Questions about car rental in Portugal
 

Has anyone used fastcarhire.co.uk or economycarrentals.com to rent a car in Portugal. They both seem to offer better rates than Europcar or Avis, and economycarrentals says they'll deliver the car to your hotel if it's within city limits. Does anyone know how reliable they are, or any preference for one or the other?

Also, we're renting the car in Lisbon after spending 2 days in the city, then returning the car to the airport in Porto a week later. For pick-up in Lisbon, would you suggest going to the airport to pick up the car so we can hit the highway without driving in the city?

Any other information we need for our first visit to Portugal? I assume a Canadian license is OK, no need for an international license?

Thanks for your help.

I rented from Economy Car Rentals in Turkey and had no problems, and they took delivery of the car return at the hotel. I am thinking of using them in France because they have the lowest rates and their CDW coverage has no excess. But they are brokers, not the actual rental agency. I will also carry with me <b>all</b> the information they give to be reimbursed in case of accident--it's similar to the one credit card issuers require except that a police report is required even for the most minor damage.

Thanks, Michael. I've read your Portugal trip report - I appreciate your response.

Anyone else have experience with either company?

If cost is an issue, an airport pick-up might be contraindicated. Such pick-ups usually involve a fee which is often equal to the cost of one day's rental.

We had a very long wait picking up a car at the airport in Lisbon a couple years ago. After I returned, I read a trip report here about somebody renting in a convenient spot in Lisbon with no trouble at all, although I no longer remember the details.

Our last trip to Portugal we rented from Avis at Faro Airport and it was a breeze. However, this trip we are flying into Lisbon and driving to the Algarve. DH has been researching rentals with both Avis and Hertz. A passenger van was $1000+ euros and a standard Passat was 400 euros. So we have decided to rent two cars.

Nikki, how long was your wait to pick up your car? Was there a problem with your rental booking?

I always use carjet.co.uk (they are brokers), and the company I've always used in Lisbon is Castanheira Budget. I've always gotten the best prices with them. I haven't found any difference in price depending on in-city vs. airport pick-up, and you can have an incity pick-up and airport drop-off for no extra charge, though I assume you'll have some sort of charge if the drop-off is in a different city. I've picked up cars at both locations, the in-city office I use is very close to the Gulbenkian on Joao Crisostomo(they may have others) and from there it's a snap to get on the highway. But the Lisbon airport is right on the way to the superhighway going north, undoubtedly the closest Lisbon location to that road.

At the Lisbon airport, there are actually two sets of car rental counters. The first one you come to as you're heading towards the cars is, logically, the one where everyone stops. But if you continue on, for some reason there is another set (I can't swear that all companies have a second office) -- I was just there last week, and the Europcar line was about 20 people long at the first stop, with no one at the second. So if your car rental company has a long line when you arrive, it's worth it to send someone ahead to see if there is a second option. Those second offices were all closed late at night, but all open early in the morning.

Where's your Lisbon hotel?

I am not positive, but I think the second counters at the Lisbon airport could have been the dropoff counters, not the pickup counters. I believe we went to the wrong ones first, then were directed to the one with the very long line.

Our wait was due to a long line at Europcar and slow service, not a problem with the booking. It probably took us a bit less than an hour, and the line got even longer while we were waiting. It probably depends on the time of day and other factors.

We rented with EuropCar (through AutoEurope) from their downtown location, on Avenida Antonio Augusto Aguiar, near the Marques de Pombal circle. Driving out of town was no problem - a pretty straight shot up a major street to connect to the highway, following well-marked route signs. The office is convenient to a Metro Stop, as was our hotel on the other end, so getting there was easy too.

Returning the car to that location was a little bit more difficult. We hit Lisbon at the beginning of the evening rush hour, and because of one-way streets going the wrong way, and no easily seen street signs and a GPS system that kept telling us to turn at the wrong time, it took us quite a bit of effort to get the car returned.

Thanks everyone for all the information, this really helps.

Ireynolds, we're staying at the VIP Eden hotel on Praca dos Restauradores. I'm leaning towards going to the airport to pick up the car. I will check the company you mentioned for their rates. Fastcarhire is also a broker, and the company we chose, Autojardim, has a 30 euro drop off fee, a lot less than AutoEurope I think.

Hi; If you are renting at the airport, we received a good rate from www.sixt.com We always get the 'International Driving License', even if it is not a country requirement. When you get to the rental car counter, one never knows what they ask for. It's just a comfort zone cost of about ? at your local CAA. iris1745.dick

Hi, baladeuse, Picking up the car at the airport as you suggest seems to make the most sense for you since, if I remember correclty, you're heading to Porto. The airport is a hop skip and a jump away from the super highway to Porto.