Travel from Algarve back to Porto
 

Can anyone offer suggestions as to get back to Porto from the Algarve please? We have 20 days in Portugal, arriving and leaving from Porto next April. I'd love your suggestions as to how to plan the trip as well.
Thanks,

Hi robrick,

One possibility is the train to and from Faro -- the line runs north through Lisbon, Coimbra, Porto.

There is an east-west local train that can get you to Faro from towns along the coast.

I'm pretty sure Ryan Air also flies that route, so you could probably snag some very cheap flights with all this advance planning.

What kind of planning suggestions are you looking for?

Yes, you can take the train to and from, although it will be a longer trip than driving.

I don't suggest driving in Portugal because is one of the craziest thing I did.

We drove in Portugal last summer, from Lisbon to Algarve, around in Algrave, and back to Lisbon. It was not bad.

Hmm. Is driving in southern Portugal worse than the north? We had no problems in the north, aside from getting lost in and around towns alot.

Hello there, the driving is a mith that has been cultivated for years. Actually nowadays it is the usual for any european country. If you book in advance you can get really cheap flights from faro to Porto. I have some friends that got 2 seats for €10 each... not even the train can beat that price. Is a question of looking and finding the best deals.

Hello there, the driving is a mith that has been cultivated for years.

Hahaha, what mith?
I was just there in June and if I didn't have nerves of steel I would've not made the driving on Autostrada. I'm a fast driver as I'm from Chile and here in the States I average about 110 miles in my Armada from Denver to CA, but in Portugal I was tailgated several times at 140 kms, no time to even go to my line and they would push the gas on top of me. If I've pushed the brake we would've been history. I found Portuguese drivers to be one of the most agressive that I've encountered and I've driven all over South America between countries and some in Europe.

Portugal has the highest rate of accidents in Europe. "... its road accident fatality rate is still higher than the EU average"

We have driven all over Portugal (except the Algarve) three times.
I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Just be alert and you will do fine.

Portugal has the highest rate of accidents in Europe. "... its road accident fatality rate is still higher than the EU average

Check those facts, because that's really outdated... I guess you never drove in Italy, France, or other european countries... but enough with the out of topic discussion, if you have the time check airline prices, you will get real bargains...

I drove throughout central Portugal last fall, by myself so I had to drive and navigate, and it was a wonderful experience. You need a car to easily get to some of the small towns and the car offers schedule flexibility.

I found the Portuguese to be great drivers and the roads were practically empty of traffic until you approached towns. Even on the autoroutes there was little traffic, except around the Lisbon airport where you would expect to have lots of traffic. I was never tailgated but then I stayed in the right lane, except to pass, which is the custom.

I know that there are many ways to measure highway safety -- deaths per km traveled, deaths per capita, etc, but by most of those measures, Portugal always comes out on the very dangerous side. Here's one ranking from a reputable source that puts it third, behind Greece and Hungary, for most dangerous in Europe
http://www.greenflag.com/help/drivin...countries.html

Having said that, though, I have logged tens of thousands of kms driving in Portugal and agree with those who say that for getting off the beaten path, a car is really necessary.

If robrick just wants to get back and forth from the Algarve to Porto, trains and buses are a good option, but if adding some touring along the way is part of the plan, I agree that a car would be a great idea.

Pookymimi's experience on the super-highways is consistent with mine. I have learned that I am better off not passing unless I have a clear rear view with no cars in the passing lane behind me. Even then, they sometimes creep up on me unawares -- and then they sit on your rear end, maybe flash some lights -- not at all helpful if you are in the process of passing a car, of course.

I often joke with my Portuguese friends that I can't figure out what happens when such incredibly nice, gentle, helpful people get behind the wheel.

Hi Laurie. I agree that they do come up behind you very, very fast.
But that still wouldn't stop me from driving there. And obviously, it hasn't stopped you either.
One of our problems is that we usually rent a very small automatic and I would have to agree they do not have the get up and go factor that a more powerful car would have.
But we seem to do ok.

Behavior on the autoroutes in Portugal is the same as in Italy and France - the cars that are not in the right lane are moving very quickly. Unless you're going very fast or need to pass someone going slowly you stay in the right lane. When you pass, you pass quickly, and get right back into the right lane.

I don't see the point in taking the autoroutes as they are not the most scenic; I prefer the secondary roads. So what if it takes some extra time to get someplace - you're on vacation, not a road race. If I had taken autoroutes on my driving vacations I would have missed some very interesting things.