Paul

My wife and I are considering a trip to Portugal for 10 days in the first half of November. Other options for us are France, yet again, or England. No language problems in either of these places. Will we have a problem with language in Portugal? We will NOT rent a car. Will this restrict our sightseeing and mobility greatly? I think we should be alright in the Lisbon area as well as in Porto. How do you get around to other places between and even to the Algarve? Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Cheryl Z.

<BR>Paul, language won't be a problem in Portugal either, especially the hotels/restaurants and touristy places. But do learn some basic Portuguese words and phrases. I found it to be a beautiful language, and unlike what I'd expected. We had a car <BR>(but turned it in upon arrival in Lisbon - you're right, you won't need it in Lisbon), so can't help you with the transportation issue. Have a wonderful trip. We loved Portugal and I posted info about our trip on this forum which maybe will help you with other things.

Molly Donnelly

Paul, <BR>We went to Lisbon and the Algarve this summer without a car for the Lisbon portion of the trip. We used the metro and the trams in Lisbon and had no problems with the metro. The trams were a bit difficult because we couldn't figure out the stops. It was pretty hilarious! We sat at one tram stop for 30 minutes with a crowd of Portuguese before everyone figured out that that particular tram line wasn't operating that day. Apparently, that happens some days. There's just no telling... <BR>We took a train from Lisbon to the Algarve and stayed in Albufeira. Our purpose of that portion of the trip was to hang out in the sun and rest. We golfed and ate and did little else and it was wonderful. We did wonder, however, if we would have liked it as much if we had gone there from our home in Phoenix. The place looks and acts very similarly to there - white stucco, terracotta tiled roofs, desert plants etc.- and was very hot. As it was, we went from our temporary home in Scotland and loved the "back home feel" of the Algarve. <BR>Once in Albufeira, we realized that we did need a car. It's not easy getting from place to place without one. There were two car companies that camped out in our hotel in the mornings and gave pretty good deals. (6 days for the price of 4 - cost us about $100) Albufeira is pretty touristy. We hung out in Villamoura a lot. It has a nice marina, lots of little shops and restaurants, boat outings etc. The Marinotel in Villamoura had an outstanding restaurant where we ate our only expensive meal. That was nice. We did hear that Tavira to the east was the place to go. If you want to shop, Portimao is the place to go. <BR>We loved the people. They spoke very good English. One owner of a restaurant we went to took my husband out to play golf one weekend. People are that nice. Be aware that many places are not open past August in the Algarve. It is a summer resort area and many places can't afford to stay open outside summer months. Also, many places don't take credit cards down there...cash only. As always, ask before you go. <BR>Anyway, let me know what you think of Portugal. We had a tough time orienting ourselves to Lisbon. It is very run down right now and in dire need of a coat of paint. We have been to 6 European cities in the past 6 months and Lisbon was the one I didn't feel all that safe in and the one we had the hardest time finding our way around. That might have been us. We had passport problems and the vacation got off to a bit of a rocky start. Who knows. I am curious how things work out for you. Have a great time. Keep in touch.

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

Paul I would not do Portugal without a <BR>car---too limiting. Why not consider the <BR>south of Spain---Seville, Granada, Toledo, Cordoba--all more doable by train, and they are user friendly.

susie

Returned two days ago from a week on the Algarve where we rented a villa and had a great time exploring the beaches etc - a car is a must, however you need nerves of steel. We then motored through Andalucia for a week. In the larger cities we used public transport or taxis which were sometimes cheaper than the bus as we were four people. Fortunately our son speaks Spanish, so were fine in Spain and in Portugal we found the people were very helpful and could speak a spattering of English. Gas is very espensive if you are on a budget - about 4 times the cost of here in the states. <BR>There is a bus service from town to town on the Algarve. Before we went I saw a posting with details of bus routes and times, but cannot remember details. <BR>Have fun.

Jeanie

We just went to Portugal without a car and it was ok. In Lisbon you won't have any problems, as mentioned in other posts. We relied on buses in the Algarve. We actually took a bus from Lagos to Lisbon. It is possible to use the buses between algarve towns, however it was a pain.

Jeanie

We just went to Portugal without a car and it was ok. In Lisbon you won't have any problems, as mentioned in other posts. We relied on buses in the Algarve. We actually took a bus from Lagos to Lisbon. It is possible to use the buses between algarve towns, however it was a pain. <BR>we loved portugal though. The people were so friendly and we never really had language problems. I would return there in a heartbeat!

Susan

Dear Paul: <BR> We just returned from 2 weeks in Portugal. The weather was quite volatile: we might have pouring rain & sunshine in the same day & 1 evening it got so cold we had to buy extra clothing. <BR> We relied on public transportation, which was O.K. in Lisbon (buses, trams, metro). It was easy to get to nearby Sintra (a must! - especially Pena Palace) by train. We then spent a week in Leiria, using it as a homebase from which to explore the surrounding area. This was not easy. We used public buses (which supposedly are better than by train). We went to marvelous Obidos but it took 2 1/2 hrs to get there & then we only had 1 1/4 hours to sightsee! When we went to Tomar, we ended up staying all night in order to have more time for sightseeing. <BR> Try to get help with bus schedules from the tourist bureaus (they'll even call for you). We found that at the bus stations, no ticket agent spoke English! It was mass confusion in the stations with buses moving hither & yon & no signs to indicte where to get on. (A harried dispatcher moved them about & when we'd inquire about our bus, he'd vaguely & impatiently wave his hand in the direction of several buses.) <BR> Try to find out the name of the bus you want (good luck with the non-English speaking ticket agents); it should be the final destination of the bus. However, we found some buses had no names on them whatsoever. We always had to change buses to get to our nearby destinations. Our bus from Leiria to nearby Obidos made 30 stops before we got there. The trip took longer (tho a much shorter distance) than the express bus back to Lisbon! <BR> Sometimes, if you knew all the routes, you could work out some kinds of combinations (e.g., had we known, we could have taken an express bus to 1 place & then changed buses, cutting out time to Obidos by almost an hour). <BR> Although I have read that people have no trouble with English in Portugal, that was not the case in our experience even though I speak some Spanish. (This was especially true in small towns.) <BR> If you are going to Portugal, I would strongly urge you to drive in order to get around. <BR> If you are considering France, I would opt for that country instead. It really is easier to get around in & we found much less of a language problem there. <BR> If you do go to Portugal, seek out young people to ask directions of in English - they're a little more likely to know a little English. <BR> If you have any questions about Portugal, feel free to e-mail me. <BR>Susan