Portugal- Advice wanted please!

mahamageehad

Hi guys,

I just wanted peoples opinions on my trip to Portugal. Two of us are heading there for 10 days at the start of September. We are flying into Porto and Flying home from Faro.

We kind of want to get the best mixed experience that we can- big cities, old fishing towns etc. We have a rough route in mind but I'd really appreciate any advice anyone has going! Originally we had intended to rent a car but now our budgets hav been severely cut and I don't think we can afford it. I'm currently trying to work out if it's possible to go to the places I want by train/bus and how expensive it would be. I'm also considering buying an interrail ticket for 8 flexi-days in the region but I've never inter-railed before so I'm unsure if it actually works out cheaper!

Day 1- Porto
Day 2- Coimbra/ Figueira de Foz
Day 3- Alcobaça
Day 4- Peniche
Day 5- Lisbon
Day 6- Setabul/Cascais
Day 7- Evora
Day 8- Portimao
Day 9- Albuferia/Faro

So really days 1,3 and 8 are set in stone and can't really be moved. THe rest however I'm very flexible with. A lot will depend on which places are actually possible to get to e.g. Sagres has been recommended to me but I'm not sure if we'll be able to get there as easily as somewhere like Evora.

So has anybody travelled Portugal by train/bus before?! Any hints or tips? Is there any site I simply can't miss in Portugal? The only one I have so far is the Capela dos Ossos in Evora.

All help, as ever, is much appreciated! Thanks boardsies!

ger664

Cant believe you are not getting car hire for this. The time you save going from place to place and the flexibility of being able to do side trips to areas of interest will more then pay for itself

Use Auto Jardim they are about €30/day for a decent enough car with AC. Get your excess insurance before you travel. They have tolled all the motorways and its expensive and very hard to pay as it can only be done at the post office so avoid where possible. Believe it or not fuel is now 10% cheaper then its is here.

If you do get a car take a trip on the evening of Day8 to Monchique and Foia (highest point in the Algarve), fantastic views on a clear evening.

mahamageehad

ger664 wrote: »

Cant believe you are not getting car hire for this. The time you save going from place to place and the flexibility of being able to do side trips to areas of interest will more then pay for itself

Use Auto Jardim they are about €30/day for a decent enough car with AC. Get your excess insurance before you travel. They have tolled all the motorways and its expensive and very hard to pay as it can only be done at the post office so avoid where possible. Believe it or not fuel is now 10% cheaper then its is here.

If you do get a car take a trip on the evening of Day8 to Monchique and Foia (highest point in the Algarve), fantastic views on a clear evening.

Yeah we really would have preferred a car but we're on a budget and although we can get a car for 250-300 it's the deposit we can't afford! Most places are looking for 500 or more preauthorisation on the card and then we'd have no spending money. We've also ran into difficulties as the driver doesn't have a credit card and quite a few companies will only take a card with the named driver. Thanks for the tip for Foia though!

flutegirl

mahamageehad wrote: »

Hi guys,

I just wanted peoples opinions on my trip to Portugal. Two of us are heading there for 10 days at the start of September. We are flying into Porto and Flying home from Faro.

We kind of want to get the best mixed experience that we can- big cities, old fishing towns etc. We have a rough route in mind but I'd really appreciate any advice anyone has going! Originally we had intended to rent a car but now our budgets hav been severely cut and I don't think we can afford it. I'm currently trying to work out if it's possible to go to the places I want by train/bus and how expensive it would be. I'm also considering buying an interrail ticket for 8 flexi-days in the region but I've never inter-railed before so I'm unsure if it actually works out cheaper!

Day 1- Porto
Day 2- Coimbra/ Figueira de Foz
Day 3- Alcobaça
Day 4- Peniche
Day 5- Lisbon
Day 6- Setabul/Cascais
Day 7- Evora
Day 8- Portimao
Day 9- Albuferia/Faro

So really days 1,3 and 8 are set in stone and can't really be moved. THe rest however I'm very flexible with. A lot will depend on which places are actually possible to get to e.g. Sagres has been recommended to me but I'm not sure if we'll be able to get there as easily as somewhere like Evora.

So has anybody travelled Portugal by train/bus before?! Any hints or tips? Is there any site I simply can't miss in Portugal? The only one I have so far is the Capela dos Ossos in Evora.

All help, as ever, is much appreciated! Thanks boardsies!

Just back from 10 days myself. Check out www.eva-bus.com, site is in English as well. You can buy a 3 or 7 day pass. Travelled to albufeira and Faro by bus, very easy to use and buses air-conditioned and comfortable. You will be able to travel by bus from Albufeira to Faro and then to the airport when heading home. We found the drivers had good English If you research your routes beforehand you should have no bother using the bus to get around.

jibberjive

mahamageehad,

I would stay in Lagos rather than Portimao. Lagos is a lovely town with a great beach, old stone walls etc but with good bars & restaurants. Portimao is quite built up & residential.

I would second the car option if at all possible. We've used autorent.pt & have often gotten a car for €150 for two weeks, you could add real driver as an additional driver & that will get you around the credit card name, I think they charge €15-20 for this.

Sounds like a great trip - enjoy

mahamageehad

flutegirl wrote: »

Just back from 10 days myself. Check out www.eva-bus.com, site is in English as well. You can buy a 3 or 7 day pass. Travelled to albufeira and Faro by bus, very easy to use and buses air-conditioned and comfortable. You will be able to travel by bus from Albufeira to Faro and then to the airport when heading home. We found the drivers had good English If you research your routes beforehand you should have no bother using the bus to get around.

Brilliant thanks for that I'll check that out now. That link redirects to a site that sounds dodgy and gives a security error- this one works: http://www.eva-bus.com/novo/index.php?lang=uk

jibberjive wrote: »

mahamageehad,

I would stay in Lagos rather than Portimao. Lagos is a lovely town with a great beach, old stone walls etc but with good bars & restaurants. Portimao is quite built up & residential.

I would second the car option if at all possible. We've used autorent.pt & have often gotten a car for €150 for two weeks, you could add real driver as an additional driver & that will get you around the credit card name, I think they charge €15-20 for this.

Sounds like a great trip - enjoy

How much did you pay for a deposit with them?