Two couples are traveling to Portugal for the first time in March 2024. We will arrive in Lisbon, spend a couple days, and then travel to Faro to stay 5 nights. I am wondering if it would be better to take a train from Lisbon to Faro and pick up a car there and do the same on the return or if we should pick up the car in Lisbon and keep it the entire time. From the research I have done, it appears that train schedules and reservations are not available until 3 months out. Is there limited rail service between these two cities at that time of the year? TIA

You are sure to get a train at a decent time (and at the great prices they have there) in March, and the trip is very leisurely.

The only question, if it were me, would be the pick up and drop off stations, and that would be worth looking into in detail: where would you pick up in Faro, or would you have to cab over to the airport to get a car from a decent agency. Likewise if you were to rent in Lisbon - - where would you pick it up to drive the 2 hours plus south. Returning it: same question - - one way rentals are usually pretty reasonable, especially in March, and if you are heading back to Lisbon airport it would be easy from the Algarve, and really convenient if that's what you are doing.

cp.pt is the official site for trains in Portugal.
Tickets are available a maximum of 60 days before departure date ( sometimes a little less due to statutory holidays or weekends) tickets bought in advance usually are discounted.
You have to register on the site before you can purchase tickets.

There are several trains between Lisbon and Faro, we used the AP train first class and found it comfortable.

If renting a car it's probably better to rent it in Lisbon for the duration.

Thank you for the information. Much appreciated.

Is the best place to rent a car at the airport? We will be staying in the heart of the city.

It's best to rent a car at the airport, more vehicle choices, more car companies all in one spot.

not sure why you want a car on this holiday at all. Is it a cultural thing?

We would like to explore the Algarve region and have the flexibility that comes with having a car at our disposal.

Thank you…I was thinking this might be the case. Is there a recommendation of which car company to rent from?

You might check if there is a local Avis/Budget or Hertz agency that is more convenient than the airport. They will have fewer cars on hand than at the airport, but if all you need is one car, then simply make a booking - - but check opening hours. Some are closed Sundays, or even weekends, and some are closed over lunch.

my own experience of having a car in the Algarve, is you will spend all your time looking for a place to park, dealing with massive coaches all over the place and still not getting anywhere interesting. The only place I found a car useful was in the National Parks and at Land's end. All the spots I wanted to go to were on the train or we used taxi/uber to drop us closer if the station was out of town. But you decide, you and all the other tourists who do the same thing.

Even my friends, who live there, leave their car in the appartment compound most of the time.

Very valid points about the advantages to not having a car. I guess I thought that with March not being high season there may be less tourist buses and cars clogging parking spots….again first time visitor so maybe I am wrong. Should I expect that March will be very crowded with tourists?

We went to the Algarve at the beginning of November, very off season, and used our car for many different outings on the west and on the east coasts.
It depends on what you want to explore in the Algarve. And if you plan to be there on Easter Week next March.

By car, on the west coast, based outside of Lagos at a B&B (w/private parking), we drove to the expansive, beautiful and uncrowded surfing beaches of Praia do Amado. and Praia de Bordeira at the southern end of the Costa Vicentina (lots of parking there for cars and camper vans), to the windswept and rain swept lighthouse at Cabo São Vicente, to the Ponta de Sagres (both for the views), to the castle at Silves, wine touring around Silves, to Porches, the ceramic center, where there was plenty of parking at the shops.

On the east coast, based at another B&B (w/private parking) to the west of Tavira, on route from Lagos to Tavira, we used the car. to stop at the lively Saturday outdoor/indoor market at Olhão, where we easily found public parking lots at the river's edge, to the "octopus capital" of Santa Luzia for lunch and a boat to the beaches, to the cute little blue/white town of Cacela Velha, to the castle and salt marches of Castro Marim, to the border town of Vila Real de Santon António, and crossed the border to Ayamonte, Spain for an afternoon.

But we had a full 8 days of sightseeing.

The only time we did have trouble with parking was in the evening in central Lagos, where street parking is short on the ground. We had no trouble at all at any of our other destinations. We didn't use Uber but used a taxi the second night to get to our Lagos restaurant for dinner after going round and round looking for parking on our first night.

We've used 2 Lisbon locations for our rental pick up (always with Europcar booked through Auto Europe)-----the agencies at the Oriente rail station and at the airport (more choice of vehicles, especially if you need an automatic and extended opening hours). Both locations provided us with easy exits, both west to the Alentenjo and to the south to the Algarve. However, please note that the Oriente Europcar offices is closed both Saturdays/Sundays.

Thank you for the detailed information. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. We will be traveling in mid-March so before the Easter holiday. We are staying at an AirBnB in the Algarve area that has parking, so at least that is covered. We will want an automatic even though all area able to drive a manual but prefer to make it easy on ourselves driving in a new place with signs in another language, etc.

I think, actually, that before the Easter holiday, you´ll be fine with parking. But since you do want an automatic, I would pick up at the airport. Iberian airport rental offices always have a broader selection, especially of automatics.

We turned in our car at the Faro airport, one of the easiest car returns we've had in a long time!

For our own explorations in the Algarve during low season, we would not have seen what we did without a car. For us, it was a must but we like to venture off the beaten path. Even on the beaten path, with the exception of Lagos at night, we felt the vehicle enriched our experiences considerably.

Thank you Maribel…that is what I was thinking as well.

very helpful info!