We'll be going to Portugal in October. We are starting in Porto and working our way down to Lisbon. We plan on having a leisurely drive with 2 overnights along the way so we'll have plenty of time to make stops (Coimbra, Obidos, etc).

Our last 4 nights will be in Lisbon. Out hotel has free parking so that wouldn't be an issue. The question is, will we still need the car assuming we will probably take a day trip or 2 to Sintra and Estoril? Or should be get rid of the car and use public transportation at that point? In any case, we don't plan on keeping the car for all 4 days in Lisbon but weren't sure if it's worth keeping at least 1 extra day to do a day trip.

I would see Sintra as you drive south from Obidos and then drop the car at the airport. Driving in Lisbon is not a good idea. I would also see Cabo de Roca and Cascais that same day.

This is what I was wondering about. I figured on the drive from Obidos (where we will be spending a night), we can probably makes a stop or two en route to Lisbon. Is the airport the best place to return the car?

Any recs on car rental agencies?

About how much time is necessary in places like Sintra?

Although driving in Lisbon is confusing, it's no more confusing than driving in any other major European capital city, IMO. For me, it would depend on where the hotel is and what you want to do with the days in Lisbon. And also it would depend on how good you are with city driving in general, I know it just freaks some people out.

Here's one scenario in which having a car would be a plus -- driving out to Belem, where there's lots of parking, and then it's easy to continue on along the coast out to Estoril/Cascais/Cabo da Roca. However, parking and traffic in Cascais are AWFUL.

I think Sintra deserves at least one full day, maybe more. If you want to visit some of the more "off the beaten path" places like Monserrate and Convento dos Capuchinos (both of which I highly recommend), having a car would be essential. There's a very good website describing the four attractions that make up the "parque de sintra" http://www.parquesdesintra.pt/en/

Having said that, though, parking in Sintra is also a real nightmare, so one option would be to spend a night there on your way in at a place with parking.

I have rented cars through two European brokers, carjet and economycarrentals. But I have recently been educated on the differences between CDW and "super CDW" and what is covered by my US credit card, all of which have left me kind of unsure about which way is the best to go. I won't go into that if it's not a concern of yours, but if it is I know there are several very knowledgeable people on this board who can tell you what's at stake with the different companies.

Returning at the airport is very easy, but there are also agencies that will come to your hotel to pick up your car (we had that option through economy this spring). And depending on where your hotel is, you might be very close to a car rental office. So I guess there's no obvious easy answer here.

We are on a tight time budget (and have been agonizing on how to spend it best without feeling like we are living out of a suitcase), so we can't fit in a night in Sintra. Right now I have a reservation at Belver Principe Real in the Bairro Alto area (although this is subject to change since the reservation is cancellable and we have plenty of time).

We have rented cars in Italy a couple of times, and even drove into Rome (which was horrible). We also live in NYC so are more or less used to congested driving areas but definitely don't want to drive somewhere and then spend an hour looking for a parking place.

Rental agencies that I've come across are autoeurope and sixt. Any thoughts on those?

Thanks.

Hi MFNYC:

We essentially did your trip in Oct '08. We flew in Porto, spent 2 nights, rented a car from autoeurope, then spent 3 nights en route to Lisbon (Viseu, Coimbra, Obidos). We left Obidos, stopped in Sintra for about 4-5 hours on a Friday AM and early PM, then I dropped the car at a downtown Lisbon location (not the airport) after dropping luggage/wife at our hotel. (Real Palacio)

We found parking without much problem in downtown Sintra, we arrived about 9:30-10AM. Traffic into Lisbon was quite managegable as well on a Friday afternoon, of course much more was headed outbound for the weekend. I can't imagine a New Yorker being too troubled. I held us up 10-15 minutes trying to locate the hotel, but it was otherwise no problem.

We've used both autoeurope and sixt in Portugal without incident, I would choose either based on price and availability.

maytraveller

I'm with Bob about dropping the car and seeing Sintra before Lisboa. I have driven in many of the European cities over many years, and without a doubt for us entering Lisboa was an Olympic event. It's been some years but I still ponder the miracle of us finding our hotel. This was before the GPS; maybe now it's different.

Our hotel was somewhat also off the beaten path. I found the movement of traffic so fast which is fine if you know where you are going----so fast that it was almost impossible to see any signs. Again a GPS would come in very handy. We didn't use the car once while there and by the way, leaving was much easier. I don't know why.

Thanks everyone!

I actually just changed my hotel to Marques De Pombal Hotel. From what I can tell the location is slightly better, the reviews were excellent (#8 in tripadvisor and 8.8 on venere) and it was less Euro (although I had booked a suite at Principe, and a double at Pombal).

Any comments on this hotel?

First of all let me say that we have found renting cars in Portugal to be quite economical compared to some European countries.
We have rented from Carjet, a broker who placed us with Budget, Economy Car rentals who placed us with Sixt and with Hertz. Let me tell you that using these brokers got us prices less expensive than either Sixt or Budget would give us.

All of the rentals have been fine with no problems and I have found besides prices the most stressful thing about renting a car in a foriegn country is the thought of what happens when a accident or damage occurs. How an agency or broker handles your rental is the real test. We had no problems with any of our rentals so I cannot give you a heads up of one over the other besides that fact that Economy provides you with full insurance and no excess.

We visited Sintra for the day on our way South from the coast and sfter stopping in some of the places you would like to visit i.e.Obidos. We found parking in front of the train station and just caught the #434 bus to do out touring. One advantage of this is that you will also have the freedom to visit some of the off the beaten path places that lreynolds mentions. Or it is nice to just see a piece of coast that you may want to stop just to admire the landscape. You can visit Sintra, Cascais and Estoril by public transportation but not at your own pace.

And let me tell you there is a fish restaurant on the beach at Sintra that was so good I cannot even begin to describe it to you. I don't know how you would get there without a car.

Another advantage to dropping the car off at the airport before your visit to Lisbon is twofold. One, the airport has one of the most easy return venues that I have seen. Easy direction, right next to the arrival and departure halls. It is really only about 20 minutes or so to your destination in Lisbon unless the traffic is particularly heavy when you arrive.
Secondly. It is so easy to get a taxi to the airport when you depart even in the early morning hours. And the price is very reasonable. With luggage it should not be more than 15 euro.
So, to answer your question I would visit Sintra and environs on the way into Lisbon and dump the car.
This is just one suggestion.
Good Luck.

Sher I just went onto the Economy Car rentals website and plugged in my info. I notices they have a choice of "hotels within city". Does that mean that they will drop off/pick up the car at the hotel?

It's a more than the airport option, depending on the car, but sounds very convenient, and save the cost and time of going to/from the airport.

Well, yes. I have never asked them to do it. But since we rented from them, they have a toll free US number. I had to call them this week and I do not know where the call center is but their English is very goo.
I would give them a call to find out if it is only "certain" hotels or "any hotel" within the city.
I have to tell you that they are now my go to site for car rentals no matter where I go.
Their prices are usually very good.
By the way. We didn't drive in Lisbon, but used our GPS every where else in Portugal with great success.

Thanks again Sher. I noticed on many of the hotel websites they give the lat/long coordinates to use with the GPS. I guess in some of the smaller towns this works better than an address. We may upgrade our portable GPS with Europe software and bring it with us. It costs only a little more than renting one. I'll definitely call their 800 # with my questions.

It looks like we'll do as you suggested, stopping along the way to Lisbon while we still have the car and getting rid of the car when we arrive in Lisbon. We will be staying in Obidos the night before driving to Lisbon (in the Pousada), so we'll be pretty close and should have enough time to stop in 1 or 2 places on the way.

Definitely upgrade the GPS. You won't be sorry.

I don't know if you are picking your car up early in Porto. But usually we just extend the car an extra day from when we actually arrive in Lisbon.
We always return it our first night in Lisbon but we always give ourselves that extra day because we have always taken our time going down the coast. If we want to stop for an elaborate lunch we can and never have to worry about the 24 hour rule.
I guess you could say we always return it early because if we tell them we want to return it on Sunday at noon, we return it on Saturday at let us say 6:00.
The one thing about returning at the airport is the offices are open mostly 24 hours so you could go almost anytime.
We usually are picking the car up by 8:00am and have never been able to make it down the coast to return it by 8:00am on the first night in Lisbon. So we just tell them we are keeping it until the next day but return it the night before.
I think I could have stated this better but I hope you can understand what I am trying to say by my convoluted explanation.

<It looks like we'll do as you suggested, stopping along the way to Lisbon while we still have the car and getting rid of the car when we arrive in Lisbon. We will be staying in Obidos the night before driving to Lisbon (in the Pousada), so we'll be pretty close and should have enough time to stop in 1 or 2 places on the way.>

It looks to be a great trip, a nice time of the year to visit what has become one of our very favorite corners of Europe. Enjoy and happy planning!

maytraveller

Just back from Portugal, Spain & southern France.

Driving in Lisbon is a nightmare - suggest you don't do it even if you have a GPS, as a GPS doesn't always get a signal when you're hemmed in by tall buildings as you often are in Lisbon.

We hired a guide - Jorge Liberato - for Sintra & Lisbon & he was worth his weight in gold. Contact him at [email protected] & do tell him how you came by the recommendation - Mr/Mrs Shedrick. Jorge grew up in England so his English is idiomatic & perfect, & his grooming & Mercedes are impeccable. Jorge (Zhorzh as opposed to Horhay) made arrangements with us outside each venue as to where & when to meet him. In Sintra be sure to see the Pena Palace & National Palace. He took us down the coast to a great seafood restaurant (do not expect it to be cheap) & delivered us to our door at the Olissippo Castello - a very nice hotel in the shadow of the St Jorge Castle that would have been impossible to find on our own -- get a room on the 3rd floor or above to get the best views.

The price of a guide vs the price of losing your mind weaving through Lisbon is at least an equal trade. DO bring your Garmin GPS fully loaded with the Europe package --- it saved our bacon many many times on this trip!

"The price of a guide vs the price of losing your mind weaving through Lisbon is at least an equal trade." - hardly the only alternatives. Public transport in the Lisbon area is excellent, and cheap.

We have no problem with public transportation, or, for that matter, the "foot express". We live in NYC so we're quite used to that kind of thing. My thought wasn't to use the car IN Lisbon, but to use it for day trips outside of Lisbon.

I think we'll make as many stops as we can on our way into the city while we have the car, and then get rid of the car once we arrive at our hotel.

Thanks.