Portugal by Train or Car?
 

We plan to travel in Spain and Portugal in late May-early June and want to know the benefits of driving vs travel by train. We’ve read about crazy drivers and thefts from parked cars. But we wonder what we will miss if we don’t drive. Could we see places like the Arrábida Nature Park the Algarve beaches without a car? Outside of big cities, do hotels offer parking? We appreciate any advice!

We rented a car in Portugal for the entire trip except for our time in Lisbon. We drove to the North as far as the Doura Valley, through the central region and South in the Algarve. I totally recommend a car in Portugal outside of Lisbon. Roads are great, no traffic. If you end up exploring mountain top villages the roads may be narrow but other than that it is a very convenient way to explore. We had also read similar reports about car theft and were slightly concerned since we typically would leave our bags in the car on stops between hotels etc but really I found Portugal to be very safe.

You can get robbed anywhere on the planet - Portugal is probably among the less likely places but still...

Arrange the things you wish to leave in the car so they are not visible, and do that not at the last stop where anybody can watch you do it, but at a stop before the last, so when you park you are seen to simply exit the car and slam the doors...

You'll like the freedom of the car for what you have planned.

In Lisbon, get the "tap" card for public transportation, it is valid on metro trains, buses, trams, and even on the (separate) train lines to Sintra and to Cascais.

Please note, that whatever country you pick up the car, is where you should drop it off, otherwise you will pay a hefty fee.

Also in Spain you will need an International Driver's Permit (IDP) and if you wear glasses, carry a second pair in the car. If you are stopped by the Spanish police, they can get cranky if you do not have them.

We had no problems driving in Portugal, and traffic was light for the most part. The only crazy driver we met was the taxi driver taking us to the Lisbon airport. We covered only northern Portugal. If interested in my trip report, you can find it by clicking on my name and scrolling through my trip reports.

I wonder what people read...
Anyway to add my voice, we visited a lot - a lot - of monasteries, small castles and great small hikes.
Don't know if possible by train.
And I didn't feel more or less secure than at home.
Except that at home I know what places to avoid, in Portugal we may have driven through some but we were focused on touristy stuff, not the likely places for high criminals.

Unless just going to cities cars are great - trains limited vs rest of Europe. for your interests drive - no real problems outside of parking perhaps in cities but always something - do Lison before or after car rental.

My family and I are planning our trip to Portugal in July. We are a family of 8 w/ 8 suitcases. Can anyone recommend the best way to travel from Cascais to Leca da Palmeria (Porto)?

Vacation26 - you are piggybacking on somebody else's post.

Please start your own, by clicking Post New Topic (top left)