there. The ruins were fantastic – a must-see. We had dinner both evenings at the lovely O Cabritino Restaurant, which was virtually next door to the Pousada – excellent food and service and very reasonable prices.
Day 15 – We spent most of the day wandering the narrow streets of the Old Town of Coimbra after finally finding a parking space in the large lot across the river from town. We walked through the Arco de Almedina, and walked up to the Universidade de Coimbra where we visited the impressive Biblioteca. After returning to Condeixa-a-Nova, we explored the small town of Condeixa-a-Nova.
Day 16 – En route to Obidos, we visited the beautiful town of Tomar. We spent quite a while visiting the fantastic Convento de Cristo (headquarters of the Nights Templar). The Convento de Cristo is on top of a hill overlooking Tomar. Afterwards we walked back to town and walked the narrow streets in the Old Town, and visited the small Museum -Sinagogue of Tomar. We then drove to Obidos, where we stayed at the lovely Casa de Campo Sao Rafael, outside of the walled city. We drove to the parking lot just outside the walls, and then explored Obidos. We found Obidos to be extremely commercial with nonstop tourist shops. After around two hours of wandering through Obidos, we felt that we had seen it. If we had it to do over again, we would have stayed in Tomar.
Day 17 – Before heading back to Lisbon, we again wandered through Obidos, and then drove to the seaside town of Peniche and drove along the shore of the peninsula. We then returned our rental car at the airport and took a taxi (from the departures level) to the SANA Metropolitan Hotel, which was relatively close to the airport. This was the only hotel where breakfast was not included, but since we had to leave for the airport before 6:00am the following morning, we couldn’t have taken advantage of breakfast anyway.
Day 18 – We took a taxi to the airport and left for home.
We loved traveling through the friendly and beautiful country of Portugal, and highly recommend Portugal as a great destination.
Jul 2nd, 2009, 04:20 PM
#26
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Hi Sandy...very concise (I appreciate that) and beautifully explained trip report. It brought back many memories of our visit to Portugal, springtime, '08. It is a gem of a country. It was the last remaining country in Continental Europe that I had yet to visit. Like saving one of the best for last!
Will you be sharing pix with us? In the meantime, I'll post mine for you herein. Since you mentioned so many sites of Jewish interest, I enjoy sharing my List of Synagogues Visited World Wide. It's something I've done wherever we've travelled for many decades. Just send me a note and I'll be happy to e-mail it along (two pages, about 100 synagogues...I guess that's First Prize. LOL).I also have either digital or pre-digital old scanned photos of most entries.
http://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/Portugal2008#
Best viewed as either a slide show (sometimes, I lose the captions in this mode) or individually...that way, all captions show)
We're in L.A. ..you're in Bay Area?
Stuart Tower [email protected]
Will you be sharing pix with us? In the meantime, I'll post mine for you herein. Since you mentioned so many sites of Jewish interest, I enjoy sharing my List of Synagogues Visited World Wide. It's something I've done wherever we've travelled for many decades. Just send me a note and I'll be happy to e-mail it along (two pages, about 100 synagogues...I guess that's First Prize. LOL).I also have either digital or pre-digital old scanned photos of most entries.
http://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/Portugal2008#
Best viewed as either a slide show (sometimes, I lose the captions in this mode) or individually...that way, all captions show)
We're in L.A. ..you're in Bay Area?
Stuart Tower [email protected]
Jul 3rd, 2009, 04:07 AM
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Sandys. I wanted to ask you about your car rental. On our previous trips to Portugal we rented small automatics from Sixt and Budget. They worked out fine.
But this trip, we are four adults and thought that we would step up the size of the car and have actually made arrangements with Hertz.
Do you remember what type of intermediate car you rented? This is what we are looking at since the smallest automatics seem very small for four adults and luggage.
Thanks.
But this trip, we are four adults and thought that we would step up the size of the car and have actually made arrangements with Hertz.
Do you remember what type of intermediate car you rented? This is what we are looking at since the smallest automatics seem very small for four adults and luggage.
Thanks.
Jul 3rd, 2009, 10:28 AM
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Sher.
The car was a Citroen Picasso automatic. It had a third set of seats in back (which we didn't need) since it was station wagon style. We had booked the Intermediate car since we wanted to make sure that all of our luggage would fit in the trunk and be hidden from sight - but this car failed on that score, since it had no trunk. It was easy to load luggage in the back, though. The seats were very comfortable.
We didn't feel that the car we were given was in very good mechanical condition. The pickup was very slow and the transmission had a very difficult time on steep uphills, even in low gear.
The car was a Citroen Picasso automatic. It had a third set of seats in back (which we didn't need) since it was station wagon style. We had booked the Intermediate car since we wanted to make sure that all of our luggage would fit in the trunk and be hidden from sight - but this car failed on that score, since it had no trunk. It was easy to load luggage in the back, though. The seats were very comfortable.
We didn't feel that the car we were given was in very good mechanical condition. The pickup was very slow and the transmission had a very difficult time on steep uphills, even in low gear.
Jul 3rd, 2009, 11:57 AM
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sandys,
Thanks so much for your answer. I am not concerned about no trunk as we are flying into Lisbon, picking up the car and driving to the coast where we will stay for seven nights. So there is really no worry for us about touring and covering the luggage.
I was concerned that it would be so much bigger than I imagine but do not really know how to get around the four adults that will be in it.
The smallest automatics are really small in the back seat. And actually the small automatics really don't have very good pick up since the ones they provide you with seem to have tiny engines anyway.
We are not prepaying and I want to check that the total is the total. This Hertz location is an independent one and I just do not want to pay more than they quote. I do not like suprises like that.
Thanks.
If you can think of anything else about the car that might be of help, I would appreciate your input.
And thank you again for answering.
Thanks so much for your answer. I am not concerned about no trunk as we are flying into Lisbon, picking up the car and driving to the coast where we will stay for seven nights. So there is really no worry for us about touring and covering the luggage.
I was concerned that it would be so much bigger than I imagine but do not really know how to get around the four adults that will be in it.
The smallest automatics are really small in the back seat. And actually the small automatics really don't have very good pick up since the ones they provide you with seem to have tiny engines anyway.
We are not prepaying and I want to check that the total is the total. This Hertz location is an independent one and I just do not want to pay more than they quote. I do not like suprises like that.
Thanks.
If you can think of anything else about the car that might be of help, I would appreciate your input.
And thank you again for answering.
Jul 3rd, 2009, 08:55 PM
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That size car should be very comfortable for four adults. We wanted a trunk since we were driving from city to city. When we picked up the car, at first they were going to upgrade us to a Mercedes since the Citroen was not available yet, but as we were doing our paperwork, I guess that the Citroen was returned, and that is what we got. We picked up the car at the airport, where there is a big fleet of cars.
We did prepay, and when we returned the car, we were told that the contract was closed out. Nevertheless, we did get hit with around a $60 charge on our Visa Card that turned out to be a cleaning charge plus road taxes plus another charge.
Also, a hold was put on our credit card during the period of our rental by Hertz. It was removed when we returned the car.
We did prepay, and when we returned the car, we were told that the contract was closed out. Nevertheless, we did get hit with around a $60 charge on our Visa Card that turned out to be a cleaning charge plus road taxes plus another charge.
Also, a hold was put on our credit card during the period of our rental by Hertz. It was removed when we returned the car.
Jul 4th, 2009, 05:10 AM
#33
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The two other companies I have used for Portugal list a Ford Focus and an Opel Astra as the choices for intermediate cars. In descriptions I have found the Focus and Picasso are described as holding five passangers and three suitcases. The Astra was listed as holding five passengers and two suitcases.
My husband and I both plan on having one carry on sized suitcase each and also a small bag a size that would fit under an airline seat.
I do not know what the other couple plans to have. I have stressed that the cars there are very small. And although we will not need to hide them while touring we do need to get from point A to B fitting them in the car. And we would like to be semi comfortable while driving as we plan to do a lot of it.
Well. Wish me luck. I will let you know after next month how it worked out.
I also realize that the car company will put a hold on the credit card for the excess. They always do that unless you purchase the full CDW from them.
I am still going to call Hertz about the cleaning fee and road tax.
Sherry
My husband and I both plan on having one carry on sized suitcase each and also a small bag a size that would fit under an airline seat.
I do not know what the other couple plans to have. I have stressed that the cars there are very small. And although we will not need to hide them while touring we do need to get from point A to B fitting them in the car. And we would like to be semi comfortable while driving as we plan to do a lot of it.
Well. Wish me luck. I will let you know after next month how it worked out.
I also realize that the car company will put a hold on the credit card for the excess. They always do that unless you purchase the full CDW from them.
I am still going to call Hertz about the cleaning fee and road tax.
Sherry
Jul 4th, 2009, 09:18 AM
#34
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Sher. I think that the Astra and the Ford Focus are usually listed as compact cars, and not intermediates. That's why we went with Hertz - since they offered an intermediate so that our suitcases would fit in the trunk. But then we got a station wagon anyway.
Good luck on your rental and enjoy your stay in Portugal.
Good luck on your rental and enjoy your stay in Portugal.
Jul 4th, 2009, 10:18 AM
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Hi, Sandys,
This sounds like a great trip. I think you really got to see many of the great things Portugal has to offer.
I have been here for almost a year now and am heading home in a few weeks, and I will miss it!
Laurie
This sounds like a great trip. I think you really got to see many of the great things Portugal has to offer.
I have been here for almost a year now and am heading home in a few weeks, and I will miss it!
Laurie
Jul 4th, 2009, 12:47 PM
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sandys. That is what I thought about the Focus and Astra. So Hertz told me that all road tax, etc is included.
But they did say that if they feel the car is not to their liking they will charge a cleaning fee.
I guess we will have to be particularly careful when we return the car and make sure they mark the receipt that the car is clean.
I do have you to thank for that little tip.
But they did say that if they feel the car is not to their liking they will charge a cleaning fee.
I guess we will have to be particularly careful when we return the car and make sure they mark the receipt that the car is clean.
I do have you to thank for that little tip.
Jul 5th, 2009, 04:20 PM
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Thanks Sandys for a great trip report. So interesting on the same thread to read your itinerary questions then the trip report. We are travelling to Portugal in September and will be staying at the same inn in Evora which I am really glad you enjoyed.
